FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
General Donn A. Starry Dead at 86
(CANTON, Ohio – August 26, 2011) – Retired U. S. Army 4-Star General Donn Starry went to be with the Lord on August 26, a spokesman for the Army reported Friday.
General Starry, born May 31, 1925, was married to the former Leatrice (Letty) Gibbs of Kansas City, Kansas. They have four children and seven grandchildren. On April 10, 2010, he celebrated his new marriage to a long time friend, Karen (Cookie) Deitrick of Canton, Ohio.
General Donn Albert Starry graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1948, and served as Commanding General, United States Army Training and Doctrine Command from 1977 to 1981 and as Commander in Chief, U.S. Readiness Command from 1981 to 1983. Credited with laying out the US AirLand Battle Doctrine, General Starry is the author of numerous articles and a book, entitled “PRESS ON,” a two-volume set of selected stories from his life and military career. His awards and decorations include the Defense Distinguished Service Medal, two awards of the Army Distinguished Service Medal, the Silver Star, the Bronze Star with “V” device, the Soldier’s Medal, the Purple Heart, the Legion of Merit with two Oak Leaf Clusters, the Distinguished Flying Cross, and the Air Medal with nine Oak Leaf Clusters.
After retiring from the military, General Starry joined Ford Aerospace, serving first as Vice President and General Manager of Ford’s Space Missions Group, and later as Executive Vice President of Ford Aerospace and Special Assistant to the Chief Executive Officer of BDM International. He served as a member of the Board of Maxwell Laboratories from 1988 to 1993, and from 1996 to 1998 was Chairman of the Board as the company became Maxwell Technologies. He has also served as Chairman of the Board of Universal Voltronics in Brookfield, Connecticut. In 1991 he became a Senior Fellow on the faculty of the Joint and Combined Warfighting School at the Joint Forces Staff College.
In recent years General Starry served a Chairman of the Board of the U.S. Calvary Memorial Foundation and a member of the Washington Institute of Foreign Affairs. At the Pentagon, earlier this summer, General Starry became the 10th inductee into the Force Management Hall of Fame.
Most recently, General Starry was honored at a Veterans Recognition Ceremony held in Medina, Ohio, where he remarked, “Fitness for duty in The United States’ all-professional, all-volunteer Army begins with leadership and its ability to instill values and develop a new paradigm in pedagogy that goes beyond conventional academic models and methods, and utilizes the latest in hypermedia technology and authentic learning to prepare soldiers to be fully engaged in the 21st Century.”
Army Ethics rest on a Bedrock of Seven Army Values
Loyalty ● Duty ● Respect ● Selfless Service ● Honor ● Integrity● Personal Courage