John E. Dahlquist | |
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| Born | 12 March 1896(1896-03-12)12 March 1896 Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States |
| Died | 30 June 1975(1975-06-30) (aged 79) Fort Lauderdale, Florida, United States |
| Buried | Arlington National Cemetery,Virginia, United States |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Service |  United States Army |
| Years of service | 1917–1956 |
| Rank |  General |
| Service number | 0-7120 |
| Unit |  Infantry Branch |
| Commands | 70th Infantry Division 36th Infantry Division 1st Infantry Division V Corps Fourth Army Continental Army Command Army Field Forces |
| Battles / wars | World War II Cold War |
| Awards | Distinguished Service Cross Army Distinguished Service Medal (2) Silver Star Legion of Merit Bronze Star (2) |
GeneralJohn Ernest Dahlquist (12 March 1896 – 30 June 1975) was a seniorUnited States Armyofficer. In the course of his military career, Dahlquist commanded three different army divisions, commanded at thecorps andfield army level and rose to the rank offour-star general. He is well known for making a series of poor tactical decisions which led to the entrapment of theLost Battalion, which was surrounded byGerman forces in theVosges Mountains on 24 October 1944, subsequently leading to the rescue operation by the442nd RCT and its becoming the most highly decorated unit in the history of theUnited States Armed Forces.
Born on 12 March 1896, inMinneapolis, Minnesota, the youngest of four children, Dahlquist's parents were immigrants fromDalsland,Sweden. He graduated from theUniversity of Minnesota and received a directcommission as asecond lieutenant into theInfantry Branch of theUnited States Army in August 1917, shortly after theAmerican entry into World War I on 6 April 1917. Unable to serve overseas, he served in theAllied occupation of the Rhineland after the war.
Remaining in the army during theinterwar period he returned to the United States and served as an instructor at theU.S. Army Infantry School from 1924 to 1928. After graduating from theU.S. Army Command and General Staff School in 1931, he was assigned to thePhilippines. From 1935 to 1936 he was a student at theU.S. Army War College, serving on the U.S. Army General Staff, Personnel Division after graduation.
With theAmerican entry into World War II in December 1941, Dahlquist was sent toEngland and assigned as deputy chief of staff toMajor GeneralDwight David Eisenhower in early 1942, and, later that year, with theone-star rank ofbrigadier general, became the assistant division commander (ADC) of the76th Infantry Division. In June 1943, promoted to thetwo-star rank of major general, Dahlquist became the firstcommanding general (CG) of the70th Infantry Division, becoming one of the youngest division commanders in the U.S. Army. In July 1944, he took command of the36th Infantry Division, aNational Guard formation fromTexas that had fought in many difficult battles in theItalian Campaign under Major GeneralFrederick Walker and had recently taken part inOperation Dragoon, theAllied invasion ofSouthern France. It was during this period that saw Dahlquist receive the first of twoArmy Distinguished Service Medals. The citation for the first Army DSM reads:
The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress 9 July 1918, takes pleasure in presenting the Army Distinguished Service Medal to Major General John Ernest Dahlquist (ASN: 0-7120), United States Army, for exceptionally meritorious and distinguished services to the Government of the United States, in a duty of great responsibility as Commanding General of the 36th Infantry Division during the period from 14 July to 14 September 1944.[1]
Dahlquist was criticized for his overuse of theJapanese-American442nd Regimental Combat Team (442nd RCT), which had been attached to his 36th Division. Many believed his poor decisions led to the 442nd RCT becoming the most highly decorated unit in the history of theUnited States Armed Forces. Over a third of the men in the 442nd were eitherkilled orwounded when Dahlquist ordered the unit to rescue another unit that had been surrounded by the enemy. It is not the survivingNisei soldiers of the 442nd but their officers (most of them non Japanese-American) who are most often quoted in criticism of Dahlquist.[2][3]
On 24 October 1944, the 1st and 2nd Battalions of the141st Infantry Regiment, part of Dahlquist's 36th Division, moved to secure the right flank of the3rd Division near theFrench town ofSt-Die. When theGerman forcescounterattacked, the 1st Battalion was separated and cut off. After two days of attempted rescue by the other two battalions of the 141st Infantry, Dahlquist sent in the 442nd RCT, which had borne the brunt of the 36th Division's fighting for the previous eight days.[4] The 442nd would suffer 800 casualties, including 121 dead, during the five days it took to rescue 211 men of the 1st Battalion, 141st Infantry.[5] Major GeneralLucian Truscott, commanding theVI Corps (under which unit the 36th Division was serving), considered relieving him of his command.[6]
On 12 November, General Dahlquist announced he wanted to review the 442nd, to thank them for what they had done. When the battered unit appeared, Dahlquist grew irritated at their sparse numbers, ignorant at how much they had sacrificed.
— Christopher C. Meyers,The War: Vosges Mountains (The Lost Battalion), PBS.org
Dahlquist continued to lead the 36th Division throughout thecampaign in Western Europe. On May 8, 1945,Victory in Europe Day,Hermann Göring surrendered to Brigadier General Robert I. Stack, the 36th Infantry Division's assistant division commander (ADC), after a ceasefire was declared between the GermanArmy Group G and theU.S. Seventh Army.[7] Stack transported Göring to the division command post. Because he spoke German, Dahlquist dismissed his translator, and so it was Dahlquist who became the first person to question Göring.[8] Press photos of Dahlquist and Stack, in seemingly casual conversation with Göring, were released for publication in the United States and resulted in criticism of Dahlquist from the American public and from General Eisenhower, theSupreme Allied Commander in theEuropean Theater of Operations (ETO).[9]
Following the war, Dahlquist returned to the United States, serving in various administrative and personnel jobs. He took command of his third division, the1st Infantry, in 1949. This was followed by command ofV Corps from 1952 to 1953 and theFourth Army in 1953. He then served as Chief of Army Field Forces from 1953 to 1955, during which he was promoted to thefour-star rank ofgeneral on 18 August 1954. He finished his career asCommander-in-Chief, Continental Army Command, retiring in 1956, and receiving his second Army DSM for his services during a two-and-a-half year period, with the medal's citation reading:
The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress 9 July 1918, takes pleasure in presenting a Bronze Oak Leaf Cluster in lieu of a Second Award of the Army Distinguished Service Medal to General John Ernest Dahlquist, United States Army, for exceptionally meritorious and distinguished services to the Government of the United States, in a duty of great responsibility from 24 August 1953 to 29 February 1956.[10]
Dahlquist died on 30 June 1975, aged 79, and was buried inArlington National Cemetery,Virginia.[11]
Dahlquist was married to Ruth D. Dahlquist, who was born 17 days after him and died 17 days after him. She was buried with him at Arlington National Cemetery. They had a son, Donald John Dahlquist, born on 9 March 1932, who died on 22 November 1993, and was buried in Arlington next to his parents. Dahlquist had two grandchildren, John William and Donette Ruth.
Dahlquist's awards and decorations include theDistinguished Service Cross, theArmy Distinguished Service Medal, theSilver Star, theLegion of Merit and theBronze Star. In 1954, he received an honorary Master of Arts from the University of Minnesota.[12]
Distinguished Service Cross
Army Distinguished Service Medal
Silver Star
Legion of Merit
Bronze StarBibliography
| Military offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Newly activated organization | Commanding General 70th Infantry Division 1943–1944 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Commanding General 36th Infantry Division 1944–1945 | Succeeded by Post deactivated |
| Preceded by | Commanding General 1st Infantry Division 1949–1951 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Commanding General V Corps 1951–1953 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Commanding General Fourth Army 1953–1955 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
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| National | |
| Other | |
