{{Short description|United States Army general (1931–1995)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=December 2024}}{{Use American English|date=December 2024}} {{Infobox military person | name = Maxwell R. Thurman | image = Maxwell R Thurman.jpg | image_size = | alt = | caption = General Maxwell Reid Thurman | nickname = "Mad Max"<br />"Maxatollah" | birth_date = {{birth date|1931|2|18|df=y}}<ref>{{cite web |title=General Maxwell R. Thurman, Ordnance Corps Hall of Fame Inductee 1995, U.S. Army Ordnance Corps |url=https://goordnance.army.mil/HallOfFame/1990/1995/thurman.html |website=goordnance.army.mil |access-date=5 February 2024}}</ref> | birth_place = High Point, North Carolina, US | death_date = {{death date and age|1995|12|1|1931|2|18|df=y}}<ref>{{cite news |title='Mad Max' Thurman Dies |url=https://newspaperarchive.com/cedar-rapids-gazette-dec-02-1995-p-130/ |access-date=5 February 2024 |work=Cedar Rapids Gazette |date=2 December 1995 |language=en}}</ref> | death_place = Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Washington, D.C., US | burial_place = Arlington National Cemetery | allegiance = United States | branch = United States Army | service_years = 1953–1991 | rank = General | service_number = | unit = | commands = United States Southern Command<br />United States Army Training and Doctrine Command<br />Vice Chief of Staff of the United States Army<br />United States Army Recruiting Command<br />2d Howitzer Battalion, 35th Field Artillery Regiment | battles = 1958 Lebanon crisis<br />Vietnam War<br />Invasion of Panama | awards = Defense Distinguished Service Medal<br />Army Distinguished Service Medal (2)<br />Legion of Merit (2)<br />Bronze Star Medal (2) | relations = Lieutenant General John R. Thurman III (brother) | other_work = }} '''Maxwell Reid Thurman''' (18 February 1931 – 1 December 1995) was a United States Army general, who served as Vice Chief of Staff of the United States Army and commander of United States Army Training and Doctrine Command.
==Early life and education== Thurman attended North Carolina State University, graduating with a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering (ceramics).<ref>{{cite book |title=Department of Defense appropriations for 1983: hearings before a subcommittee of the Committee on Appropriations, House of Representatives, Ninety-seventh Congress, second session |date=1982 |publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office |page=784 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HlludnwUfgwC&dq=Maxwell+Thurman+%22chemical+engineering%22+North+Carolina+State+University&pg=PA784 |access-date=5 February 2024 |language=en}}</ref> While in college he was a member of the Professional Engineering Fraternity Theta Tau.<ref>{{cite web |title=GEN Maxwell Reid Thurman |url=https://militaryhallofhonor.com/honoree-record.php?id=343 |website=militaryhallofhonor.com |access-date=5 February 2024}}</ref>
==Military career== Thurman was commissioned a second lieutenant of Ordnance from NCSU's ROTC program in 1953 and branch transferred to Field Artillery.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Wilson |first1=George C. |title=GEN. MAXWELL R. THURMAN DIES AT 64 |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/1995/12/02/gen-maxwell-r-thurman-dies-at-64/5542cc8d-cadc-4e13-b988-e278296e24bb/ |access-date=5 February 2024 |newspaper=Washington Post |date=2 December 1995}}</ref> His first assignment was with the 11th Airborne Division, and in 1958 his Honest John Rocket platoon was deployed to Lebanon.
From 1961 to 1963 Thurman served in South Vietnam as an intelligence officer for South Vietnam's I Corps. Following his service in Vietnam, Thurman became one of the few non-Academy graduates ever assigned as a company tactical officer at the United States Military Academy. In 1966 he attended the Command and General Staff College, then returned to South Vietnam in 1967, where he assumed command of the 2d Howitzer Battalion, 35th Field Artillery Regiment in 1968.
===Later assignments=== After completing the United States Army War College in 1970, Thurman held numerous troop and staff assignments before assuming command of United States Army Recruiting Command in 1979, where he initiated the highly successful "BE ALL YOU CAN BE" recruiting campaign.<ref>{{cite web |title=All We Could Be: How an Advertising Campaign Helped Remake the Army |url=https://armyhistory.org/all-we-could-be-how-an-advertising-campaign-helped-remake-the-army/ |website=The Army Historical Foundation |access-date=5 February 2024 |date=20 January 2015}}</ref> From 1981 to 1983 he was Deputy Chief of Staff of the Army, Personnel (DCSPER) and from 1983 to 1987 he was the Vice Chief of Staff of the United States Army.
