John William Vessey Jr. | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 1983 | |
| Nickname | "Jack" |
| Born | (1922-06-29)29 June 1922 Minneapolis,Minnesota, U.S. |
| Died | 18 August 2016(2016-08-18) (aged 94) North Oaks, Minnesota, U.S. |
| Buried | Minnesota State Veterans Cemetery,Little Falls, Minnesota |
| Allegiance | United States |
| Branch | |
| Service years | 1939–1985 |
| Rank | General |
| Unit | Field Artillery Branch Minnesota Army National Guard |
| Commands | Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Republic of Korea-United States Combined Forces Command 8th United States Army United States Forces Korea 4th Infantry Division (Mechanized) Military Assistance Advisory Group Laos U.S. Army Supply Thailand 3rd Armored Division Artillery 2nd Battalion,77th Field Artillery |
| Conflicts | World War II Vietnam War |
| Awards | Distinguished Service Cross Defense Distinguished Service Medal (2) Army Distinguished Service Medal (3) Navy Distinguished Service Medal Air Force Distinguished Service Medal Legion of Merit (2) Bronze Star Medal (2) Presidential Medal of Freedom |
John William Vessey Jr. (29 June 1922 – 18 August 2016) was a career officer in theUnited States Army. He attained the rank ofgeneral, and was most notable for his service as the tenthchairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
A native ofMinneapolis, Vessey began his 46-year military career in 1939 when he joined theMinnesota Army National Guard's 59th Field Artillery Brigade, a unit of the34th Infantry Division. His unit was activated forWorld War II, and he took part in combat in theNorth African andItalian Campaigns. Vessey received abattlefield commission tosecond lieutenant during theBattle of Anzio, and served as a field artillery forward observer until the end of the war. After the war, Vessey advanced through positions of increasing rank and responsibility. During theVietnam War, he served as executive officer of the25th Infantry Division Artillery and acting commander of 2nd Battalion,77th Field Artillery, and he received theDistinguished Service Cross for heroism during theBattle of Suoi Tre. He served as commander of the3rd Armored Division Artillery from 1967 to 1969, and division chief of staff from 1969 to 1970.
Vessey was promoted tobrigadier general in 1970, and assigned as commander ofU.S. Army Support Command, Thailand (USARSUPTHAI)[1], a logistics support area for soldiers and airmen serving in Vietnam and Thailand. He commanded U.S. military activities inLaos from 1973 to 1974, when he was promoted tomajor general as commander of the4th Infantry Division. In 1975, Vessey was promoted tolieutenant general and assigned as the Army's deputy chief of staff for operations and plans, G-3. He was promoted togeneral in 1976, and named to commandUnited States Forces Korea and theEighth United States Army. In 1978, Vessey also assumed command of theRepublic of Korea-United States Combined Forces Command. He served in South Korea until 1979, when he was assigned asVice Chief of Staff of the United States Army.
In 1982, PresidentRonald Reagan named Vessey as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He served until retiring in October 1985. After leaving the Army, Vessey became involved in efforts to account for military personnel listed as missing in action, and made several trips to Southeast Asia to search for remains as part of resolving theVietnam War POW/MIA issue. He was awarded thePresidential Medal of Freedom in 1992. Vessey died inNorth Oaks, Minnesota, on 18 August 2016. He was buried at theMinnesota State Veterans Cemetery north ofLittle Falls.
