Ott's later career included assignment as chief of the Field Artillery Branch and commander of United States Army Support, Thailand. In the early 1970s, he was director of the Secretary of Defense task force that planned the handover of the Vietnam War to the South Vietnamese military and the US military's departure from South Vietnam. From 1973 to 1976, he was commandant of the Field Artillery School. In 1976, he was promoted to lieutenant general and assigned to command the US VII Corps. After his 1978 army retirement, Ott was a consultant for Teledyne Technologies.
Early life
Ott as a West Point senior in 1944
David Ewing Ott was born at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii Territory on 31 July 1922, a son of Brigadier General Edward Stanley Ott Sr. and Denise Maria (Koch) Ott. He was educated at schools in Kansas, Washington, DC, and Georgia as the Ott family moved for his father's career, and he was a 1939 graduate of Columbus High School in Columbus, Georgia. After high school, Ott attended Auburn University until 1941, when he received an appointment to the United States Military Academy at West Point from Senator Theodore G. Bilbo. Originally enrolled as a member of the class of 1945, the outbreak of World War II caused West Point to accelerate its academic program, and Ott graduated in 1944 ranked 51st of 474. At graduation, he received his commission as a second lieutenant of Field Artillery.
Start of career
After receiving his commission, Ott attended the Officer Basic Course at the Fort Sill, Oklahoma Field Artillery School. In early 1945, he was assigned to the 868th Field Artillery Battalion, a unit of the 65th Infantry Division. He served in European theatre during the closing months of the Second World War, including command of a provisional battery of British 25 pounders, and in April 1945 he received the Bronze Star Medal with "V" device for valor. After VE Day, he remained in Europe and served in Field Artillery assignments until being assigned to the Intelligence staff section (G-2) at Headquarters, US Army European Command. In 1947, Ott completed the course at the US Army Airborne School and received his parachutist badge.
After receiving his parachutist badge, Ott was assigned to the Field Artillery School faculty, where he was an instructor in gunnery until 1951. In 1950, he married Joyce Gardiner Helmick, the daughter of Major General Charles G. Helmick and granddaughter of Major General Eli Alva Helmick. They were married until her death in April 2004 and were the parents of four children. In 1952, Ott graduated from the Field Artillery Officer Advanced Course. He was then assigned to Korean War service with the 25th Infantry Division's 64th Field Artillery Battalion; during this wartime service, he was assigned first as the battalion's operations officer (S-3) and later as its executive officer and second-in-command.
In 1964, Ott was assigned to Vietnam War duty and served as executive officer of II Field Force Artillery. After six months in this role, he was assigned to command the 25th Infantry Division Artillery. Upon returning to the United States, Ott was appointed as chief of the Field Artillery Branch; in this assignment, he was responsible for organizing Field Artillery and Air Defense Artillery into separate branches. In 1969, Ott was promoted to brigadier general and assigned to command United States Army Support, Thailand, which provide Vietnam War logistics, communications, engineering, and security support for US Air Force bases in Thailand, as well as covert operations in Laos.
Later career
Ott in 1976 as commandant of the Field Artillery School
Upon returning from Thailand, Ott was assigned as deputy assistant chief of staff in the Intelligence (G-2) directorate of the Army staff. His next assignment was director of the Secretary of Defense Task Force, which was organized to plan the US withdrawal from South Vietnam. In 1973, Ott was assigned as commandant of the Field Artillery School, where he played a major role in the branch's post-Vietnam War doctrine and education revisions. In 1976, he was promoted to lieutenant general and assigned as commander of US VII Corps in West Germany. Ott retired from the army in 1978.
After his retirement from the military, Ott was employed as a consultant with Teledyne Technologies. He lived at Fort Belvoir, Virginia. during his retirement and organized the DC area chapter of the US Army Field Artillery Association. He later served as the association's president and chairman of the board. Ott wrote numerous articles for magazines and professional journals, and was the author of the book Field Artillery, 1954-1973. In addition, he served as chairman of the board for the Army Distaff Foundation, and in this position he worked to expand life care facilities for military retirees and spouses in northern Virginia and in San Antonio, Texas. As a volunteer interested in military family readiness, he organized the first Army Family Symposium. Ott died in Washington, DC on 21 June 2004. He was buried at Arlington National Cemetery.
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