Wilton Burton "Jerry" Persons (January 19, 1896 – 1977) served as the White House Chief of Staff to President Dwight D. Eisenhower from October 7, 1958 until January 20, 1961.
Persons graduated from Auburn University in 1916. He was a career United States Army officer who had entered the U.S. Army Coast Artillery in 1917 and advanced through the ranks to major general in 1944. He had served in both the American Expeditionary Force in World War I ...
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Wilton Burton "Jerry" Persons (January 19, 1896 – 1977) served as the White House Chief of Staff to President Dwight D. Eisenhower from October 7, 1958 until January 20, 1961.
Persons graduated from Auburn University in 1916. He was a career United States Army officer who had entered the U.S. Army Coast Artillery in 1917 and advanced through the ranks to major general in 1944. He had served in both the American Expeditionary Force in World War I and in Europe in World War II. He headed the office of legislative liaison for the Department of Defense between 1948 and his retirement in 1949.
Persons was called back to active duty as a special assistant to General Dwight D. Eisenhower at Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers in Europe from 1951-1952 and was active on behalf of Eisenhower's presidential campaign in 1952. He became a deputy assistant to the president in 1953 and then was made an assistant to the president in 1958. He served throughout the Eisenhower presidency, handling...
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