Samuel V. Wilson
Samuel V. Wilson | |
|---|---|
LTG Samuel V. Wilson | |
| Birth name | Samuel Vaughan Wilson |
| Nickname(s) | "General Sam" |
| Born | September 23, 1923 Rice, Virginia, U.S. |
| Died | June 10, 2017 (aged 93) Rice, Virginia, U.S. |
| Allegiance | United States of America |
| Branch | United States Army |
| Years of service | 1940–1977 (37 years) |
| Rank | Lieutenant general |
| Unit | Office of Strategic Services 5307th Composite Unit (Provisional) "Merrill's Maurauders" |
| Commands | Director, Defense Intelligence Agency 6th Special Forces Group |
| Battles / wars | World War II Vietnam War Cold War |
| Awards | Distinguished Service Cross Defense Distinguished Service Medal Army Distinguished Service Medal (3) Silver Star (2) Legion of Merit (2) Bronze Star (2) with Valor device |
| Other work | Technical Advisor, Merrill's Marauders Chairman, Special Operations Policy Group (SOPAG) Professor/Political Science & President, Hampden-Sydney College |
Samuel Vaughan Wilson (September 23, 1923 – June 10, 2017), also known as General Sam, was a United States Army lieutenant general who completed his active military career in the fall of 1977, having divided his service almost equally between special operations and intelligence assignments.
He served as 22nd President of Hampden-Sydney College from 1992–2000 and as 5th Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency from May 1976-August 1977; for his foundational work in doctrine for low intensity conflict, where he coined the term "counterinsurgency" (COIN); and for facilitating the drafting and passage of the Nunn-Cohen Amendment to the 1987 Defense Authorization Act, effectively creating the US Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) and the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations and Low Intensity Conflict (ASD/SOLIC). He is also credited with helping to create Delta Force, the U.S. Army's premier counterterrorism unit.
As a general officer, some of his assignments included: Assistant Division Commander (Operations), 82nd Airborne Division; (First) United States Defense Attaché to the Soviet Union, Deputy to the Central Intelligence for the Intelligence Community, and Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency. In his post-military career, he began working at Hampden-Sydney College in 1977, first as a Professor of Political Science, then as its 22nd President, and subsequently as Wheat Professor of Leadership at the Wilson Center for Leadership in the Public Interest. Wilson altogether was part of Hampden-Sydney for forty years.
Wilson died from lung cancer on June 10, 2017 in Rice, Virginia, age 93.