Vessey was born inMinneapolis, Minnesota, on 29 June 1922, the son of John William Vessey and Emily Katherine (Roche) Vessey.[2][3] He attended the schools of Minneapolis, and was 16 in May 1939 when he claimed to be 18 so that he could enlist in theMinnesota Army National Guard.[4] Vessey was assigned as a motorcycle courier[5] in the 59th Field Artillery Brigade,34th Infantry Division.[4] In 1940, he graduated fromRoosevelt High School.[6] In February 1941, his unit was activated for training and mobilization in anticipation of U.S. participation inWorld War II.[7]
Vessey served with the 34th Infantry Division throughout its World War II service.[4] The experience of early American setbacks inNorth Africa left Vessey with a lifelong appreciation of the need for realistic combat training, modern equipment, physical fitness, and air-ground cooperation.[8] When Major GeneralOmar Bradley, commander ofII Corps in North Africa, launched the U.S. drive onBizerte in April 1943, he gave the 34th the most difficult objective: the well-defended Hill 609. In the first clear-cut U.S. Army victory of the campaign, the 34th Division took its objective, opening the way for the U.S. advance on Bizerte. Vessey, who had been afirst sergeant since 1 September 1942, later described being a first sergeant in combat as the toughest job he had.[9] Vessey was with the 34th when it went ashore on theAnzio beachhead in Italy in May 1944; there he received abattlefield commission as asecond lieutenant, after which he served as aforward observer.[8]
After the war, most of Vessey's service continued to be infield artillery assignments. In the 1950s, he served with the4th Infantry Division in Germany and theEighth U.S. Army in theRepublic of Korea after theKorean War.[8] During this period, Vessey also attended theCommand and General Staff College atFort Leavenworth, Kansas.[5]
By the time Vessey became alieutenant colonel, he had earned enough credits through night school and correspondence courses for aBachelor of Science degree inmilitary science, which he received from theUniversity of Maryland University College in 1963. In 1965, he received aMaster of Science degree inbusiness administration fromGeorge Washington University. From 1963 to 1965, Vessey commanded 2nd Battalion, 73rd Field Artillery,3rd Armored Division; then he spent a year as a student at theIndustrial College of the Armed Forces.[8]
During theVietnam War, Vessey served for a year as Executive Officer of the25th Infantry Division Artillery in Vietnam. In March 1967, when acting as commander of the 2nd Battalion, 77th Artillery, he was given the mission of establishing afire support base at Suoi Tre duringOperation Junction City. Deep in enemy-controlled territory, Vessey and his men oriented the firebase's defenses on the enemy's likely avenues of approach and rehearsed counterattack plans. During an attack by a reinforcedregiment, the base was partially overrun. Vessey and his men fired theirhowitzers directly into the enemy ranks. Although greatly outnumbered, the defenders, aided bygunships and artillery, killed four hundred of their assailants while successfully defending the firebase. Lieutenant Colonel Vessey received theDistinguished Service Cross for his actions during the battle.[6]
From Vietnam, Vessey went to Germany to serve first as Commander of the 3rd Armored Division Artillery from October 1967 until March 1969 and then as Division Chief of Staff for a year. He was promoted tocolonel in November 1967. As a colonel, he was a student at the Army helicopter school at the age of 48.[8] Vessey went back to Southeast Asia in December 1970 to head the U.S. Army Support Command, Thailand. In January 1972, he went into Laos to coordinate all US military operations in support of the war in that country.[5] Vessey worked with the U.S. ambassador, the CIA station chief, and an assortment of military contingents. When the Laotian ceasefire came in February 1973, theRoyal Lao government controlled all the major cities and the vast majority of the population.
Upon his return to the United States, Vessey became Director of Operations in the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations and Plans. Promoted tomajor general in August 1974, he assumed command of the4th Infantry Division (Mechanized) atFort Carson, Colorado. Promoted tolieutenant general in September 1975, Vessey became the Army's Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations and Plans.[8]
Vessey received hisfourth star in 1976.[2] From 1976 to 1979, he served in the Republic of Korea as Commanding General of the Eighth U.S. Army; Commander of U.S. Forces, Korea; and Commander in Chief of theUnited Nations Command.[8] In 1978, Vessey became the first Commander in Chief of the Republic of Korea-United States Combined Forces Command.[7] His tour was marked by increased military tension, caused by evidence of a North Korean buildup and by PresidentJimmy Carter's 1977 announcement that U.S. ground forces would be withdrawn. Vessey worked to assuage South Korean concerns and change the President's decision.[6] After Carter's 1979 visit, withdrawal plans were suspended and then cancelled. From July 1979 until June 1982, Vessey served asVice Chief of Staff of the United States Army.[8]
On 18 June 1982, Vessey became the tenthChairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the last World War II combat veteran to serve in the position.[8] Vessey was the only chairman who had been neither aservice chief nor a commander of a unified or specified command.[5] He served as chairman during a period of unprecedented growth in peacetime defense spending and an expanded U.S. military presence worldwide intended to counter growing Soviet military power.[8]
Vessey and the service chiefs believed that their overriding task lay in convincing Soviet leaders that their quest for military superiority and geostrategic advantage was fruitless. In Europe, they pushed the controversial but successful deployment ofPershing II and ground-launchedcruise missiles to offset the SovietSS-20 missiles. In southwest Asia, highly visible US military activities underscored the US commitment to defend its vital interests in the region. In Central America, training and intelligence were provided to supportcounter-insurgency efforts.[8]
In June 1982, Vessey received the Golden Plate Award of theAmerican Academy of Achievement presented by his predecessor, Awards Council member GeneralDavid C. Jones, USAF.[10]
Believing that it was a mistake to commit a superpower's forces to a peacekeeping mission, Vessey and the Joint Chiefs in 1982 and 1983 advised against deployment of aMarine contingent to Lebanon as part of a multinational peacekeeping force intended to restore peace among warring factions there.[11] Their advice was not taken, and on 23 October 1983, atruck-bomb attack on the Marine headquarters building in Beirut killed 241 US Marines and Army soldiers. In February 1984, PresidentRonald Reagan withdrew the contingent from Lebanon.
