William B. Kean

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William B. Kean
Fifth United States Army
Battles/warsWorld War I
World War II
Korean War
AwardsDistinguished Service Medal
Silver Star
Legion of Merit
Bronze Star
Other workExecutive Director, Chicago Housing Authority
Public Relations Director, Morton Plant Hospital

William Benjamin Kean (July 9, 1897 – March 10, 1981) was a general in the United States Army.

Early life

As a West Point cadet

He was born William Benjamin Kean Jr. in Buffalo, New York, on July 9, 1897. Kean graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1918 and was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant of infantry.[1]

World War I

After receiving his commission, Kean was assigned to the U.S.M.A. as a student officer. He then carried out an observation tour of battlefronts in

Fort Benning, Georgia
.

Inter-war period

Kean carried out numerous assignments of increasing rank and responsibility, including a posting to

Command and General Staff College
.

World War II

Lieutenant General Omar Bradley, center, Commanding the U.S. 12th Army Group, confers with Major General Elwood Richard Quesada, left, and Major General William B. Kean at 1st U.S. Army Headquarters, 3 miles east of Le Tilleul, France.
Senior officers watching operations from the bridge of USS Augusta, off Normandy, June 8, 1944. They are (from left to right): Rear Admiral Alan G. Kirk, Lieutenant General Omar Bradley, Rear Admiral Arthur D. Struble (with binoculars), and Major General William B. Kean.

In March, 1943 Kean was assigned as chief of staff of the

First U.S. Army, commanded by Courtney Hodges, receiving promotion to major general. Kean served in this position until the end of the war, and remained in Europe during the post-war occupation of Germany
.

While with II Corps Kean played a role in the incident in which General

slapping a soldier
. After Bradley had investigated, he entrusted the only copy of the written report to Kean, who was directed not to show it to anyone without Bradley's permission.

During his assignment with First Army, Kean was one of the key planners of the D-Day invasion of Normandy.

Post-World War II

From October 1947 to June 1948 Kean commanded the

5th Infantry Division at Fort Jackson
, South Carolina.

Korean War

In August 1948 Kean became commander of the

Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation
.

In October 1950 the 25th Division participated in the breakout from the Pusan perimeter and drive into North Korea. In November, Chinese Communist troops crossed the Yalu River and pushed back the United Nations troops. Kean's division carried out a systematic withdrawal and took up defensive positions, first on the south bank of the Chongchon River, and then south of Osan.

After planning and reorganization a new offensive was launched in January 1951. By February

Kimpo Air Base
had been recaptured, the first of several successful assaults on the Chinese/North Korean force that helped turn the tide in the United Nation's favor.

Later in 1951 the 25th Division participated in Operation Ripper, driving the enemy across the Han River. Although the 25th Division, for the most part, performed well under Kean's leadership, Lt. Gen. Matthew Ridgway, who had recently assumed command of the Eighth Army, relieved him as part of an overall 'shakeup' of the Army's frontline generals.

In Korea, Kean assessed the all-black 24th Infantry Regiment, one of his subordinate commands, as being ineffective during its early combat operations, primarily due to the tendency of many soldiers to 'cut and run' during battle. Although he readily admitted that many individual soldiers had demonstrated competency and courage, he felt the regiment was so ineffective that it threatened the entire United Nations effort in Korea. Kean recommended that the 24th Regiment be disbanded and its soldiers assigned as 'fillers' in white units at a ratio of one to ten.

Gen. Ridgway had embraced Kean's assessment of the 24th Infantry Regiment. After relieving Kean, he asked him, before leaving Korea, to officially propose the elimination of the black units and propose the complete integration of white and black troops. Kean complied with his request and Ridgway used that proposal to help win Washington's approval for the complete desegregation of the entire Far Eastern Command.[2]

Post-Korean War

In 1951 Kean was assigned to command the

San Pedro.[3] In October of that year he led a 5,000 man task force as it took part in an exercise at the Nevada Test Site. During this event, atomic weapons tests were conducted to measure the effects on military members in close proximity.[4]

In July 1952 Kean was named commander of

lieutenant general.[5]
He remained in this assignment until retiring from the Army in 1954.

