General Wayne A. Downing

Pioneer: A Service Hero

Wayne A. Downing (1940 – 2007) was a four-star United

States Army General. Born in Peoria in 1940, Downing graduated from Spalding High School, from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point with a Bachelors of Science degree and from Tulane University with a Masters of Business Administration.

Early on, Downing was chosen to lead the 75th Ranger Regiment and is widely recognized as the “Father of the Modern Rangers.” During Downing’s distinguished 34 year military career, he served in Vietnam, in Germany and in several locations stateside, in particular in Washington D.C. In 1993, Downing was appointed to the rank of four-star general and assigned the position of Commander-in-Chief of the United States Special Operations Command.

After his retirement in 1996, Downing served as the National Director & Deputy National Security Advisor for combatting terrorism during the George W. Bush administration. Beside his distinguished work for the government, Downing also worked as a military analyst for NBC News. In 2018, the Metropolitan Authority of Peoria voted unanimously to change the name of the Greater Peoria Regional Airport to the General Wayne A. Downing Peoria International Airport.

William Hardin

Title Unknown

(Portrait of General

Wayne A. Downing)

Giclee on canvas

Peoria Historical Society