Gen. Louis Wagner Jr.

FORT BELVOIR, Va. — Gen. Louis Carson Wagner Jr., a highly decorated Vietnam War veteran, passionate supporter of the U.S. Army and its soldiers and devoted family man, passed away peacefully on his 93rd birthday Friday, Jan. 24, 2025, at The Fairfax in Fort Belvoir, joining his dearest wife, Mary Judith "Judy" Gifford Wagner, who preceded him in death.

Lou exemplified our nation’s greatest commitment, leadership and patriotism throughout his distinguished 35-year Army career, while never forgetting his Midwest roots.

Born Jan. 24, 1932, in Jackson to Louis Carson and Margaret Marie Macke Wagner, Lou was known as “Corky” and "Carson" to family and friends during his early years. He derived his mechanical aptitude from his father and his grandfather, Alvin “Boots” Wagner. Alvin Wagner, a renowned gunsmith featured in "The American Rifleman", specialized in manufacturing muzzle-loading rifles used by marksmen throughout the U.S. and other countries. One such gun was a .25-caliber muzzleloader made for Carson Jr. for his first birthday. Carson Jr. cultivated his love for guns and anything mechanical by spending time at the Wagner Machine Shop, where he worked alongside his grandfather on weekends throughout high school.

Lou “Carson” Wagner attended Jackson High School, where he graduated valedictorian of the class of 1950. He received an appointment to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point from U.S. Rep. Paul Jones. One of his memorable experiences as a cadet occurred when President Truman visited West Point. President Truman requested that Lou (as a fellow Missourian) sit at his table for dinner. It was quite an honor for a freshman “plebe” to dine not only with the president, but also with first-class cadets (seniors).

Upon completing the bachelor’s degree, he received a commission as a second lieutenant of Armor in 1954. He later received a Master of Science in Theoretical and Applied Mechanics from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. His military education includes completion of the Army Armor School Basic and Advanced Course, Army Command and General Staff College, Army Special Warfare School Military Assistance Advisory Course and Naval War College. He also completed the Airborne and Ranger courses at Army Infantry School.

His career culminated in April 1987, when he received his fourth star and appointment as commander of the U.S. Army Materiel Command. This command consisted of more than 113,000 military and civilian personnel at 351 locations worldwide and 63 installations, with an annual budget of approximately $30 billion at the time.

Lou served in a wide variety of progressive assignments preparatory to the key roles of his later career. These included his initial assignment as a platoon leader, company executive officer, company commander and assistant S-4 (supply and logistics officer) in the 11th Airborne Division (later re-designated the 24th Infantry Division) at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, and platoon leader of U.S. Army Europe. Next, he functioned as a troop commander in the 6th Armored Cavalry Regiment at Fort Knox, Kentucky. After completion of his graduate degree, he served as an instructor and assistant professor in the Department of Mechanics at his beloved U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York, for three years.

He then received assignment to the Military Assistance Command in Vietnam, as an infantry adviser to the Vietnamese army between 1964-1965. As a field adviser, he lived and fought alongside his Vietnamese counterparts while assigned in the I Corps of Vietnam, which comprised the northern-most provinces in the heaviest fighting in Vietnam during that period. Most of his operations were in the Quê Son Valley, which became a major operational area of the U.S. Marines after they entered Vietnam in 1965. The regiment that Lou advised lost nearly 50% of their troops, killed or wounded there, frequently fighting against well-equipped main force Viet Cong and North Vietnamese battalions.

During 1966-1970, Lou served as a test officer and chief of the Armor Test Division at U.S. Army Arctic Test Center, Fort Greely, Alaska, and then as commander of a Light Airborne Armor Battalion at Fort Riley, Kansas, and Fort Bragg, North Carolina. After attending Naval War College, he once again deployed to Vietnam in July 1971 for a second tour of duty as an Infantry and Armor adviser and as deputy chief of staff, 1st Regional Assistant Command, U.S. Military Assistance Command, Vietnam.