Kean's decorations included multiple awards of the

Bronze Star
.

Subsequent career

In October 1954, Kean was appointed Executive Director of the Chicago Housing Authority.[7] He remained in this position until 1957.[8]

At the C.H.A., Kean was the subject of controversy for his emphasis on reducing vacancy rates over racial integration of the authority's housing projects.[9]

After resigning from the housing authority, he moved to Florida, where he was employed as Public Relations Director for the Morton Plant Hospital in Clearwater.[10]

Retirement and death

After retiring Kean lived in Belleair and Winter Park, Florida. He died in Winter Park on March 10, 1981.[11]

Sources

  • Normandy to Victory: the War Diary of General Courtney H. Hodges and the First U.S. Army, by William C. Sylvan and Francis C. Smith, edited by John T. Greenwood, 2008, page 400
  • Omaha Beach: D-Day, June 6, 1944, by Joseph Balkoski, 2006, page 142
  • "63 Officers Move Up In Rank", The New York Times, p. 11, May 5, 1943 (subscription required)
  • Denny, Harold (June 11, 1945). "Narrow Escape on 'the Bulge'".
    Milwaukee Journal. p. 12. Archived from the original
    on January 24, 2013. Retrieved December 19, 2022 – via Google News Archive.
  • Official U.S. Army Register, published by U.S. Army Adjutant General's Office, 1946, Volume 1, page
  • War in Peacetime: the History and Lessons of Korea, Joseph Lawton Collins, 1969, page 90
  • Letters from a Soldier: 1941-1945, by Jim Larson, 2002, page 286
  • The Korean War, by Matthew B. Ridgway, 1967, page 192
  • Lightning Forward: a History of the 25th Infantry Division, Melvin C. Walthall, 1978
  • Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, October 1951
  • Military Times, Hall of Valor, Index of Recipients of U.S. Major Military Awards Archived February 18, 2018, at the Wayback Machine
  • "Gen. Kean Retires", The New York Times, p. 12, October 1, 1954 (subscription required)
  • Making the Second Ghetto: Race and Housing in Chicago, 1940–1960, by Arnold Richard Hirsch, 1983, page 235

References

  1. ^ 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. 2128. Retrieved December 19, 2022 – via Google Books.
  2. ^ Sandler, Stanley. The Korean War: An Encyclopedia. Taylor & Francis, 1995, pp. 160-161.
  3. ^ "Gen. Kean Takes Over Post at Ft. MacArthur". Los Angeles Times. November 17, 1951. p. 13. Retrieved December 19, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ Sherman, Gene (November 2, 1951). "Troops Maneuver Under Jarring Atom Test Blast". Los Angeles Times. Las Vegas. pp. 1, 16. Retrieved December 19, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "Maj. Gen. Kean Today Becomes 5th Army Chief". Chicago Tribune. July 17, 1952. p. 34. Retrieved December 19, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "Gen. Kean Wins Gallantry Award". Los Angeles Times. Tokyo. AP. October 9, 1950. p. 14. Retrieved December 19, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ Buck, Thomas (August 24, 1954). "Name Gen. Kean Boss of CHA in Surprise Move". Chicago Tribune. p. 5. Retrieved December 19, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "Gen. Kean Submits Second Resignation as CHA Chief". Chicago Tribune. July 2, 1957. p. 4. Retrieved December 19, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ Buck, Thomas (October 9, 1955). "New Policies of Gen. Kean Revitalize CHA". Chicago Tribune. p. 45. Retrieved December 19, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "Gen. Kean Ends Job With CHA; Heading South". Chicago Tribune. August 1, 1957. p. 3. Retrieved December 19, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ Other Deaths, Obituary of William B. Kean, The St. Petersburg Evening Independent, p. 20, March 16, 1981

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to William B. Kean.
Military offices
Preceded by Commanding General 5th Infantry Division
1947–1948 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
Newly activated organization
 Commanding General 25th Infantry Division
1948–1951 		Succeeded by
Post deactivated
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