In 1989 Thurman applied for retirement while serving as Commanding General, United States Army Training and Doctrine Command. Instead, he was handpicked by President George H. W. Bush to be Commander-in-Chief, United States Southern Command (USSOUTHCOM). In this position, he planned and executed Operation Just Cause, the 1989 invasion of Panama.<ref>{{cite web |title=Operation Just Cause |url=https://history.army.mil/html/books/070/70-85-1/cmhPub_70-85-1.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150920201507/http://www.history.army.mil/html/books/070/70-85-1/cmhPub_70-85-1.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=20 September 2015 |website=history.army.mil |access-date=5 February 2024}}</ref>
==Later life and death== Thurman was diagnosed with acute myelogenous leukemia while still commander in chief of USSOUTHCOM, shortly after Operation Just Cause. He retired in 1991 after more than thirty-seven years of service, and died in 1995 at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, aged 64. A funeral service was held on December 7, 1995, at the Fort Myer, Virginia, chapel, followed by interment at Arlington National Cemetery (Section 30, Grave 416-A-LH).
Thurman, a lifelong bachelor, was survived by his brother, the late army Lieutenant General John R. Thurman III.
==Honors== Thurman's awards and decorations include the Defense Distinguished Service Medal, the Army Distinguished Service Medal, the Legion of Merit and the Bronze Star Medal with "V" device. In August 2010 Thurman was posthumously inducted into the Theta Tau Alumni Hall of Fame for outstanding contribution to his profession.
==Legacy== An award is given every year by the United States Army Medical Research and Materiel Command (MRMC) in honor of General Thurman.<ref>{{cite web |title=TAMC Provider Receives Prestigious Award |url=https://www.army.mil/article/135706/TAMC_Provider_Receives_Prestigious_Award/ |website=army.mil |date=14 October 2014 |access-date=5 February 2024}}</ref> The award is generally presented at the annual meeting of the American Telemedicine Association.
Thurman's image as a workaholic – captured by the nickname "Mad Max" – was as widespread as his reputation as a master organizer.{{citation needed|date=March 2017}} His posting as chief of U.S. Army Recruiting Command in 1979 is considered instrumental in remaking the Army's tarnished, post-Vietnam image and attracting new generations of highly motivated recruits.
==Awards and decorations== * 80px Master Parachutist Badge * 100px Joint Chiefs of Staff Identification Badge * 100px Army Staff Identification Badge {| |- |{{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=Defense Distinguished Service Medal ribbon.svg|width=60}} |Defense Distinguished Service Medal |- |{{Ribbon devices|number=1|type=oak|ribbon=Distinguished Service Medal ribbon.svg|width=60}} |Army Distinguished Service Medal with one bronze oak leaf cluster |- |{{Ribbon devices|number=1|type=oak|ribbon=Legion of Merit ribbon.svg|width=60}} |Legion of Merit with oak leaf cluster |- |{{Ribbon devices|number=1|type=oak|other_device=v|ribbon=Bronze Star ribbon.svg|width=60}} |Bronze Star Medal with "V" Device and Oak Leaf Cluster |- |{{Ribbon devices|number=1|type=oak|ribbon=Meritorious Service Medal ribbon.svg|width=60}} |Meritorious Service Medal with oak leaf cluster |- |{{Ribbon devices|number=|type=|ribbon=Air Medal ribbon.svg|width=60}}<span style="position:relative; top: 1px; left: -37px; display: inline-block; width: 0;">14px</span> |Air Medal (3 awards) |- |{{Ribbon devices|number=1|type=oak|ribbon=Army Commendation Medal ribbon.svg|width=60}} |Army Commendation Medal with oak leaf cluster |- |{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=Us_jointservachiev_rib.svg|width=60}} |Joint Service Achievement Medal |- |{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=Meritorious_Unit_Commendation_ribbon.svg|width=60}} |Meritorious Unit Commendation |- |{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=SSS Distinguished Service.png|width=60}} |Selective Service System Distinguished Service Medal |- |{{Ribbon