Born in Washington, D.C.[2] and raised in Bethesda, Maryland,[3] Meade graduated from Bethesda-Chevy Chase Senior High School in 1958.

[4] He then attended Dickinson College, where he was a member of Beta Theta Pi, played lacrosse and earned an A.B.

[3] Meade participated in the Army ROTC program at Dickinson College and was commissioned a second lieutenant of artillery upon graduation.

[6] As a major general, Meade supervised the deployment of 10th Mountain Division troops to Haiti in 1994 during Operation Uphold Democracy.

[7] In May 1995, Meade was conferred an honorary Doctor of Liberal Arts degree by his alma mater Dickinson College.