Colonel (United States) - Famous American Colonels

Famous American Colonels

• Alexander Butterfield—U.S. Air Force colonel who became an aide to President Nixon and was later appointed administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration. Cooperated with prosecutors during the Watergate scandal.
• Ambrosio José Gonzales—Cuban revolutionary who fought for the US annexation of Cuba before serving as a colonel in the CSA.
• Edwin Eugene "Buzz" Aldrin—Second person to step on the moon.
• Charlie Beckwith—Founder of 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta, the Army's elite top-secret special forces detachment.
• David Hackworth—Served in Korea and Vietnam, an author and military media consultant. Formerly the highest decorated living soldier.
• Ed McMahon—United States Marine Corps aviator and television personality.
• Federico Fernández Cavada- Union Army colonel who fought in the Battle of Gettysburg and later became the Commander-in-Chief of Cuban forces during the Ten Years' War.
• Felix Rodriguez — A former Central Intelligence Agency officer infamous for his involvement in the Bay of Pigs Invasion, in the interrogation and execution of Marxist revolutionary Che Guevara, and his ties to George H. W. Bush during the Iran-Contra Affair.
• James E. Sabow was a murdered colonel.
• Henry Knox—As colonel of the Continental Regiment of Artillery in 1776, he brought guns from Ft. Ticonderoga to Dorchester Heights, forcing the British out of Boston the next morning. Later, President Washington made him Secretary of War as part of the first Presidential Cabinet in America. He also served in Washington's crossing of the Delaware River for the Battle of Trenton.
• Henry Rutgers—Revolutionary War colonel - philanthropist and namesake of Rutgers University.
• Jack H. Jacobs—Served in Vietnam, recipient of the Medal of Honor.
• Jeff Cooper—WWII and Korean War veteran and "The Father of Modern Shooting."
• John Boyd —Air Force fighter pilot and military strategist. Responsible for developing EM theory (Energy-Maneuverability theory), a method of determining the performance capabilities of a prospective fighter before production.
• John Glenn—Marine Corps aviator, astronaut, and U.S. Senator.
• John Jackson Dickison- led the Confederate forces which captured the USS Columbine, in the only known incident in US history where a cavalry unit sank an enemy gunboat.
• Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain—Commander of the 20th Maine Volunteer Infantry Regiment at Gettysburg.
• Martha McSally—United States Air Force first American woman to fly in combat.
• Robert E Lee—Led the raid against John Brown at Harpers Ferry, Commanding general of the Confederate Army.
• Robert Gould Shaw—Commander of the African American Army Regiment, the 54th Massachusetts.
• Theodore Roosevelt—1st United States Volunteer Cavalry Regiment recipient of the Medal of Honor.
• Virgil R. Miller- Regimental commander of the 442d Regimental Combat Team (RCT), a unit which was composed of "Nisei" (second generation Americans of Japanese descent), during World War II. He led the 442nd in its rescue of the Lost Texas Battalion of the 36th Infantry Division, in the forests of the Vosges Mountains in northeastern France.
• William Wilson Quinn - Served under Patton during WWII and received two Purple Hearts, a Bronz Star, a Silver Star and became a Knight and Officer of the National Order of the Legion of Honor; he also was the commanding officer of the 17th Infantry during the Korean War, which he served two years in. He participated in the Battle of the Bulge and captured Hermann Goring and arrived at Dachau the day after it was liberated. After the war Quinn played a key roll in forming the CIA.
• Wesley L. Fox—United States Marine Corps recipient of the Medal of Honor.
• William Moultrie—Defended Ft. Sullivan (later to be named Ft. Moultrie in honor of the colonel) against British attack in 1776; his regiment was later absorbed by the Continental Army, and he was promoted to brigadier general.
• Anthony G. Brown—Lieutenant Governor of Maryland (2007–present) and Commander of the 153rd Legal Support Organization in Pennsylvania; Highest-ranking elected official in the nation to have served a tour of duty in Iraq; Co-Chair of the Obama/Biden Presidential Transition Agency Review Team for the Department of Veterans Affairs