United States. A Distinguished Service Medal, To Brigadier General Hugh B. Hester

In bronze gilt with navy blue enamels, number impressed "4287" on the edge, engraved "HUGH B. HESTER" on the reverse, measuring 37.5 mm in diameter, original ribbon with brooch pinback, intact enamels, extremely fine.

Footnote: The Distinguished Service Medal (DSM) is a military award of the United States Army that is presented to any person who, while serving in any capacity with the United States military, has distinguished himself or herself by exceptionally meritorious service to the Government in a duty of great responsibility. The performance must be such as to merit recognition for service that is clearly exceptional. Exceptional performance of normal duty will not alone justify an award of this decoration. Hugh Bryan Hester (August 5, 1895 - November 25, 1983) was born in Hester, North Carolina on August 5, 1895 to William Alexander Hester and Marietta Bullock (Hester). He attended the University of North Carolina and graduated in 1917. Hester enlisted in the Army during the First World War and became a 2nd Lieutenant in the 12th Field Artillery of the 2nd Infantry Division. In 1918, he was promoted to Captain and participated in the occupation of Germany in 1919. He was wounded in action and was awarded the Silver Star and the Croix de Guerre. After the war, Hester worked as an ROTC instructor (1924-1928) at the University of Missouri. In the 1930s, he joined the Quartermaster's Corps, working in New Mexico, gaining the rank of Colonel. He married Pauline Hester Green in 1935. A career officer in the Army, he served under General MacArthur in the Pacific Theater during the Second World War, in supply and procurement (1942-1945). Brigadier General Hugh Bryan Hester (ASN: 0-8405), United States Army, was awarded the Army Distinguished Service Medal for exceptionally meritorious and distinguished services to the Government of the United States, in a duty of great responsibility during World War II, by War Department, General Orders No. 67 (1945). After the war, he became Chief of the U.S. Food and Agriculture Program in Germany. This led to the award of the French Legion of Honor. In 1947-1948, Hester was appointed the military attache to Australia. He worked as commanding General of the Philadelphia Quartermaster Depot until his retirement as a Brigadier General in 1951. After retirement from the Army, Hester studied at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, University of Pennsylvania, and George Washington University, in the areas of law and international relations, but did not earn a degree. Hester was an outspoken opponent of U.S. foreign policy for the remainder of his life. He published a book, "On the Brink", with Dr. Jerome Davis in 1959. It expressed concerns about the Cold War and suggested that new U.S. policies were needed. Hester was a common speaker at peace rallies in the 1960s and authored many opinion and editorial pieces. He was a special correspondent for The Nation, The Churchman, and U.S. Farm News, as well as a speaker on the lecture circuit. He was designated the honorary commander of a Vietnam Veterans Against the War protest march in 1970. In 1971, he published "Twenty-Six Disastrous Years" which criticized U.S. foreign policy. Hester argued for disarmament, weapons control, and world government. His wife, Pauline Hester Green, predeceased him, passing away on January 8, 1981. Hugh Bryan Hester died of natural causes on November 25, 1983 in Asheville, North Carolina, at the age of 88. He is buried in Raleigh National Cemetery in Raleigh, Wake County, North Carolina.