Joseph K. Bratton

Joseph K. Bratton
Born April 4, 1926
St. Paul, Minnesota
Died June 2, 2007 (aged 81)
McLean, Virginia
Allegiance  United States of America
Service/branch United States Army
Years of service 1948 - 1984
Rank Lieutenant General
Commands held Chief of Engineers
Battles/wars Korean War
Vietnam War
Awards Defense Distinguished Service Medal
Distinguished Service Medal
Legion of Merit (2)
Bronze Star (2)

Lieutenant General Joseph K. Bratton (April 4, 1926 – June 2, 2007) was an American Army officer and nuclear engineer.

Biography

Bratton was born in St. Paul, Minnesota. He graduated third in the class of 1948 at the United States Military Academy and was commissioned in the Corps of Engineers. He served with an engineer battalion in Austria from 1949 to 1952 and with the divisional 13th Engineer Combat Battalion in Korea in 1953 and 1954, both before and after the armistice there. He later commanded the 24th Engineer Battalion, 4th Armored Division, in Germany (1964–65) and the 159th Engineer Group in Vietnam (1969–70). Bratton also held numerous staff assignments. He was a military assistant to Secretary of the Army Stanley Resor from 1967 to 1969 and secretary to the Joint Chiefs of Staff from 1970 to 1972. Having received a master's degree in nuclear engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1959, Bratton served as Chief of Nuclear Activities, Supreme Headquarters, Allied Powers, Europe (SHAPE), from 1972 to 1975 and Director of Military Applications at the U.S. Department of Energy from 1975 to 1979. His last assignments before becoming Chief of Engineers in October 1980 were as Division Engineer of the Corps' South Atlantic Division (1979–80) and then briefly as Deputy Chief of Engineers.

Bratton died on June 2, 2007, of an aneurysm, at the age of 81 in Virginia. His wife had preceded him in death in 2006. He is interred in Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia.[1]

Awards and decorations

His military awards included;

Bronze star
Bronze star

Bronze star
Bronze star
Bronze star
Bronze star

1st row Defense Distinguished Service Medal Army Distinguished Service Medal Legion of Merit w/ 2 OLCs
2nd row Bronze Star w/ OLC Joint Service Commendation Medal Army Commendation Medal w/ three OLCs Army Achievement Medal
3rd row World War II Victory Medal Army of Occupation Medal National Defense Service Medal w/ OLC Korea Service Medal w/ two service stars
4th row Vietnam Service Medal w/ four service stars Armed Forces Honor Medal United Nations Korea Medal Vietnam Campaign Medal

See also

References

This article contains public domain text from "Lieutenant General Joseph K. Bratton". Portraits and Profiles of Chief Engineers. Archived from the original on June 19, 2005. Retrieved August 20, 2005.

Military offices
Preceded by
John W. Morris
Chief of Engineers
1980–1984
Succeeded by
Elvin R. Heiberg III