Southern University Alumni Veterans

Colonel Paris Davis was born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio. Davis became interested in the military and sports from a young age and pursued both at Southern University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, studying political science on an ROTC scholarship. Davis was commissioned as an Army reserve officer in 1959. Davis then earned Airborne and Ranger qualifications in 1960 and was selected for the 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne), 1st Special Forces, serving first in Korea and then Vietnam and Japan. Davis served his second tour in South Vietnam in 1965, where he was promoted to captain as a detachment commander with the 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne), 1st Special Forces making him one of the first African American Special Forces officers as the civil rights movement gained momentum at home. For his heroic acts of selflessness and bravery during his second tour in Vietnam, Davis’s accolades include the Silver Star and Purple Heart. Davis received the Medal of Honor, the highest military decoration, from President Joe Biden in March 2023. For more information about Colonel Paris Davis’ heroic acts and his accomplishments, visit
https://www.army.mil/medalofhonor/davis/.

Colonel Paris Davis being awarded the
Presidential Medal of Honor by President Joseph R. Biden

Photo source: U.S. Army

Lieutenant General (Retired) Joe Nathan Ballard, born March 27, 1942, is a former U.S. Army officer who fought in the Vietnam War, and who served for a time as Chief of Engineers, the first African-American to serve in this role.

A native of Oakdale, Ballard graduated in 1965 from Southern University and A&M College, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, with a degree in electrical engineering after which he received a commission in the Corps of Engineers.

Ballard served as a platoon leader in the 84th Engineer Battalion during his first tour of duty in South Vietnam. He then returned to the United States and commanded a training company at Fort Polk. Later, he attended the Engineer Officer Advanced Course at Fort Belvoir before returning for his second tour in Vietnam as a company commander in the 864th Engineer Battalion and as the Chief, Lines of Communication Section in the 18th Engineer Brigade (Airborne). Following assignments with the Fifth U.S. Army and the Recruiting Command, he was Operations Officer and Executive Officer of the 326th Engineer Battalion, 101st Airborne Division.

In 1978 he went to South Korea where he served as an Operations Officer and later as the Executive Officer on the staff of the U.S. Forces, Korea, Engineer. Following Korea he returned to the Pentagon for duty on the Army Staff as the principal engineer in the Army Energy Office, Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff, Logistics.

In 1982 he moved to another overseas theater as Commander of the 82d Engineer Battalion, 7th Engineer Brigade, in West Germany. Later he became the Commander of the 18th Engineer Brigade and Assistant Deputy Chief of Staff, Engineer, in Headquarters, U.S. Army Europe.

Returning to the United States in 1991, Ballard became the Assistant Commandant of the U.S. Army Engineer School and Deputy Commanding General of the Engineer Center and Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. After another assignment in the Pentagon as Chief, Total Army Basing Study in the Office of the Chief of Staff of the Army, he returned to Missouri as Commanding General of the Engineer Center and Fort Leonard Wood.

When Ballard was nominated by President Bill Clinton to be the Chief of Engineers and Commander, United States Army Corps of Engineers, he was serving as Chief of Staff, U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command in Fort Monroe, Virginia. Ballard served as Chief of Engineers from October 1, 1996, until his retirement on August 2, 2000.

During his career, Lieutenant General Ballard earned a master's degree in engineering management from the University of Missouri–Rolla and graduated from the Engineer Officer Basic and Advanced Courses, the Command and General Staff College, and the Army War College.

Brigadier General (Retired) Sherian Grace Cadoria, born January 26, 1940, is a retired United States Army officer. She became the first African-American woman to achieve general officer rank in the regular United States Army on promotion to brigadier general in 1985. She was the highest-ranking black woman in the military at the time of her retirement in 1990. Her command included the 1st Region Criminal Investigation Command and Military Police Student Battalion.

Cadoria is a 1961 graduate of Southern University and A&M College with a bachelor of science degree in business education and holds a master of arts degree in social work from the University of Oklahoma. Initially, in the Women's Army Corps, she transferred to the Military Police Corps in the 1970s.

