Alva R. Fitch

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Alva R. Fitch
September 10, 1907 - November 25, 1989

Place of birth	Amherst, Nebraska
Place of death	Washington, D.C.
Allegiance	United States Army
Years of service	34 years
Rank	Lieutenant General
Commands	Third Armored Division
Battles/wars	Battle of Bataan Korean War
Awards	Distinguished Service Cross Distinguished Service Medal Silver Star

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Alva Revista Fitch (September 10, 1907–November 25, 1989) was a Lieutenant General in the United States Army and was Deputy Director of Defense Intelligence Agency from 1946 to 1964. From October 16, 1961 to January 5, 1964, Fitch served as the Assistant Chief of Staff for Intelligence, Headquarters, Department of the Army.

Born in Amherst, Nebraska on September 10, 1907, Fitch was the first Eagle Scout in Nebraska, and one of the very earliest west of the Mississippi River. He graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1930 and became a career Army officer. While a Major, he commanded artillery units in the Philippines early in World War II. A survivor of the Bataan Death March in 1942, he was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross and the Silver Star for heroism and courage in combat and while a captive of the Japanese. After the Battle of Bataan, he was taken prisoner-of-war and was not released until the war was concluded. He was held at Cabanatuan and later Fukuoka prison camps, and as a result of multiple illnesses and injuries, was not released from Tripler Army Medical Center until well into 1947.

In the Korean War, Fitch was an artillery commander and then commanded the Third Armored Division in West Germany. He later served as Chief of Staff of Army Intelligence before being named to the Defense Intelligence Agency post in 1946. He retired from active duty in 1964 and was military editor of the Kiplinger Newsletter from 1964 to 1975.

General Fitch died at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Washington, D.C., on November 25, 1989 and was buried in Section 30 of Arlington National Cemetery. General Fitch is a member of the Military Intelligence Hall of Fame.

[edit] Trivia

General Fitch was Elvis Presley's commanding officer during the singer's stint in the Army from 1958 to 1960.
Future U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell was a lieutenant with the Third Armored Division under General Fitch.

[edit] References

Black, J. K. United States Penetration of Brazil. 1977 (page 183, 188)
Fitch, A. R. Autobiography of Alva Revista Fitch, Fitch family genealogy collection, unpublished, 1984, page 4
Mader, Julius Who's Who in CIA. 1968
Newman, J. JFK and Vietnam. 1992 (page 33, 186)
Powers, T. The Man Who Kept the Secrets. 1981 (page 271)