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Former Sgt. Maj. of the Army George W. Dunaway discusses his career Friday in North Las Vegas. Photo by Christine H. Wetzel.

Saturday, June 15, 2002
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

TURNING 227: Army's birthday celebrated

Former highest ranking soldier reflects on career

They had their cake and ate it too.

But the symbolic icing on the Army's 227th birthday celebration Friday was a patriotic speech by Las Vegan George W. Dunaway, who was the second soldier of only 12 who have served as the nation's sergeant major of the Army.

"It is not a coincidence that the Army is celebrating its 227th birthday and our stars and stripes," he said on Flag Day while standing outside the 6th Recruiting Brigade office in North Las Vegas.

"Wherever our Army goes, our flag goes with us. Whatever the challenge, America can always count on the Army to be there," said Dunaway, 79, a native of Richmond, Va. who sported a red-white-and-blue tie and spoke with a Southern drawl.

"Every man and woman who has served in the Army can take pride in what they have done," he said, noting that on Sept. 11, "we lost 68 members of our Army family at the Pentagon."

Dunaway was served the first piece of a cake at the event. A soldier in the 6th Recruiting Brigade sliced it with a saber.

Afterward, Dunaway spoke about Sept. 11.

"It was some blow to the morale of all the military," he said. "It caught them off-guard. They'll recover. This is a different type of war. It's going to take time to recover.

"They're doing the job. Believe me, we will win in the end."

As sergeant major of the Army from 1968 to 1970, Dunaway was the highest ranking enlisted man in the Army.

He would advise Gen. William C. Westmoreland through meetings and disposition papers about the Vietnam War from the combat soldier's perspective.

Dunaway was a member of the 517th Combat Team that served in France in World War II and spent much of his career as an Airborne Ranger, including the 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell, Ky.

From Fort Campbell in 1961, he led the 1st Special Force Group in the Pacific and later the 5th Special Force Group in Vietnam until June 1967.

His awards include the Distinguished Service Medal, Silver Star, Legion of Merit, the Bronze Star Medal and the Purple Heart.