She is a native of Marksville.

Brigadier Gen. Cadoria’s awards include:

• Defense Superior Service Medal
• Legion of Merit
• Bronze Star Medal (3)
• Meritorious Service Medal (2)
• Air Medal
• Army Commendation Medal (4)

Major General (Retired) Craig Crenshaw, born 1962, is a retired American military officer who serves as Secretary of Veterans and Defense Affairs for the state of Virginia.

A native of Pensacola, Florida, Major General Crenshaw received his commission as a Second Lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps in August 1984 through the NROTC Scholarship Program.  He holds a bachelor of arts degree in political science from Southern University, Baton Rouge; a master of arts in procurement and acquisitions management from Webster University, St. Louis, Missouri; a master of science in national resource strategy from the Industrial College of the Armed Forces, National Defense University, Washington, DC; and is a graduate of the Senior Acquisition Course and the Program Manager Course from the Defense Acquisition University. 

Major General Crenshaw began his military career as a Logistics Officer with 3d Force Service Support Group, Okinawa, Japan.  He was later reassigned to Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego, California, where he served as a Series Commander and Battalion Operations Officer.  In September 1989, he was assigned to the 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, Camp Pendleton, California.  While assigned to the 1st Marine Regiment, he deployed to the Persian Gulf region in support of Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm and participated in Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force Los Angeles in response to the civil disturbance during the Los Angeles riots.   In September 1992, Major General Crenshaw was assigned to the Program Executive Office for Cruise Missiles and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, Washington, DC.  He served as the Marine Corps Integrated Logistics Support Manager and Deputy Director, Joint Logistics Program, Joint Logistics Directorate. Major General Crenshaw was subsequently assigned in 1995 to Marine Aircraft Group 36, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing, Okinawa, Japan, where he served as the Group Logistics Officer.   Following this assignment, Major General Crenshaw was selected to attend the Marine Corps Command and Staff College, Quantico, Virginia.  Upon graduation, he was assigned to the Defense Foreign Liaison Division, Defense Intelligence Agency, Washington, DC, as an Executive Agent to the Secretary of Defense and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.  In June 2002, Major General Crenshaw was assigned to the 2d Force Service Support Group, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina where he assumed command of the Headquarters and Service Battalion and deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.  In August 2004 Major General Crenshaw was selected to attend the Industrial College of the Armed Forces, National Defense University, in Washington, DC.  Subsequently, he was assigned to the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Joint Logistics Directorate, as the Division Chief, Joint Logistics Operations Center, at the Pentagon in Washington, DC.   In June 2007 he was assigned to the Department of Installations and Logistics (I&L) as the Special Assistant to the Assistant Deputy Commandant for I&L and Logistics Facilities for Defense Policy Review Initiatives.  In June 2008, Major General Crenshaw assumed command of Combat Logistics Regiment 25, 2d Marine Logistics Group, II Marine Expeditionary Force (MEF).  He was subsequently assigned as the Commanding General, 3d Marine Logistics Group, III MEF, Okinawa, Japan in June 2010.

In July 2012, Major General Crenshaw returned to the Joint Staff as the Vice Director, J-4, with a follow-on assignment as the Assistant Deputy Commandant for Installations and Logistics (LP), Headquarters, U.S. Marine Corps, in October 2013. From May 2015 to June 2018, Major General Crenshaw served as the Commanding General of Marine Corps Logistics Command Albany, Georgia, and transitioned in July 2018 as the Director, the Manpower Management Division, Department of Manpower and Reserve Affairs, Headquarters, U.S. Marine Corps. The position he held until his retirement in 2019.  As a career Marine, Major General Crenshaw's personal awards and decorations included the Distinguished Service Medal, Defense Superior Service Medal with oak leaf cluster in lieu of second award, the Legion of Merit, the Bronze Star, Defense Meritorious Service Medal with oak leaf cluster in lieu of second award, Meritorious Service Medal, Joint Service Achievement Medal, Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal, Combat Action Ribbon, and numerous unit awards and citations.

