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[ Intro ] [ Commissioners ] [ Staff Organization ] [ History ] [ Annual Reports ]
ABMC Commissioners
The authorizing legislation for the American Battle Monuments Commission (36 U.S.C., Chapter 21) specifies that the president will appoint 11 members to the commission and an officer of the regular Army to serve as the secretary. President George W. Bush appointed General Franks to the commission in August 2001, Commissioner Francis in April 2003, and the other eight commissioners in August 2005.
General Frederick M. Franks, Jr., USA (Ret), Chairman
A 1959 graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, General Franks completed a 35-year military career in 1994. At the time of his retirement, he was the commander of the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command. Prior to that assignment, he commanded American and British forces of VII Corps during Operation Desert Storm in the main ground attack that liberated Kuwait in 1991. General Franks collaborated with author Tom Clancy on a book, Into the Storm, a Study in Command, has written for magazine publication on battle command, and speaks publicly on leadership. He holds two master’s degrees from Columbia University.
Leslie Gromis Baker
Ms. Gromis Baker is the founder, president and CEO of LG Strategies, a strategic consulting firm. She has more than 15 years of political and governmental experience including serving as executive director of The Ridge Leadership Fund, the political action committee of Tom Ridge, former Pennsylvania governor. Ms. Gromis Baker is also a partner and senior advisor with Bran Bender Cox, a Pittsburgh-based public relations firm, and vice president of external and government relations for the Pittsburgh Life Sciences Greenhouse. During former President George Bush’s administration, she served as a special assistant for political affairs in the White House. She holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Maryland.
Reverend Chester L. Berryhill, Jr.
Reverend Berryhill is the co-founder and chairman of The Mississippi Herald—the first and only African American focused newspaper in north Mississippi—and Pastor of the New Philidelphia Baptist Church in Memphis, Tennessee. He was previously the Pastor of the Rising Sun Baptist Church in Hernando, Mississippi, and is a retired U.S. Postal Service supervisor. Reverend Berryhill served with the 82nd Airborne Infantry Division in Vietnam, where he received a Purple Heart. He is vice president of the North Mississippi Ministers Association. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Memphis State University and a master’s degree from the Memphis Theological Seminary.
Donald T. Bollinger
Mr. Bollinger is Chairman and CEO of Bollinger Shipyards, Inc., a family-owned business established in 1946 that is a full service marine construction and repair operation headquartered in Louisiana. He serves on the National Petroleum Council and on the boards of the Louisiana Workers’ Compensation Corporation, American Equity Underwriters, and the University of Louisiana System. Mr. Bollinger chairs the governor’s Maritime Advisory Task Force and is on the board of the governor’s Advisory Committee on Military Affairs. He previously served on the President’s Export Council under the administration of President George H.W. Bush. He earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Louisiana, Lafayette.
James B. Culbertson
Mr. Culbertson is the former owner of Financial Computing, Inc., a company he operated for 26 years, providing financial application software and hardware to automobile dealers and community banks. He has served on the American Council of Young Political Leaders Board, the North Carolina Banking Commission, the North Carolina Board of Economic Development, the National Federation of Independent Businessmen National Board, the Fund for American Studies Board of Trustees, and the Winston-Salem Senior Service Capital Campaign board. Mr. Culbertson holds a bachelor’s degree from the Citadel, and served two years in the U.S. Army as an Intelligence officer.
James B. Francis, Jr.
Since June 1996, Mr. Francis has served as president of Francis Enterprises, Inc., an investment and governmental and public affairs consulting firm. Prior to this, he was the only non-family partner of the Bright & Company investment firm, where he managed or supervised all oil and gas marketing, and negotiated the purchase and sale of the Dallas Cowboys Football Club. He has had a number of Board of Director affiliations. He currently sits on the board of Silverleaf Resorts, Inc., and is a commissioner of the Texas Department of Public Safety. Mr. Francis served an active duty tour in the U.S. Air Force after receiving a bachelor’s degree from Tulane University.
Victor Davis Hanson
Dr. Hanson is a military historian, columnist, political essayist and former classics professor, who is best known as a scholar of ancient warfare and commentator on modern warfare. He is a Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution and Fellow in California Studies at the Claremont Institute. Until recently, he was a professor at California State University, Fresno, where he began teaching in 1984, having created the classics program at that institution. Dr. Hanson writes two weekly columns, one for National Review and one syndicated by Tribune Media Services. In 2007, he was awarded the National Humanities Medal. He holds a bachelor's degree from the University of California, Santa Cruz and a doctorate in classics from Stanford University.
Brigadier General Jerry L. Laws, USA (Ret)
General Laws spent 32 years as a soldier and 17 years in command positions. He is a fixed wing and rotary wing aviator and has 58 parachute jumps to his credit, and served in combat assignments in Vietnam and in Iraq during Desert Storm and Desert Shield. He retired from the Army in 1998 as Commander of White Sands Missile Range. General Laws was a member of the Small Business Administration’s Advisory Committee and Chairman of the Veterans Administration’s advisory committee for National Cemeteries and Monuments. He holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Oklahoma and a master’s from Central Michigan University.
Senator Zell B. Miller
Senator Miller represented the citizens of Georgia in the United States Senate for nearly five years beginning with his appointment in July 2000 and subsequent election as a Democrat in a special election in November 2000; he was not a candidate for election in 2004. Senator Miller’s political career in Georgia began as mayor of Young Harris. He subsequently served as a state senator, a member of the state Board of Pardons and Paroles, lieutenant governor, and governor from 1991 to 1999. Senator Miller is a graduate of Young Harris College and the University of Georgia, a former businesman and professor, and served three years in the U.S. Marine Corps.
Lieutenant General Carol A. Mutter, USMC (Ret)
General Mutter, president of Carol Mutter Associates, served 31 years in the U.S. Marine Corps, achieving many firsts for women, including the first general officer to command a deployable tactical command and the first nominated for three-star rank. Her experience included leadership positions in logistics, data processing, financial management, personnel, and research, development and acquisition. She serves on the National Advisory Council of the Alliance for National Defense and the National Academy of Sciences Committee on American Youth Population and Military Recruiting. She holds two honorary Doctorates, a bachelor’s degree from the University of Northern Colorado, and a master’s from Salve Regina College.
James M. Reynolds, III
Mr. Reynolds, co-founder and managing partner of American Real Estate Investment Company, has been active in real estate investment, banking and the timber industry since graduating from the University of Georgia in 1974. The company has pursued a variety of investment opportunities, resulting in acquisition of timberland, farms, commercial properties, residential communities and manufacturing plants. Mr. Reynolds served as a member of the Georgia Board of Industry, Trade and Tourism and chaired the International Trade Committee. He is past Chairman of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources and chaired the Environmental Protection Division for the State of Georgia.
Brigadier General John W. Nicholson, USA (Ret) -- Secretary
General Nicholson was appointed secretary of ABMC by President George W. Bush in January 2005. Prior to this appointment, he served as Under Secretary for Memorial Affairs in the Department of Veterans Affairs, where he directed the National Cemetery Administration. He is a 1956 graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., where he received the General MacArthur Leadership Award for his class, and holds a master’s degree in public administration. He is an airborne ranger combat infantryman and served two and one-half years with infantry units in Vietnam. Other overseas assignments during his 30-year Army career included duty in Germany, Korea, Lebanon and Switzerland.
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