Thomas W. Dunn

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Lieutenant General Thomas W. Dunn, a native of Texas, was the last commanding general of U.S. First Army headquartered at Fort Jay, Governors Island, New York. He had previously been commanding general of I Corps in Korea before he assumed command of First Army on February 21, 1965.

With the consolodation of U.S. Second Army into First Army at Fort Meade, Maryland in January 1966, Dunn was assigned the post of commanding general of U.S. Fourth Army at Fort Sam Houston, Texas.

While there one of his aides, Major Richard H. Pearce defected with his 5-year old son to Cuba in May 1967. Pearce flew from Key West, Florida on what was a short pleasure flight and landed kin Cuba, requesting asylum, publicly stating he could no longer live in the United States. Pearce was on leave at the time and had concluded a divorce and was experiencing custody problems. Pearce returned to the United States on his own accord in November 1979. He plead guilty at a court-martial in 1980 and sentenced to one year. The sentence was dismissed, but he forfeited $200,000 in pay and allowances and was dismissed from the Army

Brigadier General Dunn was deputy commandant of the Army War College, when he took command of the Field Artillery Training Center at Fort Chaffee, Arkansas in April 1956.