Peter C. Hains III

{{Infobox military person

|name = Peter C. Hains III

|image = Peter Conover Hains III (1901–1998) at West Point in 1924.png

|caption = At West Point in 1924

|birth_date = {{birth date|1901|05|11}}

|death_date = {{death date and age|1998|07|03|1901|05|11}}

|birth_place = Winthrop, Massachusetts, U.S.

|death_place = Fort Belvoir, Virginia, U.S.

|placeofburial = Arlington National Cemetery

|relations = Peter Hains (father)
Thornton Jenkins Hains (uncle)
Peter Conover Hains (grandfather)

|allegiance = United States

|branch = {{flag|United States Army|1961}}

|serviceyears = 1924–1961

|rank = Major general

|commands =

|battles = World War II
Korean War

|awards = Silver Star
Distinguished Service Medal
Legion of Merit
Bronze Star Medals
Army Commendation Medal
Purple Heart

}}

Peter Conover Hains III (May 11, 1901 – July 3, 1998) was an American Army cavalry officer and major general who competed in the 1928 Olympic games in the modern pentathlon.{{cite web |url=https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/ha/peter-hains-1.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200418113622/https://www.sports-reference.com/olympics/athletes/ha/peter-hains-1.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=2020-04-18 |title=Peter Hains Olympic Results |accessdate=2012-06-20 |work=sports-reference.com}} Hains graduated from West Point in 1924, where he ranked 162nd out of 405 in his class.{{cite web|year=1930|url=http://digital-library.usma.edu/libmedia/archives/cullum/VOL7_PART0010.PDF|title=Special Collections: Biographical Register of the Officers and Graduates of the U. S. Military Academy, 1930, Vol 7|publisher=United States Military Academy Library|pages=1855–1856|accessdate=2009-04-04|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090110224758/http://digital-library.usma.edu/libmedia/archives/cullum/VOL7_PART0010.PDF|archivedate=2009-01-10}} Hains' family had a long legacy of military service, with his great-grandfather, grandfather, and uncle all serving as high-ranking military officers. Hains' father Peter Hains was involved in an infamous murder scandal in New York City in 1909.{{cite news|author= Appel, Jacob M.|title=Murder at the Regatta|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/10/nyregion/thecity/10law.html|newspaper=The New York Times|accessdate=2009-05-29 | date=2008-08-10}}

General Hains served as commander of the First Armored Regiment in North Africa during the war. He was also armored adviser for the European invasion and then was assigned to the Pacific to help plan an invasion of Japan.

File:ANCExplorer Peter C. Hains III grave.jpg

After the war, he was assigned to Washington as deputy director of the office of the secretary of defense. General Hains was later deputy commanding general of the Second Army, chief of the military assistance advisory group in Yugoslavia, chief of staff of the Fourth Army and chief of the military advisory group in Thailand.

His honors included the Distinguished Service Medal, Silver Star, three Legions of Merit, two Bronze Star Medals, a Purple Heart, Army Commendation Medal{{cite web|url= https://ancexplorer.army.mil/publicwmv/#/arlington-national/search/results/1/CgVoYWlucxIFcGV0ZXIaB2Nvbm92ZXI-/ |title=Burial Detail: Hains, Peter Conover|website=ANC Explorer|access-date=}} and the Order of Suvorov Second Class from the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.{{citation |last=Empric |first=Bruce E. |title=Uncommon Allies: U.S. Army Recipients of Soviet Military Decorations in World War II |publisher=Teufelsberg Press |page=55 |year=2024 |isbn=979-8-3444-6807-5}}

He died at Fort Belvoir, Virginia on July 3, 1998, and was buried at Arlington National Cemetery.{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/115122082/peter-c-hains-iii-former-pentagon/ |title=Peter C. Hains III, former Pentagon official |newspaper=The Indianapolis Star |location=Washington |agency=Associated Press |page=22 |date=1998-07-11 |access-date=2022-12-24 |via=Newspapers.com}}