Matthew Bunker Ridgway

Matthew Bunker Ridgway 1895-1993, U.S. general, b. Fort Monroe, Va. A West Point graduate, in World War II he was made (1942) assistant division commander and then commander of the 82d Infantry Division. This became the 82d Airborne Division, and Ridgway jumped with his men in the invasions of Sicily, Italy, and France (1942-44). He later commanded the 18th Airborne Corps. Appointed (1950) commander of the U.S. 8th Army in Korea, he replaced (1951) Douglas MacArthur as commander of the United Nations forces in Korea and of the Allied occupation forces in Japan. In June, 1952, Ridgway succeeded Dwight D. Eisenhower as supreme commander of the Allied Powers in Europe and held that post until he became army chief of staff in Aug., 1953. He protested vigorously but unsuccessfully against the Eisenhower administration's overall military policy, which emphasized air and atomic power at the expense of the army and navy. Retiring from the army in June, 1955, with the permanent rank of general, Ridgway was (1955-60) chairman of the board of trustees of the Mellon Institute for Industrial Research in Pittsburgh.

Bibliography: See his memoirs (1956) and book, The Korean War (1967).

Ridgway, Matthew B. (1895–1993), general, World War II and Korea; Supreme Commander, NATO; presidential adviser.Ridgway graduated from West Point in 1917 and rose through the ranks as an infantry officer. He served in a score of military and diplomatic assignments, graduated from the Command and General Staff School (1935) and the Army War College (1937), and was on staff with George C. Marshall, army chief of staff, in 1941.

During World War II, General Ridgway commanded the 82nd Airborne Division in Europe (1943–44), dropping at Sicily, on D‐Day, and at Bastonge. In 1944, he assumed command of the Allied XVIII Airborne Corps. After the war, he served in a variety of command and staff positions, and in 1950 was appointed deputy army chief of staff. In December 1950, he assumed command of Eighth Army during the Korean War when United Nations forces were being attacked by the Communist Chinese. His wearing of hand grenades on his jacket symbolized his determination to resist.

Ridgway moved quickly to provide motivation and halt the Chinese south of Seoul. In “Operation Meatgrinder,” he counterattacked and established line Kansas, the United Nations' main line of defense across Korea. In April 1951, he replaced Gen. Douglas MacArthur as commander of UN forces. Reluctantly accepting the stalemate in Korea, Ridgway decided it would be too costly to take the war into China. Under orders from Washington, he initiated the truce talks which, in 1953, produced the armistice.

Ridgway succeeded Dwight D. Eisenhower as Supreme Commander, NATO, in May 1952. Later, as chief of staff, U.S. Army (1954–55), he advocated a strong ground army, warning against Eisenhower's emphasis on airpower and nuclear weapons. He was an opponent of America's early involvement in Vietnam (1954) and again in the 1960s. As one of President Lyndon B. Johnson's “Wise Men” in 1968, he advocated U.S. withdrawal from the Vietnam War.

A highly successful, if often underrated, military officer, Ridgway was a gifted organizer, strategic planner, and political‐military coalition leader.
[See also World War II: Military and Diplomatic Course.]

Bibliography

Matthew B. Ridgway , Soldier: The Memoirs of Matthew B. Ridgway, 1956.
Paul M. Edwards , Comp., General Matthew B. Ridgway: An Annotated Bibliography, 1993.
Jonathan M. Soffer , Matthew B. Ridgway, 1998.

Paul M. Edwards