Becton: Autobiography of a Soldier and Public Servant

Annapolis: Naval Institute Press, 2008. First Printing [Stated]. Hardcover. Very good/Very good. Foreword by Louis Thornton Becton. Illustrations. Appendixes. Chronology. Acronyms and Abbreviations. Notes. Index. Inscribed on the half-title page by the author. Inscription reads Dr. Ramsey--many thanks for all that you have done for me, the Army, and the country. Continued good fortune. God Bless Julius. Foreword has an inscription signed by Louise Becton which reads: Thanks for being such a great doc!! It means a lot to know your really care! Louise Becton. RARE with dual inscriptions! DJ has slight wear, soiling and sticker residue. Julius Wesley Becton Jr. (born June 29, 1926) is a retired United States Army lieutenant general, former director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and education administrator. He joined the U.S. Army Air Corps in July 1944, graduated infantry Officer Candidate School in 1945, and served with 93rd Infantry Division. He separated from the Army in 1946, but returned to service after President Harry S. Truman's executive order to integrate the U.S. Armed Forces in 1948. He graduated from the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, the Armed Forces Staff College, and the National War College. In his mid-60s, Becton began a new career as an education administrator. From 1989 to 1994, Becton was the fifth president of Prairie View A&M University (his alma mater). President Becton was the first graduate of Prairie View A&M University to attain flag rank in the military. In 1996, he became the Superintendent of the Washington, D.C. public school system. This autobiography, published in cooperation with the Association of the United States Army (AUSA), highlights Lieutenant General Becton's remarkable career, reflects on his youth, his almost forty years of service in the U.S. Army, and his subsequent civilian appointments. Devotion to leadership, education, service, and his spiritual upbringing are all central themes in the book. Becton enlisted in a segregated Army at age eighteen and rose to the rank of lieutenant general over the course of nearly four decades. After receiving his commission as a second lieutenant of infantry, he subsequently fought with distinction in the Korean War. Integrated into the Regular Army in 1951, he went on to earn degrees in mathematics and economics and held combat commands in the 101st Airborne Division in Vietnam and the legendary 1st Cavalry Division in 1975-76. Promoted to lieutenant general in 1978, General Becton was the first African American officer to command a Corps in the U.S. Army. He served as commanding general of the U.S. VII Corps in Germany and deputy commander of Training and Doctrine Command and the Army Inspector of Training before retiring in 1983. Following retirement, he entered fields of international disaster assistance, emergency management, and education. In 2007 Becton was selected to receive the George Catlett Marshall Medal, the highest award presented by the AUSA for being a "soldier, combat commander, administrator, educator, public servant, government leader, and role model."