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Major General Olinto Mark Barsanti
- The Making of an Officer
- The United States Army and World War II
- Korean War
- Germany, Washington, South Korea
- Fort Campbell and the 101st Airborne Division
- Commanding the Screaming Eagles in Vietnam
- Fort Sheridan and Retirement
- The Barsanti House and Barsanti Memorial Endowment
- Bibliography
The Making of an Officer
Agata and Silvio Barsanti, parents of Olinto M. Barsanti, with their granddaughter Bette.
Tonopah, Nevada, a small mining town in southwestern Nevada, seemed an unlikely final destination for two citizens of Italy who emigrated to America. Although raised near each other in Lucca, Italy, they first met in the isolated Nevadan town. When Silvio Barsanti and Agata Vangelisti were married in 1916, they hoped for a better life, especially for the children they planned to raise. Silvio, a miner, was well-known in Tonopah and other mining communities for his solid physique and his many victories in area "mucking" contests. Although mining life was difficult for the Barsantis, their hope for the success of their children, Olinto Mark, Angelo John, William Paul, and Elio Alfred would be realized.
Olinto Mark Barsanti was born in Tonopah, Nevada, on November 11, 1917. He was raised in the Nevada mining town and here is pictured with a friend, John Pratt, in the 1920s.
Olino Mark, the eldest son, was born on November 11, 1917. He was a star athlete on the Tonopah High basketball team. In one game against Las Vegas High, Barsanti scored 19 of his team's 28 points. Named captain of the team for his senior year in 1936, he also served as secretary-treasurer of the class and gave the valedictorian address at graduation.
A cadet corporal in R.O.T.C. at the University of Nevada, Barsanti was awarded the governor's medal "in recognition of his outstanding proficiency in military training, observance of the rules of military courtesy and intelligent attention to duty."
In the fall of 1936 Barsanti entered the University of Nevada, located in Reno, where he soon became active in athletics (football), social organizations (Sigma Nu), and most importantly, the military (R.O.T.C.). Although undersized at his position as guard in the offensive line, Barsanti showed determination and talent through his college years, winning All Far-Western Conference honors. He also participated in baseball and boxing. During his years with the Reserve Officer Training Corps, Barsanti won the Governor's Medal for outstanding proficiency in military training (1937-1938), the Sons of the American Revolution Medal (1938-1939), and was appointed company commander of the Cadet Honor Company of the First Battalion during his senior year.
Olinto Mark Barsanti graduated from the University of Nevada in May 1940 and during that same month was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the United States Army. After short training stints at Fort Douglas, Utah, and Fort Benning, Georgia, Barsanti reported to his first active duty post at Fort Sam Houston, Texas, in September 1940. His military career was underway.
The United States Army and World War II
While at Fort Sam Houston with the 38th Infantry, 2nd Infantry Division, Second Lieutenant Barsanti soon earned commendations that led to promotions to first Lieutenant in 1941 and Captain in 1942. The latter year was very important in another respect, as it was the year he met and married Aletha Howell.
At Camp McCoy, Wisconsin, Major Barsanti served as Director of the Ranger Battle Training, Second Infantry Division. The graduation program presented here dated from June 1943. An emphasis on night patrol training is indicated in this document.
Almost immediately after their marriage, the Barsantis were packing their belongings to move to Camp McCoy, Wisconsin, where the entire 2nd Division had been transferred. At Camp McCoy, Barsanti soon became Director of the Ranger Battle Training Course, where he supervised selected soldiers to "perform difficult, specialized missions in combat." Among the components of this intensive program were night patrols, hand to hand combat, bayonet and grenade combat, explosives and demolitions training, map reading, and radio and camouflage use. In March 1943 Captain Barsanti was promoted to Major.
The intensive training soon came to direct use as the anticipated call for overseas duty arrived in October 1943. Major Barsanti was stationed in northern Ireland with the Second Infantry Division, serving as 1st Battalion Commander, 38th Infantry. He arrived on the coast of occupied France, at St. Laurent sur Mer, on June 7, 1944 (D-Day +1) in command of the 3rd Battalion, 38th Infantry.
Only ten days after landing in France, on June 16, 1944, Major Barsanti thwarted a counterattack by German Soldiers in the vicinity of Soulaire. For his actions in the face of intense small arms and mortar fire, Major Barsanti was awarded the Silver Star for gallantry in action.
