The First Black Chief of Chaplains of the U.S. Army, Major General Matthew A. Zimmerman, Is a Brother of Omega Psi Phi

Did you know that Major General Matthew A. Zimmerman Jr., the first Black chief of chaplains in the history of the United States Army, is a member of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc.?

Matthew Augustus Zimmerman Jr. was born on December 9, 1941, in Rock Hill, South Carolina. He was educated at Benedict College and Duke University, where he became the first African American to earn a Master of Divinity degree. Ordained by the National Baptist Convention, he served as a campus pastor at colleges around the country before earning a second master’s degree and answering a new call to service.

In 1967, Zimmerman entered the United States Army as a chaplain. He was soon sent to Vietnam, where, in addition to ministering to soldiers, he spent countless hours helping local orphanages gather clothing and other basic supplies. Over the following decades, he served soldiers and their families across the country and around the world, from Fort Hood to West Germany, steadily rising through the ranks of the Army Chaplain Corps.

Zimmerman’s steady leadership carried him to the top of his profession. In 1989, he was promoted to brigadier general and named deputy chief of chaplains. Then, on August 1, 1990, he was promoted to major general and installed as the 18th Chief of Chaplains of the United States Army, becoming the first African American ever to hold the position. He assumed the role at a pivotal moment, taking command of the Army’s chaplaincy on the very eve of the Gulf War, and he went on to guide thousands of chaplains ministering to soldiers around the globe.

Over a distinguished career, Zimmerman earned honors including the Legion of Merit and the NAACP’s Roy Wilkins Meritorious Service Award, and he was inducted into the South Carolina Black Hall of Fame. After retiring from the Army in 1994 as a major general, he continued to serve as the first African American director of the Department of Veterans Affairs National Chaplain Center. His lifetime of faith and service reflects the Omega Psi Phi cardinal principles of manhood, scholarship, perseverance, and uplift.