Lieutenant General Calvin Agustine Hoffman Waller (December 17, 1937, Baton Rouge, Louisiana - May 9, 1996, Washington, D.C.) was a high-ranking officer in the United States military.
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Waller, an African-American, graduated from Prairie View A&M University in Texas in 1959. He spent 32 years in the Army and served in Vietnam. He held a variety of staff and command positions which included: Chief of Staff, 24th Infantry Division (Mechanized), Fort Stewart, Georgia; Commanding General, 8th Infantry Division (Mechanized), V Corps, U.S. Army Europe and Seventh Army, and he was the deputy commander in chief for operations with U.S. Central Command (Forward) during Desert Storm. His last duty assignment was as commanding general, I Corps at Fort Lewis, Washington, before he retired on November 30, 1991.
During the 1993 Senate hearings on allowing homosexuals to serve openly in the US military, Waller vigorously opposed it. He declared that "to compare [his] service in American's armed forces with the integration of avowed homosexuals is personally offensive." [1]
Waller moved to Denver and served as president and chief executive officer of an environmental technology company, RKK Limited. He then became the senior vice president for the Department of Energy Programs for the ICF Kaiser Environmental and Energy Group. In July 1995, Waller became the Kaiser-Hill vice president for site operations and integration at Rocky Flats Environmental Technology Site.
Waller died on May 9, 1996, aged 58, of a heart attack in Washington, D.C.
Among his awards and decorations are the Defense Distinguished Service Medal, the Army Distinguished Service Medal (two awards), the Defense Superior Service Medal, Bronze Star (with Oak Leaf Cluster), the Meritorious Service Medal (with three Oak Leaf Clusters), the Air Medal, the Army Commendation Medal, Combat Infantryman Badge, and the Master Parachutist Badge.
Waller's civic awards include the Martin Luther King Jr. "Buffalo Soldier" Award from the Congress of Racial Equality, the Roy Wilkins Renown Service Award from the NAACP, the French Legion of Honor award from the Government of France and the "Star of Texas" award from the state of Texas.
"His rise from humble beginnings to one of the highest-ranking African-American officers in the U.S. military through stalwart determination and a record of excellence served as an inspiration to minority and non-minority officers," President Bill Clinton said on learning of his death. He cited Waller's reputation "as a skillful and disciplined professional and a caring, enthusiastic commander."