Over the next eight months of battle Major Barsanti, at 26 years of age one of the youngest battalion commanders in the Army, would be awarded five Purple Hearts. During the drive through France to Germany, Barsanti would receive the Bronze Star medal and three oak leaf clusters for his leadership in combat. He received the Silver Star for his success in stopping a German counterattack against his battalion in June 1944, adding an oak leaf cluster when he latter assisted in the taking of a strong German position.
Barsanti's 3rd Battalion, 38th Infantry, particated in heavy fighting during the Ardennes campaign in December 1944. The photo here presents men of the 2nd Infantry Division on the march in the Ardennes. U. S. Army photograph.
During the Ardennes Campaign in December 1944, Barsanti's 3rd Battalion was entrenched at the southern edge of the town of Krinkelt to block a German attack. In the four-day battle with the Sixth Panzer Army, the 38th Infantry suffered 625 casualties.
On June 23, 1944, Major Barsanti received the first of his five Purple Heart awards for wounds received in battle in the European Theater in 1944-1945.
Although he received five wounds between June 1944 and January 1945, Barsanti remained in Europe until April 1945, when he returned to the United States for medical treatment. He left the European continent a war hero and a lieutenant colonel, a rank he achieved in August 1944. Only two of the original battalion commanders of the 2nd Infantry that landed in France in June 1944 survived the war. Barsanti was one of them.
Post-War Appointments
Olinto M. Barsanti attended the Command and General Staff School at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, from February until his graduation in May, 1946. He returned to the Command and General Staff School as a faculty member from July 1946 to July 1949.
With the end of the war in Europe, the Barsantis were faced with a decision concerning their future in the U. S. Army. The decision was an easy one because they were both pleased with their life together in the service. After short assignments at Camp Gruber, Oklahoma, and Camp Swift, Texas, Barsanti entered the Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, in February 1946. An excellent student, Barsanti graduated from the Ground Course in May and was assigned to Camp Carson, Colorado.
Lieutenant Colonel Barsanti served as Executive Officer of the 38th Infantry Regiment at Camp Carson, Colorado, when this photograph was taken, in the summer of 1946. U. S. Army photograph.
No sooner had they arrived in Colorado when an order came to return to Fort Leavenworth where Barsanti was to join the faculty. From July 1946 to July 1949 the Barsantis enjoyed that stability of the teaching post and also celebrated the birth of their daughter, Bette, at the Army post hospital.
The relative tranquility of the Fort Leavenworth assignment was interrupted by an important assignment for Barsanti in Japan in August 1949, to serve in General Headquarters, Far East Command under General Douglas MacArthur. Aletha and Bette joined him in Tokyo a few months later. The Barsantis found life in the Far East both different and exciting. Adjustment to this new and fascinating country was just beginning when actions across the Sea of Japan brought another change in the military life of Lieutenant Colonel Barsanti.
Korean War
The Legion of Merit was awarded to Lieutenant Colonel Barsanti for his service during the establishment of the Administrative Organization for the headquarters of the Advance Command Post of the United States Army in Korea in June and July, 1950.
On June 27, 1950, just two days after North Korean soldiers invaded South Korea, Mark Barsanti and eleven other officers arrived in the besieged country to establish a command post for General MacArthur at Suwon. Barsanti's diligent work, over a period from June 27 to July 12, to set up, unassisted except for indigenous personnel, "all necessary systems and facilities for administration, receipt of replacements, care of prisoners of war, mess, billeting, and transporation, as well as strength and casualty reporting systems," earned him the Legion of Merit. Months later, Barsanti again was one of the first American officers to arrive at a significant location in South Korea, this time by air at Inchon, days in advance of the amphibious landings on September 15, 1950.
On December 14, 1950, Lieutenant Colonel Olinto M. Barsanti received the Distinguished Service Cross, the second highest military service award, from Major General Edward M. Almond at a ceremony at X Corps Headquarters, Hungnam, Korea. Barsanti received the honor for his courageous 190-mile journey behind enemy lines to establish contact with two South Korean infantry divisions. U. S. Army photograph.
Lieutenant Colonel Barsanti's most notable and courageous action during the war, however, took place on October 19 and 20. Driving alone behind North Korean lines and subjected to repeated attacks by soldiers using automatic weapons, Barsanti successfully completed a 190-mile mission to deliver secret orders to two South Korean infantry divisions. Major General Edward Almond presented the Distinguished Service Cross, the second highest military service award, to Mark Barsanti at X Headquarters in Hungnam on December 14, 1950.
