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First Name: George

Last Name: Dunaway

Birthplace: Richmond, VA, USA

Gender: Male

Branch: Army (1784 - present)



Middle Name: W.



Date of Birth: 24 July 1922



Rank: Sergeant Major of the Army

Years Served: 1943 - 1970
George W. Dunaway

   
Engagements:
•  World War II (1941 - 1945)
•  Korean War (1950 - 1953)
•  Vietnam War (1960 - 1973)

Biography:

George W. Dunaway
2nd Sergeant Major of the Army

George W. Dunaway was born in Richmond, VA, on 24 July 1922.

After attending the Airborne Course in August 1943, Dunaway remained at Fort Benning, GA, as an Airborne School Instructor until January 1945 when he joined the 517th Combat Team in France as a platoon sergeant. He returned to Fort Benning in December 1945 with assignment to the 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment where he served as First Sergeant of Company A. In March 1948, Dunaway was reassigned to the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, NC. There he became a member of the 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment as Operations Sergeant, ascending to the Regimental Sergeant Major position in 1952.

In early 1954, he transferred to the 187th Regimental Combat Team as the combat team sergeant major. He continued in that position for seven years during which he saw the Airborne Regimental Combat Team renamed as the 187th Infantry, when the 101st Airborne Division was reactivated on 21 September 1956, at Fort Campbell, KY. Departing Fort Campbell in 1961, he took the reins of the 1st Special Forces Group, 1st Special Forces in U.S. Army, Pacific and later moved to the 5th Special Forces Group in Vietnam, where he remained until June 1967.

Returning to the U. S., he re-joined the 101st Airborne Division as it prepared to move to Vietnam in the largest unit deployment by air in the history of the Vietnam war. Dunaway arrived in Vietnam with the Commanding General's Command Group on 13 December 1967. In February 1968, he moved to Camp Eagle in the I Corps Tactical Zone with the Division where he remained until July 1968 when he was selected as the second Sergeant Major of the Army.

Dunaway was sworn in as the second Sergeant Major of the Army on 1 September 1968, and served until his term ended in September of 1970.

Medals, Awards & Badges

Distinguished Service Medal
Silver Star Medal
Legion of Merit
Bronze Star Medal with Combat Valor Device
Purple Heart
Air Medal with Combat Valor Device
Army Commendation Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster
Good Conduct Medal
European-African Middle Eastern Campaign Medal
World War II Victory Medal, National Defense Service Medal
Vietnam Service Medal with Four Service Stars
Vietnamese Armed Forces Honor Medal, Second Class
Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry
Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal
Combat Infantryman Badge with Star (2nd Award)
Master Parachutist Badge

Death & Burial

Sergeant Major of the Army George W. Dunaway died of heart disease on 6 February 2008 at his home in Las Vegas, NV. He is buried at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, VA, in Section 34, Site 141-A-1.



Honoree ID: 227027   Created by: MHOH

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