devices|number=2|type=service-star|name=National Defense Service Medal ribbon|width=60}} |National Defense Service Medal with two Service stars |- |{{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=service-star|ribbon=Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal ribbon.svg|width=60}} |Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal |- |{{Ribbon devices|number=4|type=service-star|other_device=bss|name=Vietnam Service Ribbon|width=60}} |Vietnam Service Medal with five Service stars |- |{{Ribbon devices|number=|type=|ribbon=Army Service Ribbon.svg|width=60}} |Army Service Ribbon |- |{{Ribbon devices|number=|type=|ribbon=Army Overseas Service Ribbon.svg|width=60}} |Army Overseas Service Ribbon |- |{{Ribbon devices|number=|type=|ribbon=Vietnam Armed Forces Honor Medal ribbon-First Class.svg|width=60}} |Vietnam Armed Forces Honor Medal 1st class |- |{{Ribbon devices|number=|type=|ribbon=Ordre_national_du_Merite_Commandeur_ribbon.svg|width=60}} |National Order of Merit (France) (Commander) |- |{{Ribbon devices|number=|type=|ribbon=GER_Bundeswehr_Honour_Cross_Gold_ribbon.svg|width=60}} |Badge of Honour of the Bundeswehr in gold (Germany) |- |60px |Carabobo Star (Venezuela) |- |60px |Vietnam Gallantry Cross Unit Citation |- |60px |Civil Actions Medal Unit Citation (Vietnam) |- |{{Ribbon devices|number=|type=|ribbon=Vietnam Campaign Medal ribbon with 60- clasp.svg|width=60}} |Vietnam Campaign Medal |}
==References== {{reflist}} {{USGovernment|url=http://www-cgsc.army.mil/carl/resources/ftlvn/postww.asp#thurman|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080314111617/http://www-cgsc.army.mil/carl/resources/ftlvn/postww.asp|archive-date=2008-03-14|title=Post-World War II|work=CGSC Hall of Fame|agency=United States Army}}
==External links== * [https://ancexplorer.army.mil/publicwmv/#/arlington-national/search/results/1/Cgd0aHVybWFuEgdtYXh3ZWxs/ Arlington National Cemetery] * [http://www.ncsu.edu/about-nc-state/university-administration/board-of-trustees/honorary-degrees/degrees-conferred/thurman.html NCSU Military Bio]{{failed verification|date=November 2020}} * State Grads Develop Army Manpower – April 1985 [http://www.alumni.ncsu.edu/military/1985april.html] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090529124202/http://www.alumni.ncsu.edu/military/1985april.html |date=2009-05-29 }} * [http://www.ncsu.edu/army_rotc/General%20Maxwell%20R%20Thurman.doc NCSU Army ROTC Bio]{{failed verification|date=November 2020}} * [http://www.ncsu.edu/army_rotc/Alumni%201950%20-%201959.html NCSU Army ROTC Alumni – 1953]{{failed verification|date=November 2020}} <!-- [http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/mthurman.htm Arlingtoncemetery.net entry] This website is not RS, basically SPS with WP:LINKVIO , the quotes or text are not verified. but it is kept here with hopes it can assist-->
{{s-start}} {{s-mil}} {{succession box | before=John A. Wickham Jr. | title=Vice Chief of Staff of the United States Army | after=Arthur E. Brown Jr. | years=1983–1987 }} {{succession box |before = Carl E. Vuono |title = Commanding General, United States Army Training and Doctrine Command |years = 1987–1989 |after = John W. Foss}} {{succession box |before = Frederick Woerner |title = United States Southern Command |years = 1989–1990 |after = George A. Joulwan}} {{s-end}} {{US Army Chiefs of Staff}} {{SouthComHeads}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Thurman, Maxwell}} Category:United States Army generals Category:Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army) Category:Recipients of the Legion of Merit Category:United States Army personnel of the Vietnam War Category:Burials at Arlington National Cemetery Category:1931 births Category:1995 deaths Category:United States Army Field Artillery Branch personnel Category:North Carolina State University alumni Category:People from High Point, North Carolina Category:United States Army vice chiefs of staff Category:Deaths from leukemia in Washington, D.C. Category:United States Army Command and General Staff College alumni Category:Recipients of the Defense Distinguished Service Medal