Matthew Ridgway

Matthew Ridgway
Ridgway in 1951
19th Chief of Staff of the United States Army
In office 15 August 1953 – 29 June 1955
President	Dwight D. Eisenhower
Preceded by	Joseph Lawton Collins
Succeeded by	Maxwell D. Taylor
2nd Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers
In office 11 April 1951 – 12 May 1952
President	Harry S. Truman
Preceded by	Douglas MacArthur
Succeeded by	Mark W. Clark
Personal details
Born	(1895-03-03)3 March 1895 Fort Monroe, Virginia, U.S.
Died	26 July 1993(1993-07-26) (aged 98) Fox Chapel, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Resting place	Arlington National Cemetery
Awards	Distinguished Service Cross (2) Army Distinguished Service Medal (4) Silver Star (2) Legion of Merit (2) Bronze Star Medal w/ Valor Device (2) Purple Heart Presidential Medal of Freedom Congressional Gold Medal Taegeuk Order of Military Merit
Nickname(s)	"Matt" "Old Iron Tits"[1][2][3]
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch/service	United States Army
Years of service	1917–1955
Rank	General
Unit	Infantry Branch
Commands	Chief of Staff of the United States Army Supreme Allied Commander Europe Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers United Nations Command Eighth Army Caribbean Command XVIII Airborne Corps 82nd Airborne Division 82nd Infantry Division 15th Infantry Regiment
Battles/wars	Mexican Border Service World War I Banana Wars Occupation of Nicaragua World War II Operation Husky Operation Overlord Operation Market Garden Battle of the Bulge Operation Varsity Western Allied invasion of Germany Korean War Battle of Chipyong-ni First and Second Battles of Wonju Third Battle of Seoul Fifth Phase Offensive UN May–June 1951 counteroffensive

General Matthew Bunker Ridgway (3 March 1895 – 26 July 1993) was a senior officer in the United States Army, who served as Supreme Allied Commander Europe (1952–1953) and the 19th Chief of Staff of the United States Army (1953–1955). Although he saw no combat service in World War I, he was intensively involved in World War II, where he was the first Commanding General (CG) of the 82nd Airborne Division, leading it in action in Sicily, Italy and Normandy, before taking command of the newly formed XVIII Airborne Corps in August 1944. He held the latter post until the end of the war in mid-1945, commanding the corps in the Battle of the Bulge, Operation Varsity and the Western Allied invasion of Germany.

Ridgway held several major commands after World War II and is most well-known for resurrecting the United Nations (UN) war effort during the Korean War. Several historians have credited Ridgway for turning the war around in favor of the UN side. He also persuaded President Dwight D. Eisenhower to refrain from direct military intervention in the First Indochina War to support French colonial forces, thereby essentially delaying the United States' Vietnam War by over a decade.^{[citation needed]} He received the Presidential Medal of Freedom on 12 May 1986.^[4] Ridgway died in 1993 at the age of 98.