Maxwell Davenport Taylor

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Taylor, Maxwell Davenport (1901–1987) Born in Missouri, Maxwell Taylor graduated from West Point in 1922 with a commission in the engineers. He later transferred to field artillery. In 1942 he became chief of staff of the 82nd Infantry Division and assisted Matthew B. Ridgway in converting it to an airborne unit. He was promoted to brigadier general and jumped into Sicily and Italy with the division. His dangerous secret mission behind enemy lines to Rome found unexpected German strength and prevented a bloody attempt to take the city by airborne assault. As a major general, he commanded the 101st Airborne Division during Operations Overlord and Market-Garden, though he was in the United States when the division made its famous stand at Bastogne. After World War II he served as superintendent of West Point, and commanded the Eighth Army during the last few months of the Korean War. He eventually became commander of all United Nations forces in the Far East, and retired after serving as chief of staff of the army. He was a critic of President Dwight D. Eisenhower's defense policies, and favored “flexible response” over “massive retaliation.” Taylor became very influential within the administration of John F. Kennedy, even briefly returning to active duty as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He retired again to become ambassador to South Vietnam in 1964, a position he held for a year. He then served as a special adviser to Presidents Lyndon B. Johnson and Richard M. Nixon, and played an instrumental role in getting the United States involved in the Vietnam War.

Maxwell Davenport Taylor 1901–87, U.S. general, b. Keytesville, Mo., grad. West Point, 1922. In World War II he served in Europe with the 82d Airborne Division and as commander of the 101st Airborne Division. After serving as superintendent of West Point (1945–49) and U.S. commander in Berlin (1949–51), he commanded UN forces in Korea. From 1955 to 1959 he was army chief of staff, and he argued for an army capable of fighting a limited war. When the Eisenhower administration continued to emphasize U.S. nuclear capability, he resigned; he outlined his views in An Uncertain Trumpet (1959). In 1961, President Kennedy appointed Taylor to the post of military representative to the President, and in 1962 he became chairman of the joint chiefs of staff. He served until 1964, when President Johnson named him ambassador to South Vietnam. While in that post (1964–65) he urged continued limited U.S. participation in the Vietnam War . He wrote Responsibility and Response (1967) and Swords and Plowshares (1972), a memoir.