Military career

Born in Bangor, Maine, Walter Ulmer graduated from West Point in the Class of 1952. Commissioned a second lieutenant of Armor, he commanded companies in the 56th Amphibious Tank and Tractor Battalion in Korea, the 6th Tank Battalion, 24th Infantry Division in Japan, and the 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment of the 82nd Airborne Division. In 1958, he was assigned to the Department of Military Topography and Graphics at West Point, and, following that tour, he attended the Command and General Staff College. After graduation he deployed to Vietnam, serving with the U.S. Military Assistance Command and as senior advisor to a Vietnamese Infantry regiment. Upon his return to the United States, he held high-level staff positions and commanded the 1st Squadron, 17th Cavalry, 82nd Airborne Division from 1967 to 1968.

General Ulmer then attended the Army War College and was subsequently selected for duty on its faculty. There, he directed a comprehensive and seminal study of leadership within the Army, profoundly influencing the way its techniques were inculcated throughout the Army of the 1970s. In 1972, then-Colonel Ulmer returned to Vietnam, where he was Chief, Combat Assistance Team 70, during 62 days of intense combat in the Battle and Siege of An Loc. For its extraordinary heroism against a North Vietnamese force greatly outnumbering the Army Republic of Vietnam defenders, Combat Assistance Team 70 was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation. The citation documents the team’s pivotal role in turning back the North Vietnamese Army’s massive surprise offensive of 1972. In 1973, General Ulmer completed a master’s degree in Regional Planning from Pennsylvania State University. Subsequently, he was commander of the 194th Armor Brigade

194th Armored Brigade (United States)

In 1962, the 194th Armored Brigade was assigned to the US Army's Combat Developments Command to test new materiel at Fort Ord, California. It assumed the mission of the tank battalion of the 5th Infantry Division previously there. The next change occurred in the mid 1960s amid Army-wide reductions...

 and, then, Deputy Commander, U.S. Army Armor Center, Fort Knox. In 1975, Brigadier General Ulmer returned to West Point as the 56th Commandant of Cadets. In 1975, Ulmer served as Commandant of Cadets at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, where he presided over the first admission of female cadets, and one of West Point's biggest embarrassments, the Class of 1977 cheating scandal involving several hundred of the junior classmen (Ulmer recommended expulsion of all cadets found guilty of cheating on an electrical engineering exam, but was overruled).

General Ulmer commanded the 3rd Armored Division in Germany and, later, during his service as Commanding General, III Corps, Fort Hood, Texas. Following promotion to Lieutenant General, he commanded III Corps from 1982 to 1985 In 1985, General Ulmer retired after thirty-three years of distinguished military service. His awards and decorations include the Silver Star with Oak Leaf Cluster, the Distinguished Service Medal, the Bronze Star with Oak Leaf Cluster, the Air Medal with “V” Device, and decorations awarded by the Republic of Korea, the Republic of Vietnam, and the Federal Republic of Germany.

Awards and decorations

Lieutenant General Ulmer's awards and decorations include:

•   Distinguished Service Medal
  Distinguished Service Medal (United States)
  The Distinguished Service Medal is the highest non-valorous military and civilian decoration of the United States military which is issued for exceptionally meritorious service to the government of the United States in either a senior government service position or as a senior officer of the United...
  
  
• 
    Silver Star
  Silver Star
  The Silver Star is the third-highest combat military decoration that can be awarded to a member of any branch of the United States armed forces for valor in the face of the enemy....
  
   with one oak leaf cluster
•   Bronze Star
  Bronze Star Medal
  The Bronze Star Medal is a United States Armed Forces individual military decoration that may be awarded for bravery, acts of merit, or meritorious service. As a medal it is awarded for merit, and with the "V" for valor device it is awarded for heroism. It is the fourth-highest combat award of the...
  
   with one oak leaf cluster
• 
    Air Medal
  Air Medal
  The Air Medal is a military decoration of the United States. The award was created in 1942, and is awarded for meritorious achievement while participating in aerial flight.-Criteria:...
  
   (with Valor Device
  Valor device
  The Valor device is an award of the United States military which is a bronze attachment to certain medals to indicate that it was received for valor...
  
  )
• 
    Army Presidential Unit Citation
•   Vietnam Service Medal
  Vietnam Service Medal
  The Vietnam Service Medal is a military award which was created in 1965 by order of President Lyndon B. Johnson. The distinctive design was the creation of sculptor Thomas Hudson Jones, a former employee of the Army Institute of Heraldry. The medal is issued to recognize military service during...
  
  
•   Overseas Service Ribbon
  Overseas Service Ribbon
  An Overseas Service Ribbon is a service military award of the United States military which recognizes those service members who have performed military tours of duty outside the borders of the United States of America. There are different versions of the Overseas Service Ribbons for the U.S. Army,...