His military legacy was marked by extraordinary heroism in Vietnam during the Easter Offensive. Wagner received the Distinguished Service Cross, the nation’s second-highest award for valor, for actions between April 29 and May 2, 1972, in a ceremony at the Pentagon conducted by Gen. William DePue. The general noted that Wagner and his Vietnamese counterpart had both been wounded two days before the fall of Quang Tri. After having his Vietnamese counterpart hospitalized, Lt. Col. Wagner took active command of all available equipment and Vietnamese soldiers. It was at this time that the advisers were given the opportunity of being evacuated by air. Lou refused to be evacuated and also declined medical attention for his fractured vertebrae. For 48 hours of continuous enemy attack, he not only commanded, but called in air strikes, which finally brought 2,000 men and equipment to a friendly base. The equipment, which had to be abandoned for lack of fuel and that which bogged down in rice paddies, was all destroyed so as to not be used by the enemy.

Wagner’s citation read:

“The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, July 9, 1918 (amended by act of July 25, 1963), takes pleasure in presenting the Distinguished Service Cross to Lieutenant Colonel (Armor) Louis Carson Wagner, United State Army, for extraordinary heroism in connection with military operations involving conflict with an armed hostile force in the Republic of Vietnam, while serving with Advisory Team 4, United States Military Assistance Command, Vietnam. Lieutenant Colonel Wagner distinguished himself by exceptionally valorous actions during the period 29 April to 2 May 1972 while serving as Senior Advisor, 1st Armor Brigade, Army of the Republic of Vietnam. The 1st Armor Brigade was ordered to protect Quang Tri City, at all cost, against three North Vietnamese Divisions supported by two regiments of tanks. As the enemy overwhelmed and shattered the brigade, Colonel Wagner’s calm and exemplary gallantry and courage became a rallying symbol to the demoralized soldiers. Disregarding his own personal safety, Colonel Wagner maintained his position at the point of severest contact and was injured when his command personnel carrier was forced to cross a bridge destroyed by enemy artillery. Refusing aid, he assisted in evacuation of his counterpart who had been wounded. When the brigade was given the mission of breaking the North Vietnamese stranglehold on the supply route to the defenders of Quang Tri, Colonel Wagner, his injury still untreated, exposed himself continuously to enemy machine gun and antitank rocket fire while directing air strikes. As the brigade’s position became less tenable and the North Vietnamese forces encircled it, Colonel Wagner’s daring courage and calm leadership became the guiding force that enabled the South Vietnamese to extricate themselves without crippling losses. Although knowing that large elements of four North Vietnamese Divisions would isolate his position, Colonel Wagner elected to remain with his counterpart and attempt a breakthrough. As they received devastating enemy artillery and a two-sided enemy tank attack, Lieutenant Colonel Wagner led the brigade in a penetration of the enemy encirclement to friendly lines. Lieutenant Colonel Wagner’s calm and fearless leadership was singularly responsible for preventing the 1st Armor Brigade’s complete decimation and saved the lives of many of his South Vietnamese comrades. Lieutenant Colonel Wagner’s conspicuous gallantry and extraordinary actions are in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit, and the United States Army."

Lou subsequently spent two years as a weapon system analyst and special assistant for materiel acquisition in the Office of the Chief of Staff, U.S. Army. Wagner returned to Europe in November 1974 as the commander of the 1st Brigade, 3rd Armored Division in Germany.

After promotion to general officer in March 1976, Lou spent the majority of his assignments in the materiel acquisition field due to the Army undergoing its most extensive modernization since World War II. Lou was assigned as deputy director Materiel Plans and Programs, Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Research, Development and Acquisition, U.S. Army in Washington, D.C., and next became director, Combat Support Systems in the same office. In 1980, Wagner became commanding general of U.S. Army Armor Center and Commandant, U.S. Army Armor School, Fort Knox. He returned to Headquarters, Washington, D.C., in January 1983 to become assistant deputy chief of staff for Operations and Plans for Force Development, U.S. Army, and subsequently, deputy chief of staff for Research, Development and Acquisition, U.S. Army, in August 1984.

He served as commanding general of the U.S. Army Materiel Command from April 13, 1987, to Sept. 26, 1989, whereupon he retired from the Army.

When requested to record his most memorable military experiences, Wagner provided his personal reflections post-retirement:

“It is difficult to pick out my most memorable experiences during the 35 years of commissioned service. Command was always memorable because of the opportunity to lead outstanding and dedicated young Americans who never questioned any order. This was true from leading a platoon of 25 men to an organization of over 100,000."

