Berton Everett Spivy, Jr.
General, U.S. Army

Berton Everett Spivy, Jr. was born in Muskogee, OK, on 22 December 1911, to Berton Everett and Maude Bramlette Spivy, who were from Bonham, TX. Berton E. Spivy, Jr. began his military career at the U.S. Military Academy. Upon graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree in 1934, he was commissioned a Second Lieutenant of Field Artillery. He attended the Battery Officers' Course, the Field Officers' Course, and instructed at the U.S. Army Field Artillery School, located at Fort Sill, OK. He also attended the British Land/Air Warfare School and the National War College.

Spivy held a variety of staff and command positions in the U.S., Europe, and Asia. During World War II, he served as the Chief of the Field Artillery Branch, G-1, Army Ground Forces and later deployed to Southern France where he joined the Seventh U.S. Army and served as the Plans and Operations Officer of the Seventh Army Artillery Section for the remainder of the war.

Upon returning to the U.S., he served as the Deputy G-4, First U.S. Army, at Fort Bragg, NC, and later commanded the 15th Field Artillery Battalion, 2nd Infantry Division, at Fort Lewis, WA. Other assignments included duty as the Commandant of the Special Weapons School and Commander of the Special Weapons Unit Training Group for the Armed Forces Special Weapons Project, Sandia Base, NM.

Promoted to the rank of Brigadier General in 1959, Spivy became the Commander of the 7th Infantry Division Artillery in Korea. In 1960, he returned from Korea to command the 1st Field Artillery Missile Brigade at Fort Sill. In the following years, he served in a variety of joint staff positions to include Chief of the JCS Liaison Group to the Director, Joint Strategic Target Planning and as the Director, Plans and Operations (J-3), Headquarters, U.S. European Command. He later returned to commanding troops in a two-year assignment as Commander of the 3rd Armored Division until March 1965.

In April 1965, Spivy was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant General and served as the Director for Plans and Policy (J-5) in the Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; subsequently, in April 1967, he was appointed Director of the Joint Staff. Promoted to the rank of General in July 1968, Spivy served as the U.S. Representative to the NATO Military Committee until his retirement in July 1971.

In Retirement

After retiring from the Army, Spivy worked for the next twenty years as a consultant for Martin Marietta, advising on military weapons.

Death and Burial

General Berton Everett Spivy, Jr. died of cancer on 26 November 1997 at Baylor Hospital in Dallas, TX. He is buried at Andice Cemetery in Andice, Williamson County, TX.

He was survived by his second wife, LaNeil Wright Spivy, and two sons. His first wife, Frances Woolfolk Spivy, preceded him in death in 1988.