Green Service uniform
Commander - U.S. Southern command
Commanding General Army Ground Forces

George was born on December 17, 1913 in Indianapolis, Indiana . He became a United States Army four-star general who served as Commander in Chief, United States Southern Command (USCINCSO) from 1971 to 1973. Prior to World War II, he served as a battery grade officer with artillery units at Fort Scott in San Francisco, at Fort Kamahameha in the Territory of Hawaii, and at Fort Rodman in New Bedford, Massachusetts. In August, 1945, he was assigned to Headquarters, China Theater, where he served as Assistant Chief of Staff, G-5, (Civil Affairs), then as Chief of the Control Section of the Office of the Chief of Staff, and finally as Chief of the Plans Division.

In June 1946, General Underwood was sent to Washington, D.C., to serve as Assistant to the Special Representative of General George C. Marshall, who was then the Presidential Envoy to China. General Underwood returned to China in October, 1946, as Executive Officer to General Marshall. Upon his return from China in May 1947, he was assigned to the Plans and Operations Division, War Department General Staff. In February, 1966, General Underwood was assigned as the Commanding General, 32d Artillery Brigade, in Kaiserslautern, Germany.

On May 11, 1966, the 32d Artillery Brigade was redesignated the 32d Army Air Defense Command (AADC). Underwood was commander of Fort Bliss from 1967 to 1968 and later was commander, Aerospace Defense Command and commander, Fifth United States Army.

He retired from the army in 1973. General Underwood received the Distinguished Service Medal, the Legion of Merit with 2 Oak Leaf Clusters, the Army Commendation Ribbon with One Oak Leaf Cluster, and the Special Breast Order of Yun Hui (Chinese).

He died August 3, 1974 in Alexandria, Virginia.