Dixon native Maj. Gen. Henry Dixon to be inducted into ROTC Hall of Fame

DIXON – Dixon native Henry Dixon, a major general with the Illinois Army National Guard, will be inducted into the University of Illinois ROTC Hall of Fame in Springfield on May 3, the Guard said in a news release Wednesday.

Dixon, who commissioned in the Illinois Army National Guard as an infantry officer in 1989, is deputy commanding general of U.S. Army Central Command, based at Shaw Air Force Base in South Carolina.

He was promoted to the rank of major general as he assumed the role of the deputy commanding general on July 7, 2023.

He is the son of the late Army National Guard Brig. Gen. Henry S. Dixon Sr., also the former Lee County state’s attorney, and Linda Giesen, also an attorney. His father died on April 19, 2023, one month shy of his 89th birthday.

Their ancestor, John Dixon, established the town along the Rock River in 1830. John Dixon worked as a mail carrier between Peoria and Galena before acquiring the river ferry service and establishing a tavern at what became the town that now bears the Dixon name.

Army Central is the U.S. Army Service Component Command for United States Central Command. It is responsible to the secretary of the Army for the support and administration of more than 12,000 soldiers, including those assigned to joint task forces and embassies across the 21 countries in the Central Command Area of Responsibility.

To be inducted into the Fighting Illini Army ROTC Hall of Fame, a nominated UIUC graduate must have earned a commission from the Army ROTC program and served honorably in society, through their military, business and/or in their community, according to the release.

“It is an honor, and I am sincerely appreciative of being selected to the University of Illinois ROTC Battalion Hall of Fame,” Dixon said in the release.

“The U of I ROTC program was the starting point of my military career. I did not anticipate where my career was going to take me, nor did I expect to attain the general officer grade.

“Nevertheless, it was the education and training at the U of I ROTC that set the foundation of my subsequent military career. U of I ROTC instilled the Army values and ethos that will be with me forever,” he said.

Dixon was assigned to U.S. Army Central in June 2021 as director of operations. His previous assignments include U.S. Northern Command deputy director of operations, deputy chief of staff for operations for NATO Multinational Division Northeast, commander of the 33rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team; director of strategic plans and policy of the Illinois National Guard; and commander of the 2nd Battalion, 130th Infantry Regiment.

He deployed to Iraq from May 2005 to April 2006 as the executive officer of the Illinois National Guard’s 2nd Battalion, 130th Infantry Regiment, and to Afghanistan from November 2008 to August 2009 as the chief of staff of Afghanistan Regional Security Integration Command – West.

Dixon has a bachelor’s of science degree from the University of Illinois, a master’s in strategic studies from the U.S. Army War College, and a juris doctorate from John Marshall Law School, his father’s alma mater.

His awards and decorations include the Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit, Bronze Star (Oak Leaf Cluster), Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal (Oak Leaf Cluster),

Although the university’s Army ROTC program is more than 150 years old, its Hall of Fame was started about a decade ago. After this year, it still will have fewer than 40 inductees.