Garrison B. Coverdale

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Garrison B. Coverdale (July 12, 1905 – June 8, 1988) was a United States Army general and a member of the Military Intelligence Hall of Fame. He was born in Phoenix, Arizona, and graduated from West Point in 1928 with a bachelor’s degree. He later attended the Army Command and General Staff College (graduating in 1942 and again in 1947) and the National War College (1951).

Before World War II, Coverdale taught ROTC at Cornell University (1939–1940). He then served at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, rising to lieutenant colonel by 1942.

World War II era: Coverdale worked in Army Intelligence in China and commanded the 5003rd Field Artillery Group. He was captured by the Japanese in 1944, but escaped after three days and made his way back to Allied territory with help from Chinese partisans.

Postwar career: He was promoted to brigadier general in 1953. In Korea, he commanded IX Corps Artillery for four months in 1954. He then led the Tokyo-Yokohama District of IX Corps at Hardy Barracks in Tokyo (1954–1956) and, in 1956, became deputy commanding general of the 1st Cavalry Division in Tokyo. Returning to the United States in 1957, he was promoted to major general and served as assistant director and chief of staff of the National Security Agency until 1959. From 1961 to 1963, he was commandant of the Army Intelligence School at Fort Holabird, Maryland, and chief of the Military Intelligence Corps. He retired from active duty on July 31, 1963.

Death and family: Coverdale died in 1988 in Columbus, Georgia, and was buried at Arlington National Cemetery. His wife Katharine Briggs Coverdale (1908–1990) is buried beside him, along with their son Craig Garrison Coverdale (1931–1985), a U.S. Army colonel who served in Vietnam.

Legacy: Coverdale was a longtime Army intelligence officer who served in World War II and the Korean War. He earned the Distinguished Service Medal and the Legion of Merit and is honored in the Military Intelligence Hall of Fame.