Colin L. Powell was born in New York City and raised in the South Bronx. The Army commissioned him a 2d Lieutenant following his June 1958 graduation from the City College of New York and its Reserve Officer Training Corps. On Christmas Day 1962, Powell arrived in Vietnam as a newly minted Captain. His first of two-tours was as an advisor to a battalion of the 1st ARVN Division. He was wounded when he stepped on a punji steak boobytrap while on patrol in the Ashau Valley. Consequently, he spent the last four months of his tour as an assistant on the division staff in the operations office. He returned to the U.S. the week President Kennedy was killed – November 1963. Powell returned to Vietnam as a major in 1968, serving as assistant chief of staff of operations for the 23rd (Americal) Infantry Division. During his second tour in Vietnam he was decorated with the Soldier's Medal for bravery after he survived a helicopter crash and single-handedly rescued three others, including division commander Major General Charles M. Gettys, from the burning wreckage. General Powell was a professional soldier for 35 years, his last assignment, from October 1989 to September 1993, was as the 12th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the highest military position in the Department of Defense. He later served as the 65th United States Secretary of State under President George W. Bush.

Key Words: ROTC, ARVN, punji stake, Arc Light, corruption, My Lai, Cessna L-19 Bird Dog, Kodachrome tapes, George Washington University, tear gas, White House fellowship, Secretary of State, Weinberger’s six principles, Weinberger Doctrine, Powell Doctrine, Panama, Operation JUST CAUSE, Operation DESERT STORM, National War College, CJCS (chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff)

Key People: Ho Chi Minh, General Vo Nguyen Giap, Japanese Foreign Minister Makiko Tanaka, Secretary of Defense Caspar “Cap” Weinberger, General Manuel Antonio Noriega, Secretary of Defense Richard “Dick” Cheney, General H. Norman “Stormin’ Norman” Schwarzkopf Jr., Lieutenant General Carmen Cavezza