Brigadier General Donald Joseph Delandro, July 20, 1935 – January 29, 2021, was a United States Army brigadier general who served as Adjutant General of the United States Army from 1984 to 1985, the first African-American to serve in the position.

He was a 1956 cum laude graduate of Southern University and A&M College with a B.S. degree in business administration. Delandro later earned an M.B.A. degree from the University of Chicago.

Delandro entered the United States Army as a Second Lieutenant on August 27, 1956, at Fort Benning, Georgia. He served 30 years as an officer and retired as the Adjutant General, United States Army on September 30, 1985. After retiring from the Army Delandro founded Affordable Supply Company, Inc., a full-line service supply and management company in 1986.

Lieutenant General (Retired/Deceased) Edward Honor, became the first Southern University ROTC Battalion graduate to be promoted to General Officer.

LTG Honor served in the U.S. Army as Director of Logistics (J4) on the Joint Staff from 1987 to 1989. Promoted to brigadier general in 1979, he was the first African-American general officer in the Army Transportation Corps.

Honor was a co-founder of the African-American military officer-mentoring group The Rocks in 1974. He was promoted to major general in 1984 and lieutenant general in 1987.

Born in Melville, earned a B.A. degree in education in 1954. He was a member of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity.

Major General Charles Honoré is a 1956 graduate of Southern University where he majored in geography. Honoré was commissioned as a second lieutenant through the school’s ROTC program and received his officer’s rank in 1982. He served in the Vietnam War.

He earned the Distinguished Service Medal, the Legion of Merit, the Bronze Star Medal, two awards of the Meritorious Service Medal, the Air Medal, the Army Commendation Medal, and the Combat Infantryman Badge.

Honoré was Deputy Commanding General of the 5th Army when he retired.

Russel L. Honoré, born September 15, 1947), is a retired lieutenant general who served as the 33rd commanding general of the U.S. First Army at Fort Gillem, Georgia. He is best known for serving as commander of Joint Task Force Katrina responsible for coordinating military relief efforts for Hurricane Katrina–affected areas across the Gulf Coast and as the 2nd Infantry Division's commander while stationed in South Korea. He served until his retirement from the Army on January 11, 2008. Honoré is sometimes known as "The Ragin' Cajun.”

A native of Lakeland in Pointe Coupee Parish, and ninth of 12 children born to a Louisiana Créole family who settled in Pointe Coupée Parish. The Honoré family surname is still found among the Cane River Créoles.

Honoré earned a B.S. in vocational agriculture from Southern University and A&M College in 1971. He also holds an M.A. in human resources from Troy University as well as an honorary D.P.A. from Southern University and A&M College. He has received leadership development training from the international civilian Center for Creative Leadership

Prior to his appointment on July 15, 2004, as Commander of, the First United States Army, Honoré served in a variety of command and staff positions in South Korea and Germany. He served as Commanding General, of the 2nd Infantry Division in South Korea; Vice Director for Operations, J-3, The Joint Staff, Washington, D.C.; Deputy Commanding General and Assistant Commandant, United States Army Infantry Center and School, Fort Benning, Georgia; and Assistant Division Commander, Maneuver/Support, 1st Cavalry Division, Fort Hood, Texas.

On June 13, 2002, in South Korea, soldiers from the 2nd Infantry Division were on a training mission near the North Korean border when their vehicle hit and killed two 14-year-old girls on a narrow public road. In July 2002, the U.S. military indicted Sgt. Mark Walker and Sgt. Fernando Nino on charges of negligent homicide. They were later found not guilty. Honoré (then a major general) responded by visiting the victims' parents and promising the U.S. military would build a memorial near the accident site to honor the girls.

On January 15, 2021, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi announced that Honoré would lead a review of security failures following the U.S. Capitol attack that will focus on "security infrastructure, interagency processes and procedures, and command and control.”

