General Ralph E. Haines, Jr.

Vice Chief of Staff of the Army

1 June 1967 – 1 August 1968

General Ralph E. Haines, Jr. was born 21 August 1913 at Fort Mott, New Jersey. He graduated from Texas Military Institute in San Antonio, Texas, in 1930. He graduated from the U.S. Army Military Academy in 1935 with a commission as a second lieutenant of Cavalry.

In 1940, he joined the newly formed Armored Forces (1st Armored Division) at Fort Knox, Kentucky. He joined the 8th Armored Division in 1942 where he commanded the armored reconnaissance squadron and served as the Division G-3, Operations.

General Haines served in the Mediterranean Theater during World War II as Assistant Chief of Staff, G-3, Operations, of II Corps. In 1945, he transferred to the 88th Infantry Division. After the war, General Haines remained in Italy and continued to serve with the 88th Division. He then assumed command of the Division’s 350th Infantry Regiment in the Trieste area.

In 1947, he attended the Armed Forces Staff College at Norfolk, Virginia. He graduated in June 1948 and reported for duty in the Department of the Army Office of the Assistant Chief of Staff, G-3, Operations. He graduated in June 1951 from the initial post-World War II course at the U.S. Army War College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. He was then assigned as Military Assistant to the Assistant (later Under) Secretary of the Army in Washington, D.C.

In September 1954, he arrived in Germany to serve as the commander of Division Trains and then Combat Command “C” in the 2nd Armored Division. From September 1955 to July 1957 he simultaneously served as the Deputy Assistant Chief of Staff, G-3, Operations for U.S. Army Europe and the Central Army Group of Allied Command Europe. He attended the National War College, graduating in June 1958. He was then assigned to the Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff as the Chief, Plans and Policy (J-5) Directorate.

General Haines was designated the Assistant Division Commander of the 2nd Armored Division and reported to Fort Hood, Texas, in August 1960. In February 1962, he assumed command of the 1st Armored Division.

On 1 June 1967, General Haines was promoted to General and sworn in as the Vice Chief of Staff of the Army. On 1 August 1968, he was named Commander in Chief, U.S. Army Pacific. On 1 November 1970, General Haines became the Commanding General of the U.S. Army Continental Army Command at Fort Monroe, Virginia.

General Haines’s awards include the Distinguished Service Medal (with Oak Leaf Cluster), Legion of Merit (with two Oak Leaf Clusters), Bronze Star, Army Commendation Medal, and the Combat Infantryman Badge.