James H. Polk; Retired General, Fought in Europe, Korea
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James H. Polk, 80, the retired Army general who spearheaded Gen. George Patton’s drive across Europe in World War II. Polk headed the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, which led the 3rd Army’s advances through France and Germany and into Czechoslovakia. Later, he served in Tokyo, the Korean War and Berlin. In June, 1961, Polk took command of the 4th Armored Division, which guarded the border between West Germany and East Germany. He became U.S. commandant in Berlin in January, 1963, arriving in the divided city four months after the Berlin Wall was built. Polk was commander in chief of the U.S. Army in Europe from 1966 to 1971, when he retired. In El Paso, Tex., on Tuesday of cancer.
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