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{{Short description|American Army general}}
{{Infobox military person
|name= Russell Lowell Vittrup
|image= Lt. Gen. Russell L. Vittrup.jpg
|image_size=
|caption=
|nickname=
|birth_date= {{birth date|1906|7|28|df=y}}
|birth_place= [[Rockdale, Texas]]
|death_date= {{death date and age|1992|12|7|1906|7|28|df=y}}
|death_place= [[Washington, D.C.]]
|allegiance= United States
|branch= [[United States Army]]
|serviceyears= 1929–1965
|rank= [[Lieutenant general (United States)|Lieutenant General]]
|servicenumber=
|unit=
|commands= [[24th Infantry Division (United States)|24th Infantry Division]]<br />[[33rd Infantry Regiment (United States)|33rd Infantry Regiment]]
|battles= [[World War II]]
|awards= [[Distinguished Service Medal (U.S. Army)|Distinguished Service Medal]]<br />[[Legion of Merit]] (2)<br />[[Bronze Star Medal]]
|relations=
|laterwork=
}}
'''Russell Lowell Vittrup''' (28 July 1906 – 7 December 1992) was a [[United States Army]] [[lieutenant general (United States)|lieutenant general]] who served as chief of staff of the [[United States European Command]] from June 1963 to June 1965. He previously served as the [[Deputy Chief of Staff G-1 Personnel of The United States Army|U.S. Army Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel]] from 1961 to 1963.<ref name=register/><ref name="Wash obit"/><ref name="USMA obit"/>
==Early life and education==
Born in [[Rockdale, Texas]] and raised in [[Dallas]], Vittrup attended [[Southern Methodist University]] for one year before being appointed to the [[United States Military Academy]]. He graduated with a B.S. degree in 1929 and was commissioned as a second lieutenant of infantry. Vittrup later graduated from the [[United States Army Command and General Staff College|Army Command and General Staff College]] in 1941, the [[National War College]] in 1948 and the [[United States Army War College|Army War College]] in 1951.<ref name=register/><ref name="Wash obit"/><ref name="USMA obit"/>
==Military career==
During [[World War II]], Vittrup served in a series of staff positions. In June 1943, he was assigned to Allied Force Headquarters in Algiers. He then moved with the headquarters to Italy, where he helped to plan the invasion of Southern France. During the last years of the war, Vittrup participated in the invasions of Southern France and Germany.<ref name="Wash obit"/><ref name="USMA obit"/>
After the war, Vittrup commanded the [[33rd Infantry Regiment (United States)|33rd Infantry Regiment]] at [[Fort Kobbe]] in the [[Panama Canal Zone]]. As a [[brigadier general (United States)|brigadier general]], he was chief of the Army section of the Joint U.S. Military Assistance Group in [[Athens|Athens, Greece]] from August 1952 to September 1953. As a [[major general (United States)|major general]], Vittrup commanded the [[24th Infantry Division (United States)|24th Infantry Division]] in [[South Korea]].<ref name="Wash obit"/><ref name="USMA obit"/> In 1958, while serving as the Army’s deputy commander for operations in the Pacific, Vittrup negotiated a military aid package with Indonesia.<ref name=hutton/>
Vittrup was promoted to lieutenant general effective 1 April 1961. After serving as Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel at the Pentagon, he was sent to [[Paris]] to serve as chief of staff of the U.S. European Command. He retired from active duty on 1 June 1965.<ref name=register/><ref name="Wash obit"/><ref name="USMA obit"/>
==Personal==
Vittrup married Muriel Louise Brunner (17 January 1907 – 8 September 1985) on 6 September 1930. They had a son, daughter and four grandchildren.<ref name="Wash obit"/><ref name="USMA obit"/><ref name=wife/> Their son John Frederick Vittrup (20 April 1933 – 28 December 1968) was an U.S. Army major and physician.<ref name=register/><ref name=gravesite/>
Vittrup moved to [[Fort Belvoir, Virginia]] after the death of his wife. He died of cardiopulmonary arrest at the [[Walter Reed Army Medical Center]]. Vittrup and his wife were interred at [[Arlington National Cemetery]].<ref name="Wash obit"/><ref name="USMA obit"/><ref name=wife/><ref name=ancex/>
==References==
{{reflist|refs =
<ref name=register>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=R9YfAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA560 |title=U.S. Army Register: Active and Retired List |date=1 January 1962 |volume=I |page=560 |publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office |location=Washington, D.C. |access-date=2021-10-06}}</ref>
<ref name="Wash obit">{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/1992/12/10/russell-vittrup-army-general-dies-at-age-86/5fee1096-c627-4196-937b-b1a75df7b0ca/ |title=Russell Vittrup, Army General, Dies at Age 86 |date=10 December 1992 |newspaper=The Washington Post |access-date=2021-10-06}}</ref>
<ref name="USMA obit">{{cite news |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EFcyj3jnFIcC&pg=PA151 |title=Russell Lowell Vittrup |date=March 1994 |volume=LII |issue=4 |pages=151–152 |magazine=Assembly |location=West Point, New York |access-date=2021-10-06}}</ref>
<ref name=hutton>{{cite book |last1=Hutton |first1=Richard W. B. |title=Art of War Paperrs: Jakarta Knows Best |date=September 2019 |publisher=Army University Press |page=60 |url=https://www.armyupress.army.mil/Portals/7/combat-studies-institute/csi-books/jakarta-knows-best-us-defense-policies-and-security-cooperation-in-1950s-indonesia.pdf |access-date=6 October 2021}}</ref>
<ref name=wife>{{cite web |url=https://ancexplorer.army.mil/publicwmv/#/arlington-national/search/results/1/CgdWaXR0cnVwEgZNdXJpZWwaAUI-/ |title=Vittrup, Muriel B |website=ANCExplorer |publisher=U.S. Army |access-date=2021-10-06}}</ref>
<ref name=gravesite>{{cite web |url=https://gravelocator.cem.va.gov/ngl/index.jsp |title=Vittrup, John Frederick |website=Nationwide Gravesite Locator |publisher=National Cemetery Administration |access-date=2021-10-06}}</ref>
<ref name=ancex>{{cite web |url=https://ancexplorer.army.mil/publicwmv/#/arlington-national/search/results/1/CgdWaXR0cnVwEgdSdXNzZWxsGgFM/ |title=Vittrup, Russell L |website=ANCExplorer |publisher=U.S. Army |access-date=2021-10-06}}</ref>
}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vittrup, Russell Lowell}}
[[Category:1906 births]]
[[Category:1992 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Rockdale, Texas]]
[[Category:Southern Methodist University alumni]]
[[Category:United States Military Academy alumni]]
[[Category:Military personnel from Dallas]]
[[Category:United States Army Command and General Staff College alumni]]
[[Category:United States Army personnel of World War II]]
[[Category:National War College alumni]]
[[Category:United States Army War College alumni]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Legion of Merit]]
[[Category:United States Army generals]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army)]]
[[Category:People from Fort Belvoir, Virginia]]
[[Category:Burials at Arlington National Cemetery]]
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