Joseph M. Heiser, Jr. – Lieutenant General, United States Army

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Courtesy of Michael T. Stein:

Student Providence College (SC) 1932-34
Cadet, The Citadel 1939-41
Enlisted as Private 1942
First Sergeant 1942-43
Commissioned Second Lieutenant 1943
Advanced through grades to Lieutenant General 1969

Assistant Executive Officer to Chief of Ordnance 1946-49
Ammunition Supply Officer (Office of Assistant Ordnance Officer), Pusan Base Command 1950-51
Executive Officer to Director of Training, Ordnance School 1951-54
Executive Officer to Chief of Ordnance 1956-60
Student, Naval Postgraduate School 1960-61
Assistant Chief of Staff G-4 (Logistics), 4th Logistical Command 1961-62
Deputy Chief of Staff & Chief of Staff, 4th Logistical Command 1962-63
Chief of Staff, U.S. Army Communications Zone, Europe 1963-65
Commanding General, U. S. Army Communications Zone, Europe 1965
Special Assistant to Commander-in-Chief, U.S. Army Europe 1965
Assistant Deputy Chief of Staff (Logistics), U.S. Army 1966-68
Commanding General, 1st Logistical Command, Viet-Nam 1968-69
Deputy Chief of Staff (Logistics), U.S. Army 1969-73
Retired 1973
Distinguished Service Medal (3) – Legion of Merit (2) – Bronze Star Medal – Air Medal (8)

From a contemporary press report: 12 April 1994
Research Continues

Retired Army Lieutenant General Joseph M. Heiser Jr., 80, a former Army Deputy Chief of Staff for Logistics, died Saturday in a Woodbridge hospital.

The funeral will be at 8:45 p.m. Thursday in Fort Myer Memorial Chapel in Fort Myer. Burial, directed by Demaine Funeral Home, will be in Arlington National Cemetery.

Lieutenant General Heiser was born in Charleston, South Carolina, a son of Joseph Heiser and Alma Maetze Heiser. He attended Providence College and The Citadel and received a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Chicago. He was a graduate of the Army Command and General Staff School.

Retired Army Lieutenant General Joseph M. Heiser Jr., 80, a former Army Deputy Chief of Staff for Logistics, died Saturday in a Woodbridge hospital. The funeral will be at 8:45 p.m. Thursday in Fort Myer Memorial Chapel in Fort Myer. Burial, directed by Demaine Funeral Home, will be in Arlington National Cemetery.

General Heiser was born in Charleston South Carolina, a son of Joseph Heiser and Alma Maetze Heiser. He attended Providence College and The Citadel and received a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Chicago. He was a graduate of the Army Command and General Staff College and the Department of Defense’s National War College.

He was a veteran of World War II and the Korean and Vietnam wars, receiving several medals including the Distinguished Service Medal with two Oak Leaf Clusters. He was appointed the first Honorary Colonel Emeritus of the Ordnance Corps and received the Society of Logistics Engineers’ Founders Medal. He wrote two books, “A Soldier Supporting Soldiers” and “Logistic Support.”

Surviving are his wife, Edith Cox Heiser; a son, Joel Heiser of Burke; two daughters, Annette Ficker of Potomac, Md., and Joan Weitzel of Lexington, Ky.; 10 grandchildren; and a great-grandchild.

Lieutenant General Joseph M. Heiser, Jr., was born on January 22, 1914 in Charleston, South Carolina and retired with over 30 years’ active duty in the U.S.
Army. Throughout his career, his motto remained, “A well supported combat soldier is the backbone of an effective Army and it is the logistician’s job to provide that support.”

His rapid ascension through the ranks, from a First Sergeant to Second Lieutenant in 1943, is indicative of his outstanding organizational ability and resourcefulness. His name has become synonymous with two of the most successful programs in ordance: the closed-loop system and the logistics offensive. The closed-loop system maximized the utilization of material and substantially reduced acquisition requirements by effecting the overhaul of unserviceable materiel and its return to the supply system. The logistics offensive resulted in marked reduction in tonnages of supplies, greatly improved inventory and location accuracy, materially reduced response time required to meet unit requirements, significantly improved operational readiness rates, and
upgraded combat readiness throughout the entire U.S. Army.

His career was characterized byprofessionalism of the highest order. His inspired leadership, competence, and devotion to duty profoundly affected the U.S. Army’s logistical effectiveness. He retired in 1973, and remained an active advisor on Ordnance matters. He served as the first Honorary Colonel of the Ordnance Corps from May 1987 until May 1990.

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