Gordon R. Sullivan

The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution announces with great sorrow the death of former Member of the Corporation and Life Trustee, Retired Gen. Gordon R. Sullivan, on January 2, 2024. He was 86.

Gordon R. Sullivan was born on Sept. 25, 1937, in Boston, Massachusetts, and grew up in nearby Quincy. A proud New Englander, he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in history from Norwich University, Vermont, and was commissioned a second lieutenant of armor in 1959.

During his Army career, Sullivan served two combat tours in Vietnam and four overseas assignments in Europe and one in Korea. He commanded the Army’s 1st Infantry Division from June 1988 to July 1989, was deputy commandant of the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College from March 1987 to June 1988, and assistant commandant of the U.S. Army Armor School from November 1983 to July 1985. He later was deputy Army chief of staff for operations and plans from July 1989 to June 1990 and Army vice chief of staff from June 1990 to June 1991 before becoming the Army chief of staff.

Sullivan also served in a variety of other command and staff positions, including eight years in joint and allied assignments. He held a Master of Arts degree in political science from the University of New Hampshire, and his professional military education included the U.S. Army Armor School Basic and Advanced Courses, the Command and General Staff College and the U.S. Army War College.

During his tenure as the Army’s top general, Sullivan oversaw the downsizing of the Army. He did it while attempting to maintain morale and a sense of purpose while also seeing the Army deploy on unexpected contingencies to Somalia, Rwanda, Haiti and the Balkans, and also in response to Hurricane Andrew, then the most destructive hurricane in U.S. history.

He is credited with keeping the Army trained and ready and opening the door to information-age technologies. He also always kept his focus on taking care of soldiers.

An incredible intellectual who talked to world leaders and influencers with ease, Sullivan’s words were always deep and insightful. He had the keen ability to see the future by drawing lessons from the past to influence his direction in the present. He was an ardent student of history and enjoyed drawing inspiration from historic battlefield staff rides.

His greatest love in uniform was spending quality time with troops. He preferred his coffee in a Styrofoam cup. After receiving briefings from senior leaders on visits, he wanted quality time talking to young soldiers. His genuine warmth made him approachable, and his words galvanized their spirit and resolve.

He was one of them—and they knew it.

He was the embodiment of humility and extraordinarily respectful of the soldiers he led, treating everyone, regardless of rank, with the same dignity and respect that he treated his peers and superiors.

“I believe the essential nature of the Army has remained constant since the beginning,” Sullivan said in 2016. “It is the soldier. The soldier is the weapon. He or she is the answer. They are the ones who adapt on the battlefield. Ultimately, success will rest on the shoulders of the men and women who had the courage to serve. I believe that.”

In his 1996 book, Hope is Not a Method, which he co-authored with Michael Harper, Sullivan chronicles the enormous challenges he faced in transforming the post-Cold War Army.

Sullivan retired from the Army in July 1995 after more than 36 years of service.

His awards and decorations include the Defense Distinguished Service Medal, Distinguished Service Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster (Army), Distinguished Service Medals from Navy/Marine, Air Force and Coast Guard, Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit, Bronze Star Medal, Purple Heart, Meritorious Service Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster, Joint Service Commendation Medal, Army Commendation Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster, Army Achievement Medal, Combat Infantryman Badge and awards from France, Japan, Canada, Mexico, Brazil and other nations.

But Sullivan didn’t stop serving after he retired from the Army. “After his uniformed service, Gen. Sullivan led AUSA for 18 years, where he continued to serve soldiers and America’s Army by advocating for them and supporting them,” Brown said. “So many of us are so incredibly proud to have served with him in the Army and at AUSA. He was an amazing person, and we will all deeply miss his wit, sense of humor, leadership and wisdom. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family during this difficult time.”

Sullivan joined AUSA in 1998 as the association’s 18th president, overseeing its transformation into a dynamic, member-based organization that represents soldiers and families and connects America’s Army with the nation it serves.

He would lead the educational nonprofit for more than 18 years, stepping down in 2016. Later that year, he received the General George Catlett Marshall Medal, AUSA’s highest award, for his lifetime of selfless service to the Army and the nation.

“I’ve been proud for 18½ years to lead a professional organization dedicated to supporting the Army and all of its parts,” Sullivan said when he stepped down from leading AUSA. “We have an essential mission of the public voice for the Army, including its soldiers, veterans and retirees, their families, the Army’s civilian workforce and industry partners.”

His time at AUSA was an extension of his Army service, Sullivan said. “I saw my work here as a continuation of my 36 years in the Army, building leaders, supporting the troops, facing whatever challenges the world creates,” he said.

Sullivan continued to serve by leading the board of the Army Historical Foundation. During his time as chairman, he led the capital campaign to build the National Museum of the United States Army at Fort Belvoir, Virginia. The first and only museum to tell the complete history of the U.S. Army and its soldiers, the museum opened in November 2020.

He also served as chairman of the Board of Trustees of Norwich University, his alma mater, and was chairman of the Board at the Marshall Legacy Institute. He also was a member of the MITRE Army Advisory Board and the MIT Lincoln Labs Advisory Board.

He received the 2003 Sylvanus Thayer Award, presented annually by the West Point Association of Graduates to an outstanding citizen whose service and accomplishments in the national interest exemplify personal devotion of the ideals expressed in the motto of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York, “Duty, Honor, Country.”

In 2016, Sullivan was named the first honorary Sergeant Major of the Army, a new title created to honor an individual who had demonstrated lifelong support and commitment to the NCO corps, the Army, soldiers, and their families. He was a member of the U.S. Army Sergeants Major Academy’s Hall of Honor and was inducted into the U.S. Army ROTC Hall of Fame in 2016 as part of its inaugural class.

In 2021, Sullivan and 17 other military leaders were honored by their shared hometown of Quincy. Already known as the “City of Presidents” for being the birthplace of John Adams and his son, John Quincy Adams, Quincy also has the distinction of being the hometown of several senior military leaders.

The new bridge and park, called Generals Bridge and Park, features a 7-foot bronze statue of Sullivan.

During the dedication ceremony, Sullivan said he is motivated by his steadfast dedication to service members.

“If you stick your hand up in the air at some recruiting station and say, ‘Send me, send me,’ you are my hero,” Sullivan said at the time. “There’s nothing like being in a uniform and serving the United States of America. I have told many people, if I could do it again, I would. And I am not kidding.”

Gordon is survived by his wife, Lori Sullivan, and his children, retired Navy MNC John Sullivan and his wife, Eneliza, of Palihan, the Philippines; Mark Sullivan and his wife, Heather, of Leawood, Kansas; and Elizabeth Sullivan of Lenexa, Kansas; and three grandchildren, Christopher, Jack and Samantha. He was preceded in death by his first wife, Miriam “Gay” Loftus Sullivan, of Quincy, Massachusetts; and his sister, Penny Sullivan Cohen, of Scituate, Massachusetts.

The family will receive local family and friends Thursday, January 11, 2024, from 4-6 p.m. at Chapman Funeral Home in Mashpee and a Mass is scheduled at St Anthony’s in Falmouth on Friday, January 12, 2024, at 11 a.m.

Interment will be held at a later date at Arlington National Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in memory of GEN Gordon R. Sullivan to the Marshall Legacy https://marshall-legacy.kindful.com/

Information for this obituary is from the Chapman Funeral Home website