Inscribed Photo of Rear Admiral Robert Hilton & NATO Supreme Commander Andrew Jackson Goodpaster
measures 26 cm x 28 cm
Robert Parker Hilton Sr., 77, a Navy rear admiral who retired in 1983 as vice director for operations on the Joint Chiefs of Staff, died of congestive heart failure April 28 at Goodwin House East in Alexandria, where he had been receiving rehabilitative care for about a week.
Adm. Hilton served 38 years in the Navy, which included command of a destroyer off the coast of Vietnam during the war there. His ship, the USS Davis, was the first vessel to reach the USS Liberty after it was attacked by Israeli aircraft and torpedo boats in the Mediterranean in 1967.
In later assignments, he was assistant chief of staff for logistics at NATO's Allied Forces Southern Command in Naples and deputy assistant chief of staff for plans and policy at Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe in Mons, Belgium.
His postings abroad made Adm. Hilton, who earlier in his career trained as an interpreter in Russian and French, an authority on NATO and its joint operations.
At the Pentagon, he spearheaded the development of a Navy staff office that authored the Navy's maritime strategy for the 1980s.
His decorations included the Defense Distinguished Service Medal, the Navy Distinguished Service Medal, the Defense Superior Service Medal, the Legion of Merit and the Bronze Star.
After retiring from active military duty, Adm. Hilton worked as a consultant at the Institute for Defense Analyses.
Andrew Jackson Goodpaster (12 February 1915 – 16 May 2005) was an American Army General. He served as NATO's Supreme Allied Commander, Europe (SACEUR), from 1 July 1969, and Commander in Chief of the United States European Command (CINCEUR) from 5 May 1969 until his retirement 17 December 1974. As such, he was the commander of all NATO (SACEUR) and United States (CINCEUR) military forces stationed in Europe and the surrounding regions.
Goodpaster returned to the military in June 1977 as the 51st Superintendent of the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York, until he retired again in July 1981.
