G.J.
Wilson, Jr. ’53
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Army Maj. Gen.
Houston, TX
Maj. Gen. G.J. Wilson, Jr. graduated from Texas A&M University in 1953 with a bachelor's degree in Geology.
Maj. Gen. G.J. Wilson, Jr. is retired from his military career and currently resides in Houston, TX.
Ralph H.
Wooten ’16
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Air Force Maj. Gen.
Memphis, TN
Ralph Hudson Wooten was born at Independence, Miss., in 1893. He graduated from the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas (Texas A&M) with a bachelor of science degree in 1916.
On Aug. 8, 1917, he was commissioned a second lieutenant of Infantry in the Regular Army and that same date was promoted to first lieutenant. His first assignment was at Fort Leavenworth, Kan., and in November 1917 he transferred to Camp Greene, N.C., for service with the 59th Infantry.
In January 1918 he began ground school training at the School of Military Aeronautics at Austin, Texas, and later transferred to Kelly Field, Texas, where he completed his flight training in July 1918. He then served as a flight instructor at Love Field, Texas, until November of that year when he was transferred to Brindley Field, Long Island, N.Y. After a short tour of duty at that station, he went to Ellington Field, Texas and in May 1919 became acting air officer of the Hawaiian Department, with headquarters at Fort Shafter.
On July 1, 1920, he transferred to the Air Service and that same date was promoted to captain.
Returning to the United States in July 1922, he became post adjutant at Langley Field, Va. He entered the Air Service Tactical School at Langley Field in October 1923 and after graduating the following June was assigned to the Supply Division in the Office of the Chief of Air Service at Washington. He later became chief of Materiel Procurement and Transportation in that office. In July 1928 he was transferred to Fort Crockett, Texas, for duty as an operations officer of the Third Attack Group.
A year later he went to Santiago, Chile, as military attache. During this tour of duty he received the official commendation of the State Department for his cooperation in seeking two lost foreign planes. He also made a number of flights over unexplored and uncharted routes in the southern part of South America, including Patagonia and Tierre del Fuego.
In July 1933 he returned to the United States to take the two-year course at the Command and General Staff School at Fort Leavenworth, Kan. After graduating in 1935, he served with General Headquarters Air Force at Langley Field, Va. In August 1936 he entered the Army War College at Washington, and following graduating in 1937 remained in Washington for service in the Operations and Training Division of the War Department General Staff.
In August 1938 he was again appointed Military Attache to Chile and Bolivia, with station at Santiago, Chile. While serving in this capacity, he was commended for his part in rescue work following the devastating earthquakes in southern Chile in 1939. He also served as a representative of the U.S. Government during important conferences with other countries on defense plans for the Western Hemisphere.
In July 1941 he returned to Washington for duty in the Military Intelligence Division of the War Department General Staff. The following September he was appointed air officer with General Headquarters of the Army at Washington.
In March 1942 he was assigned to the Army Air Force Technical Training Command, with station at Miami Beach, Fla., where he organized and commanded technical training activities including the Air Corps Officer Candidate School, Air Corps Officer Training School, Basic Training centers numbers Four and Nine, and the Civilian Mechanic Training schools in that area.
In January 1943 he went to the Caribbean Air Command as commanding general of the Sixth Air Force Service Command and as chief of staff of the Sixth Air Force. He assumed command of the Sixth Air Force the following September, and in May 1944 was designated commanding general of the U.S. Army Forces in the South Atlantic.
CITATION:
The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress July 9, 1918, takes pleasure in presenting the Army Distinguished Service Medal to Major General Ralph Hudson Wooten (ASN: 0-6649), United States Army Air Forces, for exceptionally meritorious and distinguished services to the Government of the United States, in a duty of great responsibility as Commanding General of the U.S. Army Forces in the South Atlantic from May 1944 to October 1945. The singularly distinctive accomplishments of General Wooten and his dedicated contributions in the service of his country reflect the highest credit upon himself and the United States Army Air Forces.
He returned to the United States in January 1946 for duty in the Office of the Foreign Liquidation Commission of the State Department at Washington.
In April 1947 he was appointed commanding general of the Seventh Air Force at Hickam Field, Hawaii, and remained in that position when the Seventh was redesignated Pacific Air Command the following December.
General Wooten has been awarded the Distinguished Service Medal, Legion of Merit and Bronze Star Medal. His foreign decorations include "Orden el Merito" in the grades of Official, Cemmendador and Gran Official (Chile); Orden del Merito Militar (Cuba); Condecoracion "abdon Calderon" (Ecuador); "Orden de Boyaca" in the grade of Gran Official (Colombia); and "Orden Militar de Ayacucho" (Peru).
He is rated a command pilot, combat observer and aircraft observer. He retired from the United States Air Force on September 30, 1948.
Robert F.
Worden ’33
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Air Force Maj. Gen.
Washington, D.C.
Maj. Gen. Robert F. Worden graduated from Texas A&M University in 1933 with a bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering.
He was the deputy director of plans, Deputy Chief of Staff, plans and Operations, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C. Before his previous position, General Worden served as chief of staff, U.S. Taiwan Defense Command, Taipei, Taiwan, Pacific Air Force.