In early 1951, Barsanti joined the 2nd Infantry Division as Executive Officer and later Commanding Officer of the 9th Infantry Regiment. At 33 years of age, he was the Army's youngest regimental commander in Korea. He participated in heavy fighting that was rewarded with a Bronze Star (Sixth Oak Leaf Cluster) and Silver Star (Second Oak Leaf Cluster). Barsanti's Silver Star was awarded for his personal leadership in a successful assault against strongly fortified North Korean emplacements near Inje. After suffering injuries in battle, Barsanti reluctantly returned to Japan in August 1951 and by year's end had returned to the United States with his family.
Germany, Washington, South Korea
Returning from the Far East in 1952, Lieutenant Colonel Barsanti and family moved, for a brief time, to Franklin, Indiana, where they lived while he served as Assistant Chief of Staff, VI Corps, at Camp Atterbury. In the summer of 1953 Barsanti attended the Armed Forces Staff College in Norfolk, Virginia. Upon graduation in February, 1954, Mark, Aletha, and Bette once again packed their bags for overseas duty, this time to West Germany and service at Headquarters, U. S. Army Europe.
Colonel Barsanti and his wife, Aletha, cut the cake during a farewell party held for them by Berlin Command. Barsanti served as Chief of Staff for Berlin Command from 1955 to 1957. U. S. Army photograph.
In 1955 Barsanti was promoted to colonel and took the post of Chief of Staff, Berlin Command. For his work in this position, Brigadier General George Duncan praised Barsanti's "dynamic leadership, initiative and professional ability...which assisted in solving many of the unique and complex problems which have developed in a city occupied by four powers...." While posted in West Germany, Mark Barsanti completed the Basic Airborne Course with the 11th Airborne division. It was a course he would find invaluable in the years to come.
Colonel Barsanti received a diploma from the National War College in Washington, D. C. in June 1958 after completing the prescribed course for 1957-1958.
Colonel Barsanti was reassigned in 1957 to the United States, where he served in a number of capacities in Washington. He was a student at the National War College in 1958. One of his fellow students, Colonel Melvin Zais, would follow him in command in the last war Barsanti would fight. His lengthly posting in Washington included service as Chief, Requirements Division, Office of the Deputy, Chief of Staff for Personnel from June 1958 to June 1961. This post was followed by duty with the Joint Staff, Joint Chiefs of Staff, as Chief of the Manpower Divison from 1961 until June 1963.
Camp Kaiser, South Korea, was Colonel Barsanti's responsibility beginning in July 1963. As assistant commander for division combat operations (7th Infantry), Barsanti was given the task of monitoring administrative, disciplinary, and post activities at Camp Kaiser. U. S. Army photograph.
Barsanti returned to combat duty in July 1963, when he was assigned to South Korea as Assistant Division Commander for Combat Operations, 7th Infantry Division. His duties in South Korea included assisting "the division commander in supervision of training, plans and operational readiness of infantry, mechanized battalions, and tanks reconnaissance, and aviation units." He reviewed all tactical plans and procedures prepared in the division. He also supervised administrative, disciplinary, and post activities at Camp Kaiser. This included community relations activities with the residents of Gun, where Camp Kaiser was located.
In November and December of 1963 Brigadier General Barsanti and other officers of the 7th Infantry Division participated in field problems in South Korea near the Demilitarized Zone. U. S. Army photograph.
Barsanti's schedule was a busy one. His aide-de-camp and helicopter pilot, First Lieutenant John Oliver, remarked that between daily inspections of training in the field, trips to division headquarters at Camp Casey, and ceremonial functions, there was little time for sleep. Oliver stated that the general "places a premium of proficiency. When he tells someone to do something, he expects it to be done well and on time. But he sets the same standards for himself as he does for others. The man has an almost inconceivable amount of energy."
General Barsanti and the 7th Infantry Division dedicated a playground for children of the village of Unchon-ni, near Camp Kaiser, in July 1964. U. S. Army photograph.
One of the personal and professional highlights for Mark Barsanti while stationed in South Korea was the notification of his promotion to Brigadier General, effective September 1, 1963. At 46 years of age, Barsanti was one of the youngest generals in the Army.
Generals Barsanti and Mather (behind Barsanti) review an Honor Guard, composed of soldiers from artillery units of V Corps, in Frankfurt, West Germany. Barsanti served as Chief of Staff, V Corps, in 1966. U. S. Army photoraph.
