France F. Jordan ’56

France F. Jordan ’56, of Hollywood, Md., passed away Sept. 4. He was born June 13, 1934, in Liberty, N.C. General Jordan was commissioned in 1956 from the ROTC program at Davidson. He was a graduate of the U.S. Army War College and of the regular course of the Command and General Staff College. His initial assignment was as a platoon leader, followed by duty as a company commander at the medical training center of Brooke Army Medical Center. In 1958, he was selected as aide-de-camp to Maj. Gen. William E. Shambora, the medical center commander. His assignments included duty with the Army General Staff; deputy chief of staff for Plans and Operations, U.S. Army Medical Command, Vietnam; chief, Operations Division, and later executive officer, U.S. Army Medical Research and Development Command; commander, 44th Medical Brigade; deputy director for health care operations, OTSG; and executive officer for the Surgeon General. In 1984 the Association of Military Surgeons of the U.S. named Jordan as the first recipient of the Outstanding Federal Services Health Administrator Award. In 1984 he was selected as the first MSC officer to fill the two-star billet of deputy assistant secretary of defense for medical readiness, a position from which he retired in 1987. He received the Defense Distinguished Service Medal upon his retirement, as well as the U.S. Public Health Service Outstanding Service Medal. France is survived by his wife, Mary Ann Jordan, P.O. Box 747, Hollywood, MD 20636-0747; sister, Betty Hamilton; son, France F. “Sam” Jordan, Jr.; daughter, Martha Angela Jordan; stepsons, Ian Goetchius and Wade Christian; stepdaughter, Laura Kimberly; and five grandchildren.