Paul Francis Gorman

08/25/1927 - 01/19/2026

Paul answered his country's call with over 35 distinguished years of military service. From his initial year of service in the United States Navy during World War II, he went on to attend the United States Military Academy at West Point, graduating Class of 1950. From the frozen battlefields of Korea, where he earned the Silver Star, to the jungles of Vietnam as commander of the 1st Battalion of the 26th Infantry, where his heroism was recognized with the Distinguished Service Cross, Paul embodied the warrior-scholar ideal.

Joining his former Commander from the 1st Infantry Division, Bill DuPuy, he was appointed Deputy Chief of Staff for Training at the Training and Doctrine Command in Fort Monroe. It was here that he felt he made his greatest impact on the modern Army, developing innovative training programs and systems, that manifested in the creation of the National Training Center at Fort Irwin. He went on to command the 8th Infantry Division, where he created military exercises reflecting his experience at TraDoc, codenamed "Cardinal Point". From there, he was assigned as J-5 (strategies, plans, and policy) to the Joints Chiefs of Staff, then becoming the assistant to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs. His final assignment was leading U.S. Southern Command before retiring in 1985.

Paul lived in Charlottesville, Virginia and died on January 19, 2026.

Service scheduled for a later date at Arlington National Cemetery.