Eric K. Shinseki (Born 1942)
Eric Ken Shinseki was born in Lihue, Kauai. He is a retired United States Army General who is currently serving as the 7th United States Secretary of Veterans Affairs. He graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1965 with a Bachelors of Science degree and a commission as a second lieutenant, and later earned a Master of Arts degree in English Literature from Duke University.
Shinseki completed two combat tours with the 9th and 25th Infantry Divisions in the Republic of Vietnam as an artillery forward observer and as a commander. Shinseki served in the Bosnian War as part of the NATO Stabilization Force, before returning to the United States to become the Vice Chief of Staff and later the Chief of Staff in 1999.
Shinseki's service spanned the years 1965 through 2003 and his awards included one United States Military Academy Distinguished Graduate Award, one Defense Distinguished Service Medal, one Army Distinguished Service Medal, two Legion of Merits, three Bronze Stars, two Purple Hearts, one Meritorious Service Medal, one Air Medal, and two Army Commendation Medals.
PHOTOS (CLICK A PHOTO TO VIEW)
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General Eric Shinseki, (right) and General Wesley Clark, (left) at Eagle Base, Tuzla, Bosnia-Herzegovina in July 1997.
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Army Chief of Staff Gen. Eric K. Shinseki answers a reporter's question during a press conference with Secretary of the Army Thomas E. White in the Pentagon on Sept. 14, 2001. Shinseki and White commented on the Sept. 11th terrorist attack on the United States.
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ARMY CHIEFS OF STAFF
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