{"id":71763,"date":"2025-11-10T07:45:00","date_gmt":"2025-11-10T12:45:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/news\/?p=71763"},"modified":"2025-11-13T12:49:07","modified_gmt":"2025-11-13T17:49:07","slug":"gen-b-b-bell-donates-lifes-papers-and-a-love-story-to-utc-special-collections","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.utc.edu\/news\/2025\/11\/gen-b-b-bell-donates-lifes-papers-and-a-love-story-to-utc-special-collections\/","title":{"rendered":"Gen. B.B. Bell donates life\u2019s papers and a love story to UTC Special Collections"},"content":{"rendered":"

This Tuesday, Nov. 11, is Veterans Day\u2014a federal holiday observed annually to honor military veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces.<\/em><\/p>\n

Retired U.S. Army Gen. Burwell Baxter \u201cB.B.\u201d Bell III, a 1969 graduate of the University of Chattanooga, commanded at every level from platoon to four-star general during his 39 years of service. His career included serving as executive officer to Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm and as a brigade commander under Gen. Barry McCaffrey.<\/em><\/p>\n

Bell has donated his personal papers and recently published memoir, \u201cMemoirs of a Nondescript Four-Star General: A Love Story,\u201d to the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Library\u2019s Special Collections.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Gen.

Gen. B.B. Bell stands at the Oak Street entrance to the UTC campus (photo by Angela Foster).<\/p><\/div>\n

Retired U.S. Army Gen. Burwell Baxter \u201cB.B.\u201d Bell doesn\u2019t see his life as extraordinary. He\u2019ll tell you he was \u201cnondescript\u201d\u2014a soldier who did his job, served his country and went home.<\/p>\n

But to anyone looking at his record, or the path that brought him from Oak Ridge, Tennessee, to a four-star command, it\u2019s clear that his story is anything but ordinary.<\/p>\n

Bell spent nearly four decades in uniform, moving his family 33 times and serving in posts across the globe. He commanded at every level, from platoon to the Army\u2019s senior leadership.<\/p>\n

His career included assignments most officers only read about\u2014executive officer to Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf during the Gulf War, brigade commander under Gen. Barry McCaffrey, and senior commands with NATO and U.S. Forces Korea.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Now, the career soldier who led American and Allied soldiers across continents has entrusted his life\u2019s papers and memoir to the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Library\u2019s Special Collections. It\u2019s a fitting homecoming for an alum who says the University gave him his start.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe collection consists of 37 chronologically organized boxes of my life and Katie\u2019s life,\u201d Bell said. \u201cThey trace my career from graduating from the University of Chattanooga, commissioning as a second lieutenant in 1969, and serving in assignments that ultimately led to my retirement as a four-star general.\u201d<\/p>\n

Those boxes tell a lifetime of stories. They begin in Oak Ridge and Brainerd, pass through Europe and Asia, and end in Chattanooga, where Bell and his late wife, Kathleen \u201cKatie\u201d Fields Bell, spent their retirement years.<\/p>\n

Katie, his college sweetheart and \u201cthe love of my life,\u201d died in 2023 after a long battle with an autoimmune disease that necessitated a double-lung transplant. They were married for 54 years.<\/p>\n

Bell said the collection holds \u201ctons of letters\u201d they exchanged during deployments along with photographs, awards, certificates and declassified operational records.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would say noteworthy in the entire collection of my personal papers and memorabilia would be the personal notes that I took for Norm Schwarzkopf during the Desert Shield and Desert Storm campaigns,\u201d he said. \u201cThat set of binders with all those personal notes is one of two that are known to exist on this planet.\u201d<\/p>\n

Each binder, now reviewed and cleared through the Department of Defense, represents the day-to-day record of an extraordinary period in U.S. military history\u2014written in real time by the person sitting at the general\u2019s right hand.<\/p>\n

But Bell\u2019s papers aren\u2019t meant to tell the story of war so much as the story of his life, his marriage and the generation they represent.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was very meaningful to write my memoirs and put them into a book and have them published\u2014simply to go through everything once more and remember my life as best I could and write it all down. I found that pretty healthy,\u201d he said. \u201cBy laying my wife\u2019s life out in a book for others to look at, it might give them some advice and counsel about how to live their lives.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Wedding

Katie Fields and B.B. Bell were married on March 29, 1969. Photo courtesy of University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Special Collections.<\/p><\/div>\n

Bell\u2019s memoir, \u201cMemoirs of a Nondescript Four-Star General: A Love Story,\u201d spans nearly four decades of service and leadership but centers on the two people at its heart.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese are not my memoirs; these are our memoirs,\u201d he said. \u201cUnfortunately, I wrote them for her because she had passed away. They were my best shot to leave her legacy of who this woman was from Brainerd, Chattanooga, Tennessee, and how important she was to our military and to its families and service members.\u201d<\/p>\n

