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Congressional Medal of Honor - Colin Luther Powell
Secretary of State Colin Powell
Biography
Powell, Colin Luther, 1937, African American U.S. Army General, the highest ranking African American officer in U.S. history and chairman (198993) of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; b. New York City, grad., City College, 1958. The son of Jamaican immigrants, Powell was the first African American and the youngest person to chair the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He entered the U.S. army as a commissioned officer and served two tours of duty (196263, 196869) during the Vietnam War . In the 1970s he worked in several staff positions in the White House, including in the Office of Management and Budget, and also served in the military command. In 1979 he was made a major general and the military assistant to the deputy secretary of defense, a position he held until 1981, when he assumed command of the 4th Infantry Division. From 1983 to 1986 Powell was military assistant to the secretary of defense and in 1986 he served as commander of the V Corps, Europe. The next year, he was named assistant to the president for national security affairs. In 1989 he became a four-star general and was named chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He had an important role in planning the American invasion of Panama in late 1989, and prior to the Persian Gulf War (1991), he played a crucial role in planning and coordinating the military victory of U.S. and allied forces. In 1995 he declined to run for the U.S. presidency, despite widespread encouragement to do so. Since 1997, Powell has been chairman of America's Promisethe Alliance for Youth, a charitable organization formed to help needy and at-risk U.S. children.
2 Time Presidential Medal of Freedom Recipient
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