Lemnitzer: A Soldier for His Time
Washington, DC: Brassey's, 1997. First edition. First edition [stated]. First printing [stated]. Hardcover. xiv, 386 p. Illustrations. Notes. Index. Foreword by John. S. D. Eisenhower. -Provides new insights into the Bay of Pigs invasion-With Mark Clark Lemnitzer led one of World War II's most celebrated doak-and-dagger missions, a dangerous submarine trip behind German lines-Disguised as a civilian, he slipped into Switzerland to help negotiate the surrender of German forces in Italy Eight years after becoming a captain, Lyman L. Lemnitzer was a general and a key architect of some of World War II's most crucial campaigns. Toward the end of his distinguished 51-year career, Lemnitzer was at the peak of his profession--Army chief of staff and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under Eisenhower and then Kennedy. He gracefully overcame being unfairly blamed for the CIA's debacle in Cuba to serve brilliantly as Supreme Allied Commander in Europe. Drawing extensively on diaries, oral histories, personal correspondence, and recently released government files, L. James Binder paints a portrait of a good-natured, ordinary-seeming man of extraordinary courage and capability. From Wikipedia: Lyman Louis Lemnitzer (August 29, 1899 November 12, 1988) was a United States Army General, who served as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from 1960 to 1962. He then served as Supreme Allied Commander of NATO from 1963 to 1969. Lemnitzer was born on August 29, 1899 in Honesdale, Pennsylvania. He graduated from 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. Lemnitzer was promoted to Brigadier General in June 1942 and assigned to General 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 Italian fascist surrender during the secret Operation Sunrise and the German surrender in 1945. 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 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 11th Airborne Division. He was assigned to Korea in command of the 7th Infantry Division in November 1951 and was promoted to Lieutenant General in August 1952. 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 appointed Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in September 1960. As Chairman, Lemnitzer weathered the Bay of Pigs crisis and the early years of American involvement in Vietnam. Lemnitzer retired from the military in July 1969. In 1975, President Ford appointed Lemnitzer to the 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 and allegations that E. Howard Hunt and Frank Sturgis (of Watergate fame) were involved in the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Lemnitzer died on November 12, 1988 and is buried in Arlington National Cemetery. The author was formerly the Editor in Chief of Army magazine before retiring in 1993. Condition: Very good in very good dust jacket. Pencil erasure residue on fep.
Keywords: Bay of Pigs, David Eisenhower, Mark Clark, Allen Dulles, Stanley Embrick, NATO, Lyman Lemnitzer, Robert McNamara, Maxwell Taylor, West Point
ISBN: 9781574881073
[Book #66249]
Price: $45.00