On August 31, 2005, Honoré was designated commander of Joint Task Force Katrina responsible for coordinating military relief efforts for Hurricane Katrina-affected areas across the Gulf Coast.

His numerous awards and decorations include: Defense Distinguished Service Medal with oak leaf cluster, Army Distinguished Service Medal with oak leaf cluster, Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit (four Oak Leaf Clusters), Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal (three Oak Leaf Clusters), Army Commendation Medal (three Oak Leaf Clusters), Army Achievement Medal, Joint Meritorious Unit Award with two oak leaf clusters, Army Superior Unit Award, National Defense Service Medal (two Bronze Service Stars), Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, Southwest Asia Service Medal (one Bronze Service Star), Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Korean Defense Service Medal, Armed Forces Service Medal, Humanitarian Service Medal, Army Service Ribbon, Overseas Service Ribbon (with numeral 4), Kuwait Liberation Medal (Saudi Arabia), Kuwait Liberation Medal (Kuwait), Expert Infantryman Badge, Basic Parachutist Badge, Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Identification Badge.

Brig. Gen. Jude W. P. Patin earned his bachelor’s in architectural engineering in 1962 from Southern University and received his master’s from Arizona State University in industrial engineering in 1971.

Patin assumed command of the North Central Division of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in October 1989. He directed civil works activities in a 428,000-square-mile area that includes the Great Lakes and the Upper Mississippi River basins encompassing nearly 12 states.

He retired after a 30-year career in the Army and four years as Louisiana's secretary of transportation and development.

Major General Gregory Roundtree is a graduate of Southern University who served 32 years and led brigade-sized units during United States NATO operational deployments. He developed training programs for a corps-sized organization, orchestrated acquisition plans for both air defense and anti-armor systems, wrote program requirements and acquisition strategies for the Advanced Anti-Tank Weapon System, and supervised the production of the United States Army Air Defense long-range modernization strategy that focused on the Patriot, Stinger and Avenger.

After receiving his degree in psychology in 1970, Roundtree served in the Vietnam War.

Major General (Retired) Isaac Smith, a native of Wakefield, was in the Reserve Officers Training Corps at Southern University and A&M College, where he earned a B.S. in agriculture. He also earned a master's in public administration from Shippensburg State College. He also completed several military education courses and attended the U.S. Army War College.

His awards and decorations include the Distinguished Service Medal, the Silver Star, Defense Superior Service Medal, the Legion of Merit (with Oak Leaf Cluster), Bronze Star Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal (with Oak Leaf Cluster), and the Army Commendation Medal (with two Oak Leaf Clusters), and the Army General Staff Identification Badge.

According to The Rocks, Inc., website, he has held a wide variety of important command and staff positions including Deputy Chief of Staff, Personnel, U.S. Army, Europe and Seventh Army; Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations and Intelligence, Allied Forces Central Europe; Chief, Doctrine and Systems Integration Division, Requirements Directorate, Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations and Plans, U.S. Army, Washington, D.C.; Chief, Reserve Forces Division, Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army (Manpower and Reserve Affairs), Washington, D.C.; Commanding General, U.S. Army Second Reserve Officer Training Corps Region, Fort Knox, Kentucky; and Assistant Division Commander, 1st Armored Division, U.S. Army Europe.

Smith won several DOD awards and decorations including the Distinguished Service Medal, the Silver Star, Defense Superior Service Medal, the Legion of Merit (with Oak Leaf Cluster), Bronze Star Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal (with Oak Leaf Cluster), and the Army Commendation Medal (with two Oak Leaf Clusters).

In 1999, Smith was named "Rock of the Year" by The Rocks, Inc., an association of ROTC officers.

In 2006, Smith, by then a retired major general, received a citation from the Louisiana House of Representatives for his service to the United States, which was also passed by the Louisiana Senate.

Alumni Generals bio information compiled from information provided by:

• Wikipedia.org,
• BlackCollegeWire.org
• http://www.lanewsbureau.com/
• US Black Engineer & IT
• MCA–Marines.org