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| − | '''Lyman Louis Lemnitzer''' ([[August 29]], [[1899]] – [[November 12]], [[1988]]) was an [[United States|American]] [[U.S. Army|Army]] [[general]], who served as [[Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff]] from 1960 to 1962. He then served [[Supreme Allied Commander]], [[NATO]] from 1963 to 1969.
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| − | == Biography ==
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| − | Lemnitzer was born on [[August 29]], [[1899]] in [[Honesdale, Pennsylvania]]. He graduated from [[United States Military Academy|West Point]] in 1920 and was assigned at his request to a Coast Artillery unit. Lemnitzer served in the [[Philippines]] but soon began receiving the staff assignments that marked his military career.
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| − | Lemnitzer was promoted to [[Brigadier General]] in June 1942 and assigned to General [[Dwight D. Eisenhower|Eisenhower]]'s staff shortly thereafter. He helped form the plans for 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 [[Italy|Italian]] surrender during the secret [[Operation Crossword|Operation Sunrise]] and the [[Germany|German]] surrender in 1945. He would later be accused of making it possible for some [[Nazis]] to elude investigations for [[war crimes]].
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| − | Following the end of [[World War II]], Lemnitzer was assigned to the Strategic Survey Committee of the [[Joint Chiefs of Staff]] and was later named as Deputy Commandant of the [[National War College]]. In 1950, at the age of 51, he took [[parachute]] training and was subsequently placed in command of the [[U.S. 11th Airborne Division|11th Airborne Division]]. He was assigned to [[Korean War|Korea]] in command of the [[U.S. 7th Infantry Division|7th Infantry Division]] in November 1951 and was promoted to [[Lieutenant General (United States)|Lieutenant General]] in August 1952.
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| − | Lemnitzer was promoted to the rank of General and named Commander of U.S. Army Forces in the Far East and of the 8th Army in March 1955. He was named Chief of Staff of the Army in July 1957 and he was appointed as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in September 1960. As Chairman, Lemnitzer weathered the [[Bay of Pigs Invasion|Bay of Pigs]] crisis and the early years of American involvement in [[Vietnam War|Vietnam]]. He was also required to testify before the [[Senate]] Foreign Affairs Committee about his knowledge of the activities of Major General [[Edwin Walker]], an extreme [[racism|racist]] who had been dismissed from the Army over alleged attempts to promote his beliefs in the military. Lemnitzer approved the plans known as [[Operation Northwoods]] in 1962; a proposed (and rejected) plan to discredit the [[Fidel Castro|Castro]] regime and create support for military action against [[Cuba]] by staging [[false flag]] acts of terrorism.
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| − | Lemnitzer was named as Commander of U.S. Forces in Europe in November 1962 and was appointed as [[Supreme Allied Commander]] of [[NATO]] in January 1963. Once again, he was called upon to lead in difficult times as this period encompassed the [[Cyprus]] crisis of 1963-1964 and the withdrawal of NATO forces from [[France]] in 1966.
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| − | Lemnitzer retired from the military in July 1969. In 1975, President [[Gerald Ford|Ford]] appointed Lemnitzer to the [[United States President's Commission on CIA activities within the United States|Commission on CIA Activities within the United States]] (aka the Rockefeller Commission) to investigate whether the [[Central Intelligence Agency]] had committed acts that violated American laws.
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| − | Lemnitzer died on [[November 12]], [[1988]] and is buried in [[Arlington National Cemetery]]. His wife, Katherine Tryon Lemnitzer ([[1901]]-[[1994]]), is buried with him.
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| − | Lemnitzer was played by [[John Seitz (actor)|John Seitz]] in the 1991 film ''[[JFK (film)|JFK]]''.
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| − | {{start box}}
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| − | {{succession box | before = Gen. [[Maxwell D. Taylor]] | title = [[Chief of Staff of the United States Army]] | years = 1959—1960 | after = Gen. [[George Decker]]}}
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| − | {{succession box | before = Gen. [[Nathan F. Twining]] | title = [[Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff]] | years = 1960—1962 | after = Gen. [[Maxwell D. Taylor]]}}
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| − | {{succession box | before = Gen. [[Lauris Norstad]] | title = [[Supreme Allied Commander Europe]] ([[NATO]]) | years = 1963—1969 | after = Gen. [[Andrew Goodpaster]]}}
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| − | {{end box}}
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| − | {{wikipedia|Lyman Lemnitzer}}
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| − | [[Category:People]]
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