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<em>John Knight Waters </em>was born in 1906 in Baltimore, Maryland, the second of three sons. He grew up on a farm in the Greenspring Valley and attended schools in Baltimore. In 1925, he entered Johns Hopkins University as a pre-med student; however, after two years he decided that he wanted to become a soldier. Unable to secure a West Point appointment from Maryland, he drove to Champaign, Illinois. Sleeping on the floor of the State Capital, he qualified as a resident and entered the Academy in the fall of 1927. During his cadet career he played soccer, hockey, and lacrosse and was selected captain of hockey during his final year. To top off his splendid record as a member of the Corps of Cadets, he was named First Captain of the Class of 1931.</p>
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Upon graduation, John was assigned to the 3d Cavalry Regiment at Fort Meyer, Virginia. While serving there he met and dated Beatrice Ayer Patton, the daughter of Colonel and Mrs. George S. Patton, Jr. She was to become his wife. During his Fort Meyer tour, John Waters participated in the so-called Battle of Anacostia, otherwise known as the Bonus Marchers incident. He did not care for this particular duty.</p>
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In 1934, John was transferred to the Cavalry School at Ft. Riley, Kansas and, upon completion, was assigned to the 13th Cavalry Regiment stationed there. It was also during this time that he married Beatrice. Graduating from the advanced equitation course at Riley in 1937, John was assigned to the Washington area as an aide-de-camp to President Roosevelt. This tour lasted but a year, and, as 1938 arrived, the Waters moved to West Point, where John was assigned to the Department of Tactics. Old grads still love to talk about their “A Co” tac, “Jake” Waters, the “spooniest officer on the post.” During this tour both of the Waters sons, John K., Jr. and George Patton Waters, saw the first light of day.</p>
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In 1941, the Waters family departed West Point and moved to Fort Benning, Georgia, the home of the 2d Armored Division, “Hell on Wheels.” John’s first assignment was with the 1st Battalion, 68th Armored Regiment, and later the 3d Battalion, 67th Armored Regiment.</p>
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As the need for U.S. participation in World War II increased, the 1st Armored Division was marked for deployment, and, at the very last minute, Waters was transferred to the unit. Following a short shakedown in Northem Ireland, “Old Ironsides” was deployed to North Africa and landed near Oran in Tunisia. As the battle for Kasserine Pass heated up, Waters was assigned as commander of a task force on a hill known as Djebel Lessouda. Here, he was overrun by elements of the 10th Panzer Division, and, because his unit’s position and status were revealed by a traitorous Arab herdsman, he was captured. Years later, as a guest of the Tunisian armed forces, Waters revisited Djebel Lessouda with members of his family.</p>
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John was interned at Oflag 64 in Szubin, Poland. He remained there until early 1945, when the retreating Nazis moved the prisoners to a camp at Hammelburg. There, John, as senior American officer, became camp commander and was responsible for organizing a chain of command as well as many committees, the least of which was the Escape Committee.</p>
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Meanwhile, John’s father-in-law, General George S. Patton, Jr., and his Third Army were pushing towards the East. Learning of the American camp at Hammelburg, General Patton dispatched a Task Force, TF Baum, to liberate it. When word reached the Germans about the relief column, John was ordered to march the entire contingent of POWs to the railroad station for relocation to a safer camp to the East. As John, at the head of the column, with a white flag in his arms, made his way through the gate, a German deserter took them under fire, seriously wounding John and forcing the column back into the camp. Dr. Radijian Danich, a prominent Serbian surgeon interned in a neighboring camp, operated on John and saved his life. T. F. Baum subsequently entered the camp, but was unable to liberate the POWs. There were questions raised about this action and whether General Patton had known that his son-in-law was in Hammelburg. John always stated that he did not believe that Patton knew he was in Hammelburg. John was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for his actions while at Hammelburg and during the ill-fated liberation attempt. He always maintained that it was the actions of his fellow POWs that should have been rcognized and that he was only doing his job. The wound received during the liberation attempt was a source of sickness for the rest of his life.</p>
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In early 1946, John Waters was returned to duty as aide to Secretary of War Robert P. Patterson. He attended Leavenworth in 1947 and from there was assigned to the Armed Forces Staff College, Norfolk, Virginia, graduating in 1949. He was selected Assistant Commandant of Cadets at West Point and, in 1951, was appointed Commandant. This was the last time a colonel would be assigned to that position.</p>
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In July 1952, Waters was promoted to brigadier general and went to Korea as Chief of Staff, I Corps. During this time, his wife Beatrice, who was living in Highland Falls, died suddenly. Returning home in 1953, a widower with two young sons, he was assigned to the Armored Center at Fort Knox as Deputy Commanding General. He was transferred to Fort Hood, Texas in 1954. There he served as Assistant Division Commander and Commander of the newly reactivated 4th Armored Division, which was destined for assignment to Seventh Army in Europe. He was promoted to major general in the fall of 1955 and selected as Chief of the American Military Assistance Staff in Belgrade, Yugoslavia. During this tour he was able to renew many old World War II friendships with the Serbians who had been interned with him at Hammelburg. Included in this group was Dr. Danich.</p>
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Completing his tour in Belgrade, Waters became Deputy Chief of Staff for Material Development at HQ Continental Army Command, Ft. Monroe, Virginia in 1958. He returned to Europe in 1960 as commanding general, 4th Armored Division and, upon promotion to lieutenant general, assumed command of V Corps in September 1961. At this time, John married Anne McKinley, the widow of Colonel W. D. McKinley, USMA 1937. In 1962, he returned stateside as commanding general of the Fifth U.S. Army. Following his selection to four star rank, he took command of CONARC in 1963, at Ft. Monroe, Virginia. In 1964 he was named Commander and Chief, U.S. Army Pacific, and it was from this position that he retired in 1966.</p>
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John’s decorations and awards include the Distinguished Service Cross; the Distinguished Service Medal with one Oak Leaf Cluster; the Silver Star with two Oak Leaf Clusters; the Purple Heart with one Oak Leaf Cluster; the European Theater Ribbon with two Battle Stars and one Arrowhead; the Korean Service Medal with three Stars; the French Croix de Guerre with Palm; and Honorary Commander of the Military Division of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire.</p>
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John Knight Waters was a true professional. Every inch of him looked, acted and talked like a soldier. Yet, he was unfailing in the caring of others. He would go out of his way to help a friend. His brother-in-law, George Patton, who served with, and under him, several times, called him “the most selfless officer I ever knew.”</p>
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John died with dignity, choosing to undergo an operation to relieve his discomfort rather than possibly becoming a burden to someone else; always thinking of the other person. He did not survive this last operation. At his funeral, the widow of another Armored Force leader was heard to say: “There goes the last of the good guys.”</p>
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Fiddler’s Green welcomed John Knight Waters, General, United States Army, on 9 January 1989. His like will not be seen soon again.</p>
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John is survived by his widow Anne; two sons, John Knight Waters, Jr. and George Patton Waters, and four grandchildren.</p>
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<em>John K. Waters, Jr. and George Patton Waters</em></p>