Maj. Gen. Robert F. Worden passed away in 2005.
William R.
Wray ’52
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Army Maj. Gen.
Fair Oaks Ranch, TX
Maj. Gen. William R. Wray graduated from Texas A&M University in 1952 with a Master's in Civil Engineering.
William Wray was born and raised in DeQuincy, LA, son of Madonna Mozelle Hunt Wray and William Thomas Wray. He graduated from DeQuincy High School in 1942 and the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1946, beginning a distinguished career of 36 years as an officer in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the last nine years as a general officer.
General Wray served as a troop unit commander at all levels through the grade of colonel, as well as in various engineering and scientific assignments in the U.S., Philippines, Okinawa, France, Korea, Canal Zone, and Vietnam. As a captain he had the distinction of serving as the Officer-in-Charge of an Army, Air Force, Navy crew which started up and evaluated the Army's first nuclear plant designed specifically to produce electrical power.
During the early years of his career, he also earned his Master's Degree in Engineering from Texas A&M University. As a general officer, he was responsible for the construction of military facilities worldwide for the Army, Air Force, and several foreign governments. This work included construction of two new complete hardened air bases in Israel on an extremely tight time schedule at President Carter's direction. Those bases were essential to permit the timely withdrawal of Israeli Air Force units from the Sinai in compliance with the Camp David Accords.
On retirement from the Army in 1982, as its Deputy Chief of Engineers, General Wray was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal, the military's highest peacetime decoration.
Maj. Gen. William R. Wray is retired from his military career and resided in Fair Oaks Ranch, TX until he passed away on September 23, 2010.
Russell C.
Wrigght ’51
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Army Brig. Gen.
Vero Beach, FL
Russell Cowan Wright, 85, died Oct. 21, 2011, at VNA Hospice House. He was born Ashburn, Ga. and moved to Vero Beach 20 years ago, coming from Northport, N.Y. He was a veteran of the Army during the Korean War and retired from the Army Reserves as brigadier general. He retired in 1990 as a mechanical engineer in the aerospace industry. He was a member of Army Reserve Officers Association, had served as president of the Walkers Glen Homeowners Association and attended the First Presbyterian Church.
Christopher F.
Yancy ’88
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Air Force Brig. Gen.
Brig. Gen. Christopher F. Yancy is the Mobilization Assistant to the Commander, Second Air Force, Keesler Air Force Base, Mississippi. He is responsible for the development, oversight and direction of all operational aspects of Basic Military Training, initial skills training and advanced technical training for the Air Force enlisted force, non-rated operations and support officers. Second Air Force provides training in more than 265 Air Force specialties through 2,014 courses graduating 150,000 Airmen, soldiers, sailors, Marines and international students annually in diverse areas including aircraft maintenance, civil engineering, medical, cyber, avionics, security forces, space and missile operations/maintenance and multiple intelligence disciplines. The command includes training wings at Keesler AFB, Sheppard and Goodfellow AFB, Texas, Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas, a training group at Vandenberg AFB, California, and 103 operating locations around the world. Second Air Force also oversees all Air Force Airmen throughout the Joint Expeditionary Tasking/Individual Augmentee training pipeline at several Army training sites across the country.
General Yancy entered the Air Force in 1988 as a distinguished ROTC graduate from Texas A&M University. He served 11 years in the regular Air Force as an F-16 pilot in Air Combat Command and U.S. Air Forces Europe. He joined the Air Force Reserve in 1999 and has held various command positions at the squadron, group and wing level. His combat experience includes nine deployments in operations Iraqi Freedom, Enduring Freedom, Southern Watch and Northern Watch; multiple operations in the former Yugoslavia; and Expeditionary Fighter Squadron Command in South Korea.
General Yancy is a command pilot with more than 3,900 flying hours, including 3,800 hours in the F-16 Block 30+, 40, 50 and 50+ as well as 15+ years of joint/partner programmatic, test and development experience in the F-35. In his previous assignment, he served as the Mobilization Assistant to the Director of Plans, Programs and Analyses for Headquarters U.S. Air Forces in Europe and U.S. Air Forces Africa, Ramstein Air Base, Germany.
Edward P.
Yarish ’83
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Air Force Maj. Gen
Centreville, VA
Maj. Gen. Edward P. Yarish is the mobilization assistant to the Commander, Air Force Materiel Command, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. He assists the commander in supporting the six AFMC Centers to develop and execute policies and programs that affect the delivery of war-winning capabilities, especially those necessary in meeting mobilization, emergency, and wartime operations.
General Yarish was commissioned through the Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps program in 1983. While on active duty, he was assigned to the Small ICBM Propulsion Division, Ballistic Missile Office, Norton AFB, California, managing the acquisition, development and test of several sub-systems. He joined the Air Force Reserve in 1990 with the 56th Aerial Port Squadron, March Air Reserve Base, Calif. As commander, the unit received the 1997 Reserve Unit of the Year Award.
General Yarish served on the Air Staff working transportation, congressional and strategic planning issues. He also served on the Joint Staff, and deployed as Current Operations Director for the Central Command Deployment and Distribution Operations Center in Southwest Asia, directing joint logistics for operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom. In his civilian professional capacity, he is a program development director for a defense systems company based in northern Virginia.