In July 1964, after one year of service in with the 7th Infantry Division in South Korea, General Barsanti received word of his reassignment to West Germany as Comptroller for Headquarters, U. S. Army Europe. In May 1966 he became Chief of Staff, Headquarters Corps.
Aletha Barsanti and General Frank S. Besson, Jr. pin a second star on each of Barsanti's shoulders, in Washington, D. C. His promotion to major general occurred in May 1967. U. S. Army photograph.
His next assignment, in November 1966, returned him to Washington as Comptroller and Director of Programs, Headquarters United States Army Materiel Command. In May 1967 Mark Barsanti was promoted to Major General.
Although he performed his duties, whether combat or administrative, in a manner that drew high praise from his superiors for effectiveness and efficiency, Mark Barsanti preferred to command troops, especially in battle. The opportunity to do just that would soon arrive.
Fort Campbell and the 101st Airborne Division
Major General Barsanti prepares for one of his twenty-seven parachute jumps that took place over a five-month period at Fort Campbell, Kentucky. U. S. Army photograph.
When Major General Barsanti assumed command of the 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, On July 1, 1967, he stated "I am happy to be here and consider it an honor to take command of this unit and installation." His comment that he "liked the idea of being here even before he arrived" merely expressed in public what he had privately yearned for, the command of a division. Not only was he commanding troops, he was preparing them for war. His reputation as a disciplinarian was a key factor in his assignment by the army to the 101st.
By late fall 1967, Barsanti's training achievements had brought praise from the Army's Materiel Readiness Liaison Team, from several Lieutenant Generals, and from General Harold Johnson, the Army's Chief of Staff. Not only did Barsanti prepare the 101st for combat in Vietnam, he also attended to a myriad of duties involving military cooperation with the nearby communities of Hopkinsville, Kentucky, and Clarksville, Tennessee. City officials and citizens wrote their appreciation to General Barsanti and sponsored a "Screaming Eagles Day" to demonstrate their admiration of the 101st Airborne before the division's departure overseas.
On November 19, 1967, during a "Screaming Eagles Day" salute for the 101st Airborne Division by the neighboring communities of Clarksville, Tennessee and Hopkinsville, Kentucky, Major General Barsanti addressed the crowd. The 101st Airborne was soon to be transferred to duty in Vietnam. U. S. Army photograph.
The operation to move the 101st Airborne Division from Fort Campbell to South Vietnam, codenamed Operation Eagle Thrust, was the largest airlift transfer of men and equipment from the United States to Southeast Asia to date. Approximately 10,500 troops and 14,000 pounds of basic combat equipment were flown over 9,700 miles during a period from November 17 until late December 1967.
During Operation "Eagle Thrust," over ten thousand paratroopers of the 101st Airborne Division and fourteen thousand pounds of basic combat equipment were airlifted to Vietnam in 41 days. On the cover of The Hurricane, a publication of II Field Force Vietnam, Major General Barsanti leads the 101st Airborne division upon their arrival at Bien Hoa Air Base on December 13, 1967.
General Barsanti and units of the 101st were greeted at Bien Hoa airport on December 13 by General William Westmoreland, commander of all U.S. troops in Vietnam and a former commander of the 101st Airborne, and General Cao Van Vien, Chief of the ARVN Joint General Staff. General Barsanti reported to General Westmoreland that "the 101st Airborne Division is present for combat in Vietnam." It would not be long before these troops experienced combat.
Commanding the Screaming Eagles in Vietnam
Camp Eagle, headquarters of the 101st Airborne Division in Vietnam, located near Phu Bai, fourteen miles northwest of Da Nang, was the target of heavy shelling during the North Vietnamese Tet Offensive in February 1968. U. S. Army photograph.
General Barsanti stated in a communique to his troops that "the mission of the 101st Airborne Division is to find the enemy and destroy him. Inherent in this mission is an incumbent responsibility to respect the proud people we are here to assist." Both elements of this mission began soon after the Division's arrival at Bien Hoa.
General Barsanti's code name "Bold Eagle" was indicative of his belief in "continuous attack" in combat and his active participation at the front. Two Purple Heart medals for wounds received in Vietnam also point to the nature of his leadership. In this photograph General Barsanti surveys a scene of recent action at the front. U. S. Army photograph.
Within two weeks of arriving in Vietnam, after completion of in-country training to prepare for the new climactic and geographic environment, the 101st experienced battle in an area northeast of Saigon. Soon after settling in at their base camp, a Civil Affairs Program was established and, along with the 101st Medcap, assistance was provided for villagers in the vicinity of the camp.
