Lyman Lemnitzer
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Lyman Lemnitzer | |
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11th Airborne Division 34th Coast Artillery Brigade | |
Battles/wars | |
Awards | Rockefeller Commission |
Lyman Louis Lemnitzer (August 29, 1899 – November 12, 1988) was a United States Army general who served as the fourth chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from 1960 to 1962. He then served as the Supreme Allied Commander Europe of NATO from 1963 to 1969.
Early life and education
Lemnitzer was born on August 29, 1899, in Honesdale, Pennsylvania.[1] He graduated from Honesdale High School in 1917.
He then entered the United States Military Academy at West Point, from which he graduated in 1920 with a commission as a second lieutenant in the United States Army Coast Artillery Corps.[2]
Early career
Lemnitzer graduated from the Coast Artillery School in 1921, and then served at Fort Adams in Rhode Island and in the Philippines. He was an instructor at West Point from 1926 to 1930.
Lemnitzer served again in the Philippines from 1934 to 1935, and graduated from the United States Army Command and General Staff College in 1936. He was an instructor at the Coast Artillery School, and graduated from the United States Army War College in 1940.
At the start of World War II Lemnitzer served with the 70th Coast Artillery Regiment and then the 38th Coast Artillery Brigade. In May 1941, Lemnitzer, then a colonel, was assigned to the War Plans Division of the Army staff, and then to the staff of the Army Ground Forces.
World War II
Lemnitzer was promoted to brigadier general in June 1942 and commanded the 34th Coast Artillery Brigade. He was subsequently assigned to General Dwight D. Eisenhower's staff, where he helped plan the invasions of North Africa and Sicily and was promoted to major general in November 1944. Lemnitzer was one of the senior officers sent to negotiate the Italian fascist surrender during the secret Operation Sunrise and the German surrender in 1945.
Postwar career
Following the end of World War II, Lemnitzer was assigned to the Strategic Survey Committee of the
Lemnitzer was promoted to the rank of general and named commander-in-chief of
As chairman, Lemnitzer approved the plans known as Operation Northwoods in 1962, a proposed plan to discredit the Castro regime and create support for military action against Cuba by staging false flag acts of terrorism and developing "a Communist Cuban terror campaign in the Miami area, in other Florida cities and even in Washington". Lemnitzer presented the plans to Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara on March 13, 1962. It is unclear how McNamara reacted, but three days later President John F. Kennedy told the general that there was no chance that the US would take military action against Cuba. Within a few months, after the refusal to endorse Operation Northwoods, Lemnitzer was denied another term as chairman.[4]
In November 1962, Lemnitzer was appointed as commander of
Later life and death
Lemnitzer retired from the military in July 1969. His 14-year tenure as a four star general on active duty is the second longest at that rank in the history of the U.S. Army, after General
General Lemnitzer is one of only four officers in the history of the United States Army to have actively served as a general during three major wars (World War II, Korea and Vietnam). The others were
In 1975, President
Lemnitzer died at Walter Reed Army Medical Center on November 12, 1988, and is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.[1] His wife, Katherine Tryon Lemnitzer (1901–1994), is buried with him.
Awards and decorations
Lemnitzer was awarded numerous military awards and decorations[7] including but not limited to:
Distinguished Rifleman | |
Basic Parachutist Badge | |
SACEUR badge
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oak leaf clusters
| |
Navy Distinguished Service Medal | |
Air Force Distinguished Service Medal
| |
Silver Star | |
Legion of Merit Degree of Officer | |
Legion of Merit Degree of Legionnaire | |
Presidential Medal of Freedom (Awarded by President Reagan, June 23, 1987) | |
World War I Victory Medal | |
American Defense Service Medal | |
American Campaign Medal | |
campaign stars )
| |
World War II Victory Medal | |
Army of Occupation Medal with "Germany" clasp | |
National Defense Service Medal with oak leaf cluster | |
service stars )
|
- Foreign decorations
Grand Cross of the Légion d'Honneur (France )
| |
Knight of the Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic (Italy) | |
Grand Cross of the Military Order of Italy (Italy) | |
Grand Cross of the Order of the Crown of Italy (Italy) | |
Dutch Knight Grand Cross in the Order of Orange-Nassau, with Swords (Netherlands) | |
Grand Officer of the Order of Boyaca (Colombia )
| |
Grand Cordon First Class of the Order of the Rising Sun (Japan) | |
Grand Officer of the Order of Military Merit (Brazil) | |
Order of Military Merit Teaguk (Korea )
| |
Order of Military Merit Teaguk with Gold Star (Korea)
| |
Order of National Security Merit Gugseon with Silver Star (Korea)
| |
Gold Cross of Merit with Swords (Poland )
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Philippine Legion of Honor, Chief Commander | |
Knight Grand Cross of the Most Exalted Order of the White Elephant (Thailand) | |
Royal Order of the White Eagle, Class II (Yugoslavia) | |
Grand Star of Military Merit (Chile )
| |
Order of Menelik II (Ethiopia) | |
Grand-Cross of the Portuguese Order of Aviz[8]
| |
Honorary Companion of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath (Great Britain) | |
Honorary Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (Great Britain) | |
Croix de Guerre with bronze Palm (France) | |
Bundeswehr Cross of Honour in Gold (Germany) | |
Medal for Military Merit, First Class (Czechoslovakia) | |
Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation
| |
United Nations Korea Medal
| |
Medalha de Guerra (Brazil) | |
Korean War Service Medal |
Lemnitzer was a
Dates of rank
Insignia | Rank | Component | Date |
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No insignia | Cadet | United States Military Academy | June 14, 1918 |
Second Lieutenant | Regular Army | July 2, 1920 | |
First Lieutenant | Regular Army | June 9, 1925 | |
Captain | Regular Army | August 1, 1935 | |
Major | Regular Army | July 1, 1940 | |
Lieutenant Colonel | Army of the United States | December 11, 1941 | |
Colonel | Army of the United States | June 11, 1942 | |
Brigadier General | Army of the United States | June 25, 1942 | |
Lieutenant Colonel | Regular Army | July 2, 1943 | |
Major General | Army of the United States | May 7, 1944 | |
Brigadier General | Regular Army | January 24, 1948 | |
Major General | Regular Army | August 6, 1951 | |
Lieutenant General | Army of the United States | August 1, 1952 | |
General | Army of the United States | March 25, 1955 | |
General | Retired List | June 30, 1969 |
References
- ^ a b "Funeral slated Tuesday for World War II hero". Scrantonion Tribune. Washington. November 14, 1988. pp. 1, 13. Retrieved December 13, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Cullum, George Washington (1920). Robinson, Wirt (ed.). Biographical Register of the Officers and Graduates of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y. From Its Establishment, in 1802, to 1890. Vol. VI-B: 1910–1920. Association of Graduates, United States Military Academy. p. 2148. Retrieved December 13, 2022 – via Google Books.
- ISBN 978-1-78039-886-0.
- ^ ABC News: U.S. Military Wanted to Provoke War With Cuba
- ^ OCLC 18744815.
- ^ ISBN 978-1780398877.
- ^ "Richard Nixon: Remarks on Presenting the Distinguished Service Medals of the Army, Navy, and Air Force to General Lyman L. Lemnitzer. – July 11th, 1969". Archived from the original on January 21, 2008. Retrieved March 25, 2007.
- ^ "Cidadãos Estrangeiros Agraciados com Ordens Portuguesas". Página Oficial das Ordens Honoríficas Portuguesas. Retrieved August 1, 2017.
- ^ Official Register of Commissioned Officers the United States Army, 1948. pg. 1068.