William H. Gourley

{{short description|United States Army general}}

{{Infobox military person

|name= William H. Gourley

|image= Gourley-DA-SC-92-05217.jpeg

|image_size=250

|alt=

|caption=

|nickname=

|birth_date={{birth date|1933|2|13|df=y}}

|birth_place=Philadelphia, Pennsylvania U.S.

|death_date= {{death date and age|2008|8|25|1933|2|13|df=y}}

|death_place= Monterey, California, U.S.

|allegiance= United States

|branch= United States Army

|serviceyears= 1955–1989

|rank= Major General

|servicenumber=

|unit=

|commands=1st Personnel Command, United States Army Personnel Command

|battles=Vietnam War

|awards=

|relations=

|laterwork=

}}

William Harvey Gourley (13 February 1933 – 25 August 2008) was a major general in the United States Army. He served as Commanding General of the 1st Personnel Command.{{cite book|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zqRPfg2-KCEC&pg=PA647 |title=Army Executive Biographies |chapter=Brigadier General William Harvery Gourley |page=647 |date=1985 |publisher=Headquarters, Department of the Army |access-date=2021-07-15}}{{cite web|url=https://memory.loc.gov/diglib/vhp/bib/loc.natlib.afc2001001.58941 |title=William H. Gourley Collection: Veterans History Project (American Folklife Center, Library of Congress) |publisher=Memory.loc.gov |date= |access-date=2020-01-14}}{{cite web|url=https://www.montereycountyweekly.com/news/cover/maj-gen-william-h-gourley-planted-the-seeds-for-new/article_ac66cef8-56b8-11e7-8bca-9b9a9fd5a0d4.html |title=Maj. Gen. William H. Gourley planted the seeds for new clinic. | Cover |publisher=montereycountyweekly.com |date=2017-06-22 |access-date=2020-01-14}}{{cite web|url=https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/montereyherald/obituary.aspx?n=major-general-retired-william-harvey-gourley&pid=116459711 |title=Major General (Retired) William Harvey Gourley Obituary - Monterey, CA | Monterey Herald |publisher=Legacy.com |date=27–28 August 2008 |access-date=2021-07-15}}

Born and raised in Philadelphia, Gourley attended Temple University and participated in the Army ROTC program there. He earned a B.S. degree in management from Temple and was commissioned a second lieutenant in 1955. Gourley later earned an M.B.A. degree from Indiana University in 1964.{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TQXlqNdaUzAC&pg=PA218 |title=U.S. Army Register: Active and Retired List |date=1 January 1966 |volume=I |page=218 |publisher=Department of the Army |location=Washington, D.C.| access-date=2021-10-20}}

During his military career, Gourley was deployed to Germany, Vietnam, Turkey and South Korea. He retired from active duty on 30 November 1989.

Gourley moved to Monterey, California, after his retirement and became involved in planning the civilian reuse of Fort Ord after it was closed in 1994. As a result of his efforts, the Major General William H. Gourley VA-DoD Outpatient Clinic opened in Marina, California in 2017.{{cite news |url=https://www.montereyherald.com/2017/08/03/marinas-va-dod-clinic-has-its-grand-opening/ |title=Marina's VA-DoD Clinic has its grand opening |first=James |last=Herrera |date=3 August 2017 |newspaper=Monterey Herald |access-date=2021-07-15}}