His love story with Katie began on the University of Chattanooga campus. Bell came to the University with a simple goal: earn a business degree and find a steady job.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy motivation to be in the College of Business at the University of Chattanooga was so I could get a job at the Provident Life Insurance Company,\u201d he explained. \u201cMost of the business graduates went and worked for Provident. That\u2019s what you did and that\u2019s what I was going to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Gen

Gen B.B. Bell’s final military photo<\/p><\/div>\n

In the 1960s, the University required students to take either band, physical education or ROTC. Bell couldn\u2019t play an instrument and football during his high school years had left him banged up. So he joined ROTC\u2014\u201cnoncommittally,\u201d as he put it.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou did not commit to going into the military until your junior year,\u201d he said, \u201cand that\u2019s when it got serious.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Army offered him a scholarship. The decision, meant to help his parents with tuition, changed everything.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I were to accept it, then they would pay for the rest of college,\u201d he explained. \u201cI would have a four-year commitment and then after that, I could get out and go do whatever I wanted.\u201d<\/p>\n

He planned to do exactly that. He married Katie\u2014also a University alum\u2014shortly before his own graduation. The couple agreed that after four years in the Army, they would return to Chattanooga, where Bell would join her father, Harry Lee Fields Jr.\u2014a successful local businessman\u2014in the family company.<\/p>\n

\u201cHer daddy had told me that I couldn\u2019t marry his daughter unless I agreed to the following terms\u2014and those terms were that I would go to work for him when I came out of the Army,\u201d Bell said. \u201cAnd\u2014oh, by the way\u2014if I were going to stay in the Army, I could not marry her.<\/p>\n

\u201cOff my wife and I went for a four-year tour in the Army. That ended 39 years later, oddly enough, and many strange phone calls with her dad.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Bells moved 33 times from 1969 to 2008 and raised one son, Burwell Baxter \u201cBuck\u201d Bell IV, who was born while they were stationed in Germany. Buck was diagnosed as a child with cystic fibrosis, a life-threatening disease that affects the lungs and other organs. Despite the prognosis, he has defied expectations for decades.<\/p>\n

\u201cBuck is one of the world\u2019s great survivors,\u201d Bell said. \u201cHe\u2019s incredibly smart\u2014far beyond any intellect that I may have\u2014and lives well with a double-lung transplant. Buck is a miracle person.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Envelope

Envelope from a letter B.B. Bell sent to his wife postmarked Jan. 13, 1970. Photo courtesy of University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Special Collections.<\/p><\/div>\n

Bell moved through the Army ranks quietly, often unsure if he was making an impression.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou don\u2019t really know if what you\u2019re doing is satisfactory,\u201d he said. \u201cEverybody gets patted on the back and whatever, but you\u2019re never really sure.\u201d<\/p>\n

Then came the phone call that changed his career.<\/p>\n

In 1987, as a lieutenant colonel working in the Pentagon, his phone rang. The voice on the other end asked, \u201cWhat are you doing?\u201d<\/p>\n

Bell hesitated.<\/p>\n

\u201cWho is this idiot saying, \u2018What are you doing?\u2019 You\u2019re supposed to identify yourself,\u201d Bell explained as he shared the story. Assuming it was a senior officer, he responded: \u201cSir, I am typing on my Wang.\u201d<\/p>\n

Before personal computers became widespread, the Army used Wang word processors for typing and document management.<\/p>\n

The voice replied, \u201cWell, that\u2019s not what I meant, Bell. This is Norm Schwarzkopf. Meet me at the airport at Andrews Air Force Base tomorrow morning. We\u2019re going to CENTCOM (United States Central Command).\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHow long will we be down there?\u201d Bell asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe said, \u2018We\u2019re going forever. You\u2019re leaving.\u2019 And that\u2019s how it began.\u201d<\/p>\n

That phone call launched one of the most defining relationships of Bell\u2019s military life. He served three years as Schwarzkopf\u2019s executive officer, accompanying him through Desert Shield and Desert Storm.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was inside his inner circle, very close to him, with him every day on the battlefield,\u201d Bell said. \u201cIt was a wonderful learning experience.\u201d<\/p>\n

He later commanded a brigade under Barry McCaffrey\u2014\u201cthe finest warrior I\u2019ve ever known,\u201d Bell said\u2014and eventually rose to lead the Army\u2019s Armor Center, III Corps, U.S. Army Europe and NATO\u2019s Land Component Headquarters. As a four-star, he commanded all U.S. and Allied forces in Korea.<\/p>\n

\"Col.

