Wilton Persons

Wilton Burton "Jerry" Persons (January 19, 1896 – September 5, 1977) was an American military officer who served as the White House Chief of Staff to President Dwight D. Eisenhower from October 7, 1958, until January 20, 1961.

A 1916 graduate Alabama Polytechnic Institute, Persons served in World War I and World War II. He was Chief of the legislative division in the Office of the Chief of Staff of the United States Army from 1942 to 1948, and the office of legislative liaison for the Department of Defense from 1948 to 1949. In 1951 he was called back to active duty as a special assistant to General Dwight D. Eisenhower at Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers in Europe. He became a deputy assistant to Eisenhower in 1953, assistant to the president in 1958, and chief of staff later that year.

Early life Wilton Burton Persons was born in Montgomery, Alabama, on January 10, 1896, one of five brothers. He was educated at Starke University School in Montgomery, and Alabama Polytechnic Institute, where he studied electrical engineering, and from which he graduated in 1916. He then went to work for the Western Electric Company in Lynn, Massachusetts.

Post war After the war Persons headed the office of legislative liaison for the Department of Defense between 1948 and his retirement in 1949 with the rank of major general. For his services, he was awarded the Legion of Merit. Awards from other countries included the Grand Officer of the Cross of the Sun and the Medal of War from Brazil, Order of Abdon Calderon from Ecuador. He was superintendent of Staunton Military Academy from 1949 to 1950. His papers are in the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library in Abilene, Kansas.