` We later became roommates.
Fort Benning, Georgia in 1961, followed by a tour at the De-militarized Zone (DMZ), Korea. He was assigned to the 173 rd Airborne Brigade in Okinawa, Japan, where he departed to Vietnam. He commanded many solders in countless locations across the globe, including another tour in Vietnam with 101 st Airborne Division, Fort Devens, Massachusetts, Stuttgart, Germany, Fort Polk, Louisiana, and the 8 th U. S. Army Command, Yong-san Garrison, Korea, and two tours at the Pentagon. Some of his awards include: Expert Infantryman; Parachutist; Bronze Star; Meritorious Service; Army Commendation; National Defense Service; Vietnam Service; Republic of Vietnam Civil Actions Honorary Medals; Meritorious Unit Overseas Service; Army Service Ribbons; and Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross Unit, Meritorious, and Cross Unit Citations. He served 27 years of active military service in the U. S. Army, achieving the rank of Colonel. He held Command and executive positions at all levels, including Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army Personnel Command in Alexandria, Virginia. He attended all of the armed services major educational programs, including the Command and General Staff College and the Army War College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. He retired in 1987 from the Army’s Adjutant General Corps. On to Corporate America He also held B.S. and M.S. degrees as well as Executive Management Certificate from the Darden School of Business of the University of Virginia. Cummings was a major contributor to corporate America after his retirement from the military. Highlights of his business accomplishments include the following: Director of Information Systems and Program Manager for a firm contracted to provide automation and information technology support to a major staff agency in the U.S Army’s Pentagon Headquarters; Vice President/Program Manager for Training Automation Systems in support of the U.S. Army’s Training and Doctrine Command, Fort Monroe, Virginia; Executive Vice President and Program Manager for crises management systems in connection with major contract with the Federal Emergency Management Agency; Management consultant with Breil Worldwide Management until 2014; and Member of the Board of Directors of The Washington Interdependence Council (WIC) is a 501(c) 3 non-profit civic organization authorized by Congress [P.L. 105-355] to erect a monument to colonial American hero Benjamin Banneker [1731- 1806].
I remember an experience we had one year when we decided to travel to New York City to the Omega Psi Phi Boat ride. I took him with to a friend’s house, who was a seamstress. She quickly made a white pillow-ticking knicker suit for me and a grey denim knicker suit for “Chopper”. Yes, she did this in one day. Her name was Thelma Weaver. “Chopper” and I immediately packed a duffle bag with music albums, darned our new suits and headed for the boat in New York City. We didn’t have time to check into the hotel, but nonetheless, we told our friends on the boat that we were having a party in our hotel after the boat ride. We only had one room at the hotel, not a suite, but people showed up and we had a party in our room. This event was sponsored by two broke Kappas in the Waldorf Astoria Hotel, one of the most prestigious hotels In New York City.
When we checked out the next morning the bellmen lined up while we were waiting for our car, expecting to receive tips. I remember walking over to one of them and giving them $1.50 and saying; “this all we’ve got”. It was, because all we had was my father’s AMOCO credit card to pay for the gas in my father’s car we used to go to New York. This was one of my fondest memories of my friend “Chopper” He graduated from Central State University, a historical black college/university in December 1959, where he was commissioned into the United States Army as an active duty second lieutenant Infantry Officer. Military Career Began History will show that “Chopper” went on to have an achieving military career. His Army roots began with his first assignment in
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