Col. B.B. Bell, left, and Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf, Bronze Star Awards Ceremony, May 22, 1991. Photo courtesy of University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Special Collections.<\/p><\/div>\n

When Bell retired in 2008, he and Katie returned to Chattanooga, bought a home, reconnected with the University and settled into a new rhythm\u2014until life took an unexpected turn.<\/p>\n

In 2009, Katie developed a rare autoimmune disease that was destroying her lungs. Her only chance of survival was a risky double-lung transplant.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen she first got the diagnosis, I looked at the whole thing clinically,\u201d Bell said. \u201cBut she\u2019s my bride and she\u2019s family. The emotions were stronger than any situation I ever faced in the military.\u201d<\/p>\n

At the time of the surgery, her life expectancy was five years. The transplant gave them 14 more years together.<\/p>\n

After Katie\u2019s passing in 2023, Bell returned to the papers they had saved from every chapter of their life together. He began sorting them, writing, remembering, healing. What started as a project of preservation became something more\u2014a love letter, a legacy and a final salute to the life they built together.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was unbelievable,\u201d he said. \u201cHaving these boxes of materials organized chronologically, I could actually pull a box out and just muse through all these letters, military documents and other paraphernalia. All that stuff from that era would literally come rushing back into my memory.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"B.B.

B.B. Bell, left, meets with comedian Bob Hope during a Desert Shield and Desert Storm visit in 1990. Photo courtesy of University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Special Collections.<\/p><\/div>\n

The resulting 350-page book, he said, was a labor of love. All profits from its sales benefit the Tunnel to Towers Foundation, which supports veterans and first responders.<\/p>\n

Carolyn Runyon, director of UTC Library\u2019s Special Collections, said Bell\u2019s donation adds a valuable new dimension to the University\u2019s archives.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think for students, it\u2019s really interesting for them to see what they might be able to make of their lives,\u201d she said. \u201cGen. Bell helped pay for his tuition and education through ROTC and is kind of the American story.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bell\u2019s collection joins the papers of other influential alums and community figures recently donated to Special Collections\u2014including composer Roland Carter<\/strong><\/a>, artist Barry Moser<\/strong><\/a> and state legislator Dr. Tommie Brown<\/strong><\/a>\u2014forming a growing record of Chattanooga lives that have shaped history far beyond the city.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery time we add a new collection, we provide global access to materials that represent part of Chattanooga\u2019s history,\u201d Runyon said. \u201cCollections like this help make Chattanooga part of the larger historical conversation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bell said he\u2019s simply grateful to share what he can.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not seeking any publicity,\u201d he said. \u201cThese are just my memoirs. But if they help tell the story of my family, my wife and our lives of service, and if they help future students or historians understand what it means to lead and to love\u2014then that\u2019s a story worth preserving.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Bell, Veterans Day is not about medals or rank but about the people who wear the uniform and the values that endure when it\u2019s folded away.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s emotional to put on the uniform and certainly emotional to take it off,\u201d he wrote in an essay reflecting on his service. \u201cBeing with my fellow military service members in difficult, complex and even dangerous environments where we depended on one another for mission success\u2014and in some cases for our lives\u2014was all very special to me. Leaving was very difficult.\u201d<\/p>\n

For a general who calls himself \u201cnondescript,\u201d it\u2019s a legacy that could not be more remarkable.<\/p>\n

Learn more<\/h4>\n

Visit UTC<\/a><\/p>\n

UTC Special Collections<\/a><\/p>\n

UTC Digital Collections<\/a><\/p>\n

The uniform: A retired general reflects on his service<\/a><\/p>\n

How to apply<\/a><\/p>\n

Images courtesy of University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Special Collections<\/h4>\n
\"Department <\/a>
Department of the Army certificate recognizing Cadet Lt. Col Burwell B. Bell III as a distinguished military student in the University of Chattanooga Reserve Officers Training Corps <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Gen. <\/a>
Gen. B.B. Bell in Heidelberg, Germany, in 2004 <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Letter <\/a>
Letter dated June 15, 1968, from the Department of the Army to Burwell B. Bell II <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Capt. <\/a>
Capt. B.B. Bell was an ROTC training officer at Texas Tech University, circa 1977 <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>
\"Letter <\/a>
Letter dated Jan. 12, 1969, sent by B.B. Bell to Katie Fields <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div> <\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Retired U.S. Army Gen. Burwell Baxter \u201cB.B.\u201d Bell III, a 1969 graduate of the University of Chattanooga, commanded at every level from platoon to four-star general during his 39 years of service. Bell has donated his personal papers and recently published memoir, \u201cMemoirs of a Nondescript Four-Star General: A Love Story,\u201d to the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Library\u2019s Special Collections.<\/p>\n

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