Lieutenant General Calvin Agustine Hoffman Waller (December 17, 1937, Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Louisiana

Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...

 - May 9, 1996, Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

) was a high-ranking officer in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 military.

Career

Waller, an African-American, graduated from Prairie View A&M University

Prairie View A&M University

Prairie View A&M University is a historically black university located in Prairie View, Texas and is a member of the Texas A&M University System. PVAMU offers baccalaureate degrees in 50 academic majors, 37 master’s degrees and four doctoral degree programs through nine colleges and schools...

 in Texas

Texas

Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

 in 1959. He spent 32 years in the Army

United States Army

The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...

 and served in Vietnam

Vietnam War

The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...

. He held a variety of staff and command positions which included: Chief of Staff

Chief of Staff

The title, chief of staff, identifies the leader of a complex organization, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a Principal Staff Officer , who is the coordinator of the supporting staff or a primary aide to an important individual, such as a president.In general, a chief of...

, 24th Infantry Division (Mechanized), Fort Stewart

Fort Stewart

Fort Stewart is a census-designated place and U.S. Army post primarily in Liberty County and Bryan County, but also extending into smaller portions of Evans, Long, and Tattnall Counties in Georgia, USA. The population was 11,205 at the 2000 census...

, Georgia

Georgia (U.S. state)

Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...

; 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

Gulf War

The Persian Gulf War , commonly referred to as simply the Gulf War, was a war waged by a U.N.-authorized coalition force from 34 nations led by the United States, against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion and annexation of Kuwait.The war is also known under other names, such as the First Gulf...

. His last duty assignment was as commanding general, I Corps at Fort Lewis

Fort Lewis

Joint Base Lewis-McChord is a United States military facility located south-southwest of Tacoma, Washington. The facility is under the jurisdiction of the United States Army Joint Base Garrison, Joint Base Lewis-McChord....

, Washington, before he retired on November 30, 1991.

Don't Ask Don't Tell

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."

Post-Army roles

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

Rocky Flats Plant

The Rocky Flats Plant was a United States nuclear weapons production facility near Denver, Colorado that operated from 1952 to 1992. It was under the control of the United States Atomic Energy Commission until 1977, when it was replaced by the Department of Energy .-1950s:Following World War II,...

 Environmental Technology Site.

Decorations

Among his awards and decorations are the Defense Distinguished Service Medal

Defense Distinguished Service Medal

The Defense Distinguished Service Medal is a United States military award which is presented for exceptionally distinguished performance of duty contributing to national security or defense of the United States...

, the Army Distinguished Service Medal (two awards), the Defense Superior Service Medal, Bronze Star (with Oak Leaf Cluster), the Meritorious Service Medal

Meritorious Service Medal (United States)

The Meritorious Service Medal is a military decoration presented to members of the United States Armed Forces who distinguished themselves by outstanding meritorious achievement or service to the United States subsequent to January 16, 1969...

 (with three Oak Leaf Clusters), the Air Medal

Air Medal

The Air Medal is a military decoration of the United States. The award was created in 1942, and is awarded for meritorious achievement while participating in aerial flight.-Criteria:...

, the Army Commendation Medal, Combat Infantryman Badge

Combat Infantryman Badge

The Combat Infantryman Badge is the U.S. Army combat service recognition decoration awarded to soldiers—enlisted men and officers holding colonel rank or below, who personally fought in active ground combat while an assigned member of either an infantry or a Special Forces unit, of brigade size...

, and the Master Parachutist Badge.

Waller's civic awards include the Martin Luther King Jr. "Buffalo Soldier" Award from the Congress of Racial Equality

Congress of Racial Equality

The Congress of Racial Equality or CORE was a U.S. civil rights organization that originally played a pivotal role for African-Americans in the Civil Rights Movement...

, the Roy Wilkins Renown Service Award from the NAACP, the French

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 Legion of Honor

Légion d'honneur

The Legion of Honour, or in full the National Order of the Legion of Honour is a French order established by Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of the Consulat which succeeded to the First Republic, on 19 May 1802...

 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

Bill Clinton

William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...

said on learning of his death. He cited Waller's reputation "as a skillful and disciplined professional and a caring, enthusiastic commander."