“The opportunity to instruct future officers at West Point was a high point of my early career. It has been personally gratifying to see how superbly many of them performed after being commissioned. Many went on to lead our Army as general officers. Sadly, a number were killed in Vietnam serving heroically in that war.”

Wagner continued, “Among my staff assignments, I had the opportunity to play a major role in the development, procurement and fielding of the major weapon systems that performed so magnificently during Desert Storm. These included the Abrams M1 Tank, Bradley M2 and M3 Fighting Vehicles, Apache Attack Helicopter, Blackhawk Helicopter, PATRIOT Anti-Missile System, Multiple Launch Rocket System and many others. The hundreds of hours spent before the Congress and the Office of the Secretary of Defense justifying these systems was well worth it."

“Finally, I will look back on my assignment as the chief of Armor and Cavalry as a very rewarding assignment. In that position, I was responsible for developing the doctrine, tactics and training programs for Armor and Cavalry forces worldwide. That was a real challenge as we were fielding the Abrams Tank and the Bradley Fighting Vehicles that required major changes in the way these forces fought. The tremendous success of these forces during Desert Storm confirmed that we, ‘Got it right.’”

During his Army career, Gen. Wagner received the following U.S. awards and decorations: Distinguished Service Cross, two awards of the Army Distinguished Service Medal, Silver Star, two awards of the Legion of Merit, Bronze Star, Purple Heart, Meritorious Service Medal, two awards of the Air Medal, three awards of the Army Commendation Medal, Combat Infantryman Badge, Senior Parachutist Badge and Ranger Tab and numerous service and campaign medals and various foreign decorations.

After retiring from the Army, Lou dedicated his life to defense consulting, where he always found time to support the Army that he loved so dearly.

In 2013, the Association of the United States Army (AUSA) in Arlington, Virginia, where Lou was a senior fellow of the Institute of Land Warfare, presented him its Gen. Creighton W. Abrams Medal, awarded annually to the individual or organization contributing most to the advancement of the Army during the given year.

AUSA wrote, “Often sought after for his expertise on Army technical and acquisition matters, Wagner has sat on the President’s Advisory Council of the Advanced Technology Institute, has served as a member of the Army and Defense Science Boards and was recently co-chair of the Secretary of the Army’s Acquisition Review, where he helped reform the increasingly inefficient and ineffective Army acquisition process. This report has given the Army a strong framework from which to achieve the meaningful improvements to the acquisition process. Few can even approach Wagner’s knowledge and expertise when it comes to the Army acquisition process; it shows in the work he has done on this study and in the advice he has dispensed to Army and industry leaders over the years.”

Possessing a caring heart, Lou supported numerous charitable causes ranging from medical research, including the American Kidney Fund and Breakthrough T1D (formerly the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation), to the support of America’s soldiers and their families. He particularly enjoyed his time working with the Jewish Institute for National Security (JINSA). He served as a former chairman of the board of the Retired Officers Association in Alexandria, Virginia, and member of the Board of Regents, National Eagle Scout Association in Irving, Texas.

Lou and Judy felt blessed to live more than three decades in Alexandria, after traveling the world with the military. Lou enjoyed a variety of activities, including biking; summer trips to their beloved home in Bethany Beach, Delaware; watching Army football games; and attending endless sports matches, school activities and church events at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Alexandria with their grandchildren.

Lou is survived by his daughters, Susan Jeanne Washechek (David) of Katy, Texas, and Amy Lynn Hanley (John) of Alexandria; and his sister, Shirley Wagner Ruff of Jackson. He was preceded in death by his son, Stephen Carson Wagner.

He was a loving grandfather to Jennifer Payne (Kenneth), Jeffrey Washechek (Lindsay), James (Brianna) Washechek, Bridget Hanley, Elizabeth Hanley and Claire Hanley; and seven great-grandchildren.

A celebration and thanksgiving for the life of Gen. Louis Wagner will be held in May, followed by burial at Arlington National Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, consider contributions in his memory to the National Military Family Association, 2800 Eisenhower Ave., Suite 250, Alexandria, VA 22314.

Southeast Missourian