Brigadier General Joseph W. Kinzer, US Army was Honored at the March 8, 2023 DAR Meeting

Lieutenant General Joseph W. Kinzer, born 7 July 1939, is a native of Westminster, Maryland. He enlisted in the US Army in 1959 and served at Fort Benning, Georgia; Fort Meyer,Virginia; and Europe before being commissioned through the Officer Candidate School at Fort Benning, Georgia in 1964. He holds a Bachelors Degree in History from the University of Tampa, Florida, and a Masters Degree in Public Administration from Shippensburg University, Shippensburg, Pennsylvania.

General Kinzer is a graduate of the Infantry Officer Candidate School, the Armor Advanced Course, Command and Staff College, and the Army War College. His commissioned service initially included two tours of duty with the 82nd Airborne Division where he served with the 1-325th and 2-204th Airborne Infantry Battalions as Recon Platoon Leader, Company Executive Officer, Company Commander, and Battalion S3. His service also included seven months in the Dominican Republic in 1965 with the 82nd Division. During two tours of duty in the Republic of Vietnam, General Kinzer served as an advisor to the 7th Airborne Battalion, Army of the Republic of Vietnam as Operations Officer and Assistant Secretary to the General Staf of the 24th US Corps in DaNang, Vietnam.

From June 19794 to June 1977 he served as a Tactical Officer at the United States Military Academy at West Point. From June 1977 until May 1983 he served with the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. While at Fort Campbell his assignments included Executive Officer, 1-506th Infantry, Plans Officer for the 101st Division G3/DPt, Deputy G3, and Commander 2-5 03d Infantry Battalion from March 1980 to February 1983. Returning to Fort Bragg in November 1985 he served as the G3 82d Airborne Division as Director of Operations XVIII Corps. Following these assignments, General Kinzer returned to Fort Campbell in November 1986 to command the 3d Brigade 101st Airborne Division.

Reassigned to Fort Bragg in November 1988 and promoted to Brigadier General, he served as the Deputy Commanding General for Operations 82d Airborne Division until January 1990. From February 1990 to September 1992, he served as the Deputy Commanding General of the United States Army South and Task Force South in Panama. Reassigned to the Pentagon in September 1992, General Kinzer served as the Deputy Director and Director of Operations, Mobilization, and Readiness for the Department of the Army at Headquarters Department of the Army until August 1994 when he was reassigned to Fort Sam Houston, Texas as the Deputy Commanding General 5th United States Army. From March 1995 to March 1996 he served as the Commanding General of the United States Forces and United Nations Forces in Haiti. Returning to Fort Sam Houston in March 1996. He relinquished command of the 5th Army of August 1998 and retired from active duty after serving 39 plus years of service on 31 August 1998.