In May 1968 South Vietnam's deputy premeirer, Nguyen Cao Ky, presented Major General Barsanti with the Vietnamese Cross for Gallantry with Paom and the Vietnamese national Order Fifth Class. Ky praised the troops of the 101st Airborne for their achievements during Operations Delaware and Carentan II and the leadership of their commander, General Barsanti. U. S. Army photgraph.
Under Barsanti's direction, the "Screaming Eagles" played a major role in the defense of Saigon, Bien Hoa, Song Be, Hue, and Quang Tri during the Tet Offensive in late January and early February 1968. During the first seven months of the year Operations Jeb Stuart, Carentan, Delaware, and Nevada Eagle established the methods with which General Barsanti would fight the war. He believed that to fight a war in the coastal plains the following methods of combat were required: multiple actions to keep the enemy off balance, continous attacking to keep pressure on the enemy, night fighting for continous pressure, no reliance on reserves and a home base, providing maximum fire support, rapidly massing on lucrative targets, coordinating closely with ARVN units, and using special equipment and techniques such as airlifts and constant night illumination in cordon operations.
One of the pleasurable activities for General Barsanti in Vietnam was awarding medals to 101st Airborne troops for bravery and achievement. In his farewell to the Division he stated, "You are a well decorated, distinguished unit. We have tried to decorate every deserving individual. This would be nearly every man in the division" U. S. Army photograph.
When visiting the wounded at the 22nd Surgical Hospital at Camp Eagle, General Barsanti joked with and praised the soldiers. He knew that the wounded enjoyed a visit from the "Little Old Man," as the troops nicknamed him, and were pleased with his knowledge of their individual actions. U. S. Army photograph.
The grim reality of any war is death. Aggressive action, mass forces against lucrative targets, and night fighting took their toll. During his seven-month tenure as division commander, more than 8,000 North Vietnamese and Viet Cong troops were killed. The 101st suffered casualties as well, but the operations proved effective, said Barsanti, in knocking "the enemy out of the coastal plains in every area" under his command.
Whether visiting the frontlines, where he sometimes became engaged in combat, or visiting the hospitals to encourage the wounded troops, General Barsanti was perpetually on the move. He knew the risks the men in his command were undertaking and he was very willing to share those risks, as attested to by the two Purple Hearts he received. At home, Aletha also knew of the risks of the troops of the 101st . She accompanied the post commander and chaplain when visiting the wives of the men who had been killed in Vietnam.
General Barsanti received the Purple Heart (Fifth Oak Leaf Cluster) for wounds received in action in Vietnam on April 30, 1968. While leaving the Fire Support Base Bastogne in the field, Barsanti's helicopter was raked by automatic weapons fire. Although wouded in the leg by metal fragments, he directed his gunners to fire at the position and called his artillery and adjusted their fire on the target. Only after the positions were fully targeted, did he allow the helicopter pilot to proceed to the hospital in order to receive medical treatment. General Barsanti also received the Distinguished Flying Cross for his actions that day.
In July 1968 General Barsanti turned command of the 101st in Vietnam over to General Melvin Zais, a fellow student at the National War College in 1958.
Major General O. M. Barsanti officially passed Command of the 101st Airborne Division in Vietnam to Major General Melvin Zais in a ceremony at Camp Eagle that included a 14-gun artillery salute, a fly-by from division helicopters, and a sky-diving demonstration. U. S. Army photograph.
The unit's seven-month record established that 8,000 enemy had been killed, an excess of 350 detainees taken, and more than 2,600 weapons captured. In his farewell to the 101st Division, Barsanti stated "...I have pushed hard and demanded much, always knowing what the results would be-success and victory. During the last six months you have established records that other units have not surpassed in much longer periods of time. This is a tribute to your dedication, 'will to win,' and discipline as an airborned division."
Major General Barsanti wrote his farewell to the 101st Airborne in the July 15, 1968 issue of The Screaming Eagle. He believed that "the opportunity to command the famous 'Screaming Eagles,' and especially during battle, is one of the greatest honors that any one man can receive."
Fort Sheridan and Retirement
After completing his year-long assignment with the 101st Division, General Barsanti returned to the United States and awaited his next orders. General Creighton Abrams, who had been one of Barsanti's students at the Command and General Staff College, assigned him to Fort Sheridan, Illinois, as Chief of Staff of the Fifth Army. This posting was pleasing on a personal basis because it not only provided some stability for the Barsanti's, but also placed them in close proximity to daughter Bette who was attending nearby Northwestern University. Professionally, however, Barsanti would just as soon have remained with the 101st in Vietnam.
