General Edward C. "Shy" Meyer served the nation, the Army, and West Point with distinction as a combat commander and staff officer, a leader in Army modernization and force development during the Cold War, a contributor to strategic studies and joint operations, a leader of the Association of Graduates and other organizations, and the 29th Chief of Staff of the United States Army from 1979 until his retirement in 1983. Commissioned a lieutenant in the Infantry, he was first assigned to Korea in 1952, where he commanded a rifle company in the 40th Infantry Division and later served as battalion intelligence officer, earning the Silver Star for gallantry in action in rescuing a British pilot behind enemy lines and the Bronze Star with V device for heroic achievement. His later assignments included Command and General Staff College, the Armed Forces Staff College, Headquarters, U.S. Army Europe, the Office of the Chief of Staff at Supreme Headquarters, Allied Powers Europe, and the Office of the Chief of Staff of the Army, and he attended the National War College, earning a Master's Degree in International Affairs from George Washington University. His career included two tours in Vietnam, commanding a battalion in the 1st Air Cavalry Division in 1965 and later, from 1969 to 1970, commanding a brigade in the 1st Air Cavalry Division and serving as the division's Chief of Staff during the Cambodian Incursion in 1970; his combat leadership there was marked by bravery, concern for his soldiers, tactical innovation, and skillful coordination of complex operations, and earned him a second Silver Star and the Distinguished Flying Cross. After Vietnam he served at the Brookings Institute as its first military Federal Executive Fellow, then as Assistant Division Commander of the 82nd Airborne Division, followed by assignments as Deputy Commandant of the Army War College and Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations at Headquarters, U.S. Army Europe, before taking command of the 3rd Infantry Division in Germany in 1974. Assigned to the Department of the Army staff in 1975 as Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations and Plans, he was selected by President Carter in 1979 to become Chief of Staff of the United States Army. In that role, he emphasized improving equipment, manning force structure with trained soldiers and noncommissioned officers, modernizing the force, increasing operational agility, integrating reserve components into the total force, and developing organizations and readiness for joint operations; the Army that later fought and won rapidly in Desert Storm was to a large extent forged during his tenure. Born December 11, 1928, in Saint Marys, Pennsylvania, the son of Edward L. and Cecelia Kosko Meyer, he attended Sacred Heart School and graduated from Saint Mary's Central Catholic High School in 1946, became an Eagle Scout in Sacred Heart Troop 95, graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1951, served as captain and first-team All-American on the 1951 National Champion Lacrosse Team at West Point, married Carol McCunniff in 1954, had five children, and after 36 years of military service served on presidential and defense boards and panels, as a trustee for the George Marshall Foundation, on boards for various foundations and corporations, and received three honorary doctoral degrees.