More detail on this person: KINGSTON, MAJOR GENERAL JOSEPH P. KINGSTON, MAJOR GENERAL JOSEPH P., age 80, of Centre, passed away Wednesday, December 20, 2006 in a Birmingham hospital. Funeral services will be held at 1:00 P.M. Saturday at Perry Funeral Home Chapel with Rev. Dan Meadows and Rev. Melvyn Salter officiating. A military interment will follow at Shady Grove Cemetery. The family will receive friends from 11:00 A.M. until 1:00 P.M. Saturday at the funeral home. Honorary Pallbearers: John McClesky, John Livngston, George Eubanks, John Bert East, Ralph Price, Bob Kingston, Ross Franklin, Kirk Day and Greg Frith. Survivors include his Son, John (Barbara) Kingston of San Diego, CA; Daughter, Carol (Daniel) White of Lutz, FL; Step-Son, Robert Caldwell (Debbie) Snead, Jr. of Birmingham; Step-Daughter, Mary Jane Miller of Centre; Sisters, Frances Kingston and Mary Ann Kingston, both of OR; Step-Grandchildren, Julie (Mike) Van Allen of Lake Oswego, OR and Melissa Miller (Josh) Gilbert; Step-Great Grandchildren, Mikey, Peyton and Meredith Van Allen. He was preceded in deathy by his beloved wife, Julia Snead Kingston, whom he shared a wonderful 27 year marriage. He also had an earlier 27 year marriage to Mary Eileen Kingston Danis. General Kingston was born in Milton, OR and raised in Yakima, WA, the son of the late Paul Ray and Frances Chez Kingston. Joseph P. Kingston initially entered the Army as a private in 1944 and patrolled the beaches of Washington State with a guard dog for one year before receiving an appointment to West Point. He graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point, NY in 1949. Upon graduation he was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the infantry. After a year of basic officer course at Fort Riley, KS and Fort Benning, GA, General Kingston was assigned to I Company, 3d Battalion, 32d Infantry at Camp McNair, Japan in August 1950. As a Rifle Platoon Leader with this unit, he made the Inchon Landing on 16 Sept. 1950. For the next 15 months he served successively as a Rifle Platoon Leader, Assistant Battalion S3, Commanding Officer for Company K, and Battalion S2, 3d Battalion, 32d Infantry. During the Korean War he was instrumental in the critical and successful battle of Hill 902 against a vastly superior North Korean and Chinese Force. This decisive battle was memorialized in the April 96 issue of Military History Magazine. General Kingston received a Silver Star and battlefield promotion for his leadership and bravery during this battle. He was also later wounded during the course of the Korean Conflict, earning Purple Heart, along with a Bronze Star and other medals. Following Korea he served for 4 years as a Test and evaluation Officer at the Infantry Board at Fort Benning, GA, specializing in anti-tank weapons. After becoming a Ranger and completing the Advanced Course at Fort Benning in 1956, he joined the 8th Infantry Division at Fort Carson, CO and was assigned as Commanding Officer, Heavy Mortar Company, 28th Infantry. From October 1958 until July 1959 General Kingston was assigned to G1 Seventh Army in Officer Assignments. At the completion of the European tour, he became a student at the Air Command and Staff College at Maxwell AFB, AL. Upon graduation in 1960 he was assigned to the Tactical Department of the United States Military Academy until 1963. This was followed by a year in Korea as Executive Officer and Senior Aide-de-Camp to General Hamilton Howse, United Nations Commander, Korea. In August 1964, General Kingston attended the Armed Forces Staff College and then was assigned to Fort Carson, CO as G1 for the 5th Infantry Division (Mechanized) at Fort Carson. In August 1966 General Kingston attended the National War College, receiving a Master's Degree in International Relations, followed by an assignment as Battalion Commander at the Training Center at Fort Benning, GA. In March 1968 he was assigned as Chief, Personnel Management, United States Military Assistance Command Vietnam and in March 1969 as Commanding Officer, 1st Brigade 1st Calvary Division. He earned another Silver Star during his tour in Vietnam, along with the Distinguished Flying Cross, an Air Medal with 22 awards, along with 7 additional medals. General Kingston attended the Senior Officer Aviator Program at Fort Wolters, TX and Fort Rucker, AL in May 1970. This was followed in January 1971 with an assignment as Chief of ROTC, USMA, and OCS Division in the Office of Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel, Department of the Army. In August 1971 he was selected to be the Army member of the Senior Seminar in Foreign Policy with the Department of State. In June 1972 General Kingston assumed duties as Assistant Division Commander, 1st Armored Division, USAREUR. Upon his return from Europe in November 1973, General Kingston served as Deputy Chief of Legislative Liaison, Office of the Secretary of the Army, Washington, DC. In September 1974 General Kingston assumed command of Ft. McClellan, AL and in July 1975 also became Commander of the USA Military Police School. He was Commander at Fort McClellan through October, 1976. He was assigned as Assistant Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel, Dept. of the Army Headquarters on 15 November, 1976. He retired from the Army in September, 1978 after a 34 year career, having received 22 different medals, several of these more than once, including the Distinguished Service Medal, two Silver Stars, three Legions of Merit, a Distinguished Flying Cross, one Bronze Star with V for Valor, a Purple Heart, an Air Medal with 22 awards, and the Combat Infantry Badge. He was a Ranger, an aviator and a paratrooper. After retirement, he served six years as the Deputy Governor of the U.S. Soldier's and Airmen's Home (the "old soldiers home") in Washington, DC. After his retirement from that position, he returned to the Centre, AL area near his last command at Fort McClellan, and remained very active in the masons and in the local chapter of Rotary, along with numerous other civic oriented organizations. General Kingston was a member of Shady Grove Baptist Church.
Burial information: Oak Grove Cemetery, Cherokee County, AL
This information was last updated 01/25/2019
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