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Biographical / Historical

J. H. Binford Peay III was born on May 10, 1940 in Richmond, Virginia. He graduated from VMI in 1962 and commissioned as a Second Lieutenant of Field Artillery. He holds a Master of Arts degree from George Washington University and is also a graduate of the United States Army Command and General Staff College and the United States Army War College.

Peay's initial troop assignments were in Germany and Colorado. During two tours in the Republic of Vietnam, he performed duty as a Firing Battery Commander in the 4th Infantry Division and later as a Field Artillery Battalion Operations Officer with the 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile). Assigned to Hawaii in 1975, Peay commanded the 2nd Battalion, 11th Field Artillery, 25th Infantry Division. He then served as Senior Aide to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in Washington, D.C. and later as Assistant Chief of Staff, G-3, I Corps, and Commander, 9th Infantry Division Artillery at Fort Lewis, Washington.

In 1985, Peay was reassigned to the Army Staff as Executive to the Chief of Staff. From 1987 to 1988, he served with the Screaming Eagles as the Assistant Division Commander (Operations), 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Kentucky, followed by an assignment in July 1988 as Deputy Commandant, Command and General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.

On August 3, 1989, Peay assumed command of the 101st Airborne Division and led the Division throughout Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm in the Persian Gulf. When he was promoted to Lieutenant General, he was assigned as the Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations and Plans, Department of the Army and Senior Army Member, United States Military Committee, United Nations (June 1991-March 1993).

On March 26 1993, Peay was promoted to the rank of General and appointed the 24th Vice Chief of Staff of the United States Army. His last assignment was Commander in Chief, United States Central Command, MacDill Air Force Base, Florida (August 5, 1994-August 13 1997) with responsibility for the region encompassing twenty countries in Africa, the Middle East, Persian Gulf and South Asia.

Military awards and decorations that Peay has received include the Defense Distinguished Service Medal, Army Distinguished Service Medal with three oak leaf clusters, the Silver Star, and the Purple Heart. He wears United States campaign ribbons for combat duty in Vietnam (seven campaigns) and Saudi Arabia (three campaigns) and has received foreign awards from Vietnam, Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar.

Peay served as VMI's 14th Superintendent from 2003 to 2020.

Scope and Contents

This collection consists of J. H. Binford Peay III's oral history interview transcript. This interview was conducted in August 2009 by Dr. Lewis S. Sorley III for the United States Army Military History Institute Senior Officers Oral History Program.

Related Material

J. H. Binford Peay III's interview conducted by cadets is in the Military oral history collection (MS-0510).

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• Generals—United States
• Oral histories
• United States. Army—Officers—Biography
• Virginia Military Institute—Alumni—Biography
• Virginia Military Institute—Class of 1962