2010 Van Fleet Award Honoree
GENERAL COLIN L. POWELL
65TH SECRETARY OF STATE
THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
IN RECOGNITION OF DISTINGUISHED SERVICE AND IN HONOR OF VETERANS OF THE KOREAN WAR
General Colin L. Powell, USA (Ret) became the 65th Secretary of State on January 20, 2001. As he stated at his confirmation hearing, the guiding principle of U.S. foreign policy during his tenure was that "America stands ready to help any country that wishes to join the democratic world."
Born in New York City on April 5, 1937, General Powell was raised in the South Bronx. His parents, Luther and Maud Powell, immigrated to the United States from Jamaica. General Powell was educated in the New York City public schools, graduating from Morris High School and the City College of New York (CCNY), where he earned a bachelor's degree in geology. He also participated in ROTC at CCNY and received a commission as an Army second lieutenant upon graduation in June 1958. His further academic achievements include a Master of Business Administration degree from George Washington University.
General Powell is the recipient of numerous U.S. military awards and decorations including the Defense Distinguished Service Medal (with 3 Oak Leaf Clusters), the Army Distinguished Service Medal (with Oak Leaf Cluster), Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit (with Oak Leaf Cluster), Soldier's Medal, Bronze Star Medal, and the Purple Heart.
General Powell's civilian awards include two Presidential Medals of Freedom, the President's Citizens Medal, the Congressional Gold Medal and the Secretary of Energy Distinguished Service Medal. He has received awards from over two dozen countries to include a French Legion of Honor and an honorary knighthood bestowed by H.M. Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain.
General Powell is the Founder of the Colin Powell Center for Policy Studies at his alma mater, the City College of New York. The Center is student-focused with a mission to develop a new generation of publicly engaged leaders. He is also the Founder and Chairman Emeritus of the America’s Promise Alliance, dedicated to forging a strong and effective partnership alliance committed to seeing that children have the fundamental resources they need to succeed.
He has also been a member of the Board of Trustees of Howard University and the Board of Directors of the United Negro College Fund. The General also served on the Board of Governors of The Boys & Girls Clubs of America and was a member of the Advisory Board of the Children's Health Fund.
Since returning to private life, General Powell has become a strategic limited partner at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, the renowned Silicon Valley venture capital firm., and he is helping to raise funds for the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial in Washington, DC and for the construction of an education center for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. He is the author of his best-selling autobiography, My American Journey.
General Powell is married to the former Alma Vivian Johnson of Birmingham, Alabama. The Powell family includes son Michael; daughters, Linda and Annemarie; daughter-in-law Jane, and grandchildren Jeffrey, Bryan, Abigail and Patrick.
2010 Van Fleet Award Honoree
GENERAL PAIK SUN YUP
IN RECOGNITION OF DISTINGUISHED SERVICE AND IN HONOR OF VETERANS OF THE KOREAN WAR
Paik Sun Yup, the Republic of Korea’s foremost army general during the Korean War, was born in 1920 near Pyongyang. After service in the Manchurian Army during World War II, he escaped the onrushing Soviet Army for Pyongyang, where he became actively involved in Korea’s fledging national liberation movement. Realizing in 1946 that a communist takeover in the north was inevitable, Paik made his way to the south and joined the South Korean Constabulary (later to become the ROK Army). When North Korea launched its general offensive against the ROK on June 25, 1950, then Colonel Paik was commander of the ROK 1st Infantry Division. During the course of the war, he became the first South Korean to achieve the rank of four-star general. Paik participated in all ten of the major campaigns of the Korean War, commanded an independent corps that conducted the largest anti-guerilla operation of the war, and was the ROK’s initial representative to the armistice negotiations.
Following the signing of the armistice, Paik served twice as ROK Army chief of staff and was also chairman of the ROK Joint Chiefs of Staff. He retired from active duty in 1960 as the most highly decorated soldier in the ROK Army. His military decorations include two Taeguk Medals (Korea's highest award), as well as seven U.S. medals, including one Silver Star, four Legions of Merit and a Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service. After his retirement from the ROK Army, General Paik served as ambassador to Taiwan in 1960, France (and concurrently 16 other European and African nations) in 1961, and Canada in 1965. From 1969 to 1971, he served as the ROK Minister of Transportation and played a significant role in establishing the country’s current public transportation system. From 1971 to 1980, he was president of South Korea’s largest chemical company. From 1999 to 2003, he was chairman of the ROK 50th Anniversary of the Korean War Commemoration Committee.
Residing in Seoul, Paik and his wife of 65 years, In Sook, have four children, eight grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren. Paik is the author of several books, including From Pusan to Panmunjom (1992) as well as chairman of the Military History Compilation Institute Advisory Committee to the Ministry of National Defense, the first president of the Association of the ROK Army, and elder adviser to the National Diplomacy and Security Council.