Former Secretary of State Colin Powell has died. His death has been attributed to COVID 19, although he had been battling multiple myeloma for several years.
“General Colin L. Powell, former U.S. Secretary of State and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, passed away this morning due to complications from Covid 19,” the Powell family wrote on Facebook. “We have lost a remarkable and loving husband, father, grandfather and a great American,” they said, noting he was fully vaccinated.
Born in Harlem in 1937, Powell attended City College of New York and joined the Reserve Officer Training Corps while there. He was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant upon graduation. As a Captain, he served a tour in Vietnam as an ARVN advisor.
He served as National Security Advisor for President Ronald Reagan from 1987 to 1989. Powell was promoted to four-star general in April 1989. Later that year, he was selected by President George H. W. Bush as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and served as such until September 1993.