After commanding the 101st Division, General Barsanti assumed the duties of Chief of Staff, Fifth United States Army, at Fort Sheridan, Illinois,on August 15, 1968. He was welcomed with an honor guard ceremony attended by Lieutenant General John H. Michaelis and the Commanders and Staff of the Headquarters U.S. Fifth Army.
For the next three years General Barsanti, among other duties, would attend or address a large number of ceremonies, conferences, and dinners. These included the Commanders Conference (October/November 1968), the Fifth Army Museum opening (January 1969), graduation ceremonies at Great Lakes Naval Training Center (February 1969), United Service Organization of Chicago Reception (May 1970) and many others. While visiting family in Nevada in April 1971, he addressed 150 ROTC cadets at the University of Nevada in Reno. When asked about the My Lai case by the media, General Barsanti remarked that the William Calley trial was a "fair one." He also commented that "there is no justification in war for killing innocent men, women and children knowingly."
On August 31, 1971, Major General Barsanti retired from the Army and was awarded the Legion of Merit with Second Oak Leaf Cluster for the leadership he displayed as Chief of Staff, Headquarters, Fifth United States Army. Among the leadership achievements singled out were his actions during the "civil disturbances incident to the Democratic National Convention in 1968, the major spring floods in 1969, and the postal strike in 1970."
Although he hoped for a continuing career in the Army, it was not to be. An illness that may have had its beginnings before his appointment to the 101st in 1967, would prevent what three wars and countless battles could not. Seriously ill, Major General Olinto Mark Barsanti retired from the United States Army on September 1, 1971. In a retirement ceremony at Fort Sheridan, on August 31, General Barsanti received the Legion of Merit Medal, Oak Leaf Cluster, and congratulations for an outstanding military career from Lietenant General George V. Underwood, Jr., Commanding General, Fifth U. S. Army. Many family members and friends were present to honor Mark Barsanti's 33 years of military service to the country.
Even though he was steadily deteriorating physically from cancer, Barsanti accepted an offer from the American Automobile Manufacturers Association in Detroit to serve as executive assistant to the president. For nine months he worked for the association, completing important management documents such as operating procedures and organization charts, as well as other assignments. When he became too ill to work, he retired and relocated to Chicago with Aletha. On May 2, 1973, General Barsanti lost his battle with cancer at Great Lakes Naval Hospital. He was buried at Arlington National Cemetery, following a memorial service at Fort Sheridan.
The Barsanti House and Barsanti Memorial Endowment
Aletha Barsanti and her daughter, Bette, hold a framed painting of the Barsanti Houe
In a ceremony on July 27,1973, Quarters 1550 in Cole Park, Fort Campbell, Kentucky, became the Barsanti House, in memory of one of the distinguished leaders of the 101st Airborne Division. The eulogy was given by the Commander of the U. S. Army Training Center and Fort Campbell, Major General John H. Cushman. In a moving address, Cushman praised the achievements of General Barsanti in preparing the 101st in very short order, through "discipline and a strong chain of command," for the rigors of battle in Vietnam. General Chushman also commended Barsanti in battle as a "brave, imaginative, skilled, and innovative tactician." "He took care of his men; he husbanded the scarce division helicopter assets for decisive effect; and he drove the division hard to impressive results. But the fundamental characteristic he instilled in our division was discipline and obedience to orders." "He is now, and always will be, a worthy model for us all." The speaker had personal knowledge of the man he eulogized; he served as General Barsanti's Chief of Staff at Fort Campbell and Commander of the Second Brigade of the 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell and in Vietnam.
Aletha Barsanti and Major General J. H. Cushman unveil the Barsanti House Plaque.
The Barsanti House, which is used for the comfort of guests who visit Fort Campbell, is one example of remembrance of his military achievements. Another example is the Major General Olinto Mark Barsanti Chair in Military History at the University of North Texas. This endowed chair was initially established with a generous matching grant from the family and friends of General Barsanti. It will ensure that the study of military history, a study fully appreciated and practiced by the general, will remain a focus for students of the University of North Texas for generations to come.
Bibliography
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Blair, Clay. The Forgotten War: Korea, 1950-1953. New York: Times Book, 1987.
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