Secretary of DefenseCaspar Weinberger understood the importance of decentralization; he authorized Vessey to direct military operations on the Secretary's behalf. The 1983Grenada operation, for example, was planned by Atlantic Command, reviewed by the Joint Chiefs, and approved by Secretary Weinberger and the President—all in four days. Vessey oversaw execution of the operation that rescued US citizens and brought a pro-US government into power.[5] On 30 October 1983, Vessey made a one-day inspection visit to the island and left his personal mark on the 8-day operation. He urged the on-scene commanders to move aggressively to secure full control of the multi-island nation and also improve living conditions for 666 Cuban detainees.[12] On his return home, Vessey faced a firestorm from the American news media over the Pentagon's actions barring journalists from the battlefield until the third day of the operation. Vessey responded to the criticism by appointing a study group, known as the Sidle Panel, which recommended new guidelines for military-media relations that he embraced as Pentagon policy the following year.[12]
During Vessey's tenure, there was increased emphasis on space as a theater of operations. In early 1983, the Joint Chiefs mentioned to the President that defense against nuclear-armed missiles might be technically feasible in the next century.[5] To their surprise, Reagan seized upon the concept and on 23 March 1983, announced his vision of theStrategic Defense Initiative (SDI). Realizing the enormous military advantages to be gained from operations in space and to support SDI, the JCS recommended the establishment of a unified command for space.[5]US Space Command was activated on 23 September 1985.
Vessey retired on 30 September 1985, several months before the expiration of his second term as Chairman. He was the last four-star World War II combat veteran on active duty and, with forty-six years of service, had served the longest of anyone then in the Army. President Reagan praised Vessey and gave a moving speech on his behalf.[13] The President pointed out that Vessey had served in many leadership positions in his career and stated:
Jack Vessey always remembered the soldiers in the ranks; he understood those soldiers are the background of any army. He noticed them, spoke to them, looked out for them. Jack Vessey never forgot what it was like to be an enlisted man, to be just a GI.[14]
In retirement, he served President Reagan and his successors, PresidentsGeorge H. W. Bush andBill Clinton, as a special emissary to Vietnam on thequestion of American service personnel missing from the Vietnam War.[6] For his work in Vietnam, General Vessey was awarded the prestigiousSylvanus Thayer Award from theUnited States Military Academy in 1996.[15] He was also awarded the nation's highest civilian award, thePresidential Medal of Freedom, in 1992.[8]
Vessey married Avis Claire Funk in 1945. They had two sons, John III and David, and a daughter, Sarah.
Vessey died in North Oaks, Minnesota, on 18 August 2016, aged 94.[6][11]
Source:[5]
| Rank insignia | Rank | Date |
|---|---|---|
| No insignia | Private (Minnesota National Guard) | May 1939 |
 | First Sergeant | 1 September 1942 |
 | Second Lieutenant | 6 May 1944 (Battlefield Commission) |
 | First Lieutenant | 1 April 1946 (permanent on June 13, 1951) |
 | Captain | 4 January 1951 (permanent on 29 October 1954) |
 | Major | 14 May 1958 (permanent on 26 January 1962) |
 | Lieutenant Colonel | 7 January 1963 (permanent on 2 January 1969) |
 | Colonel | 28 November 1967 (permanent 12 March 1973) |
 | Brigadier General | 1 April 1971 (permanent 23 December 1974) |
 | Major General | 1 August 1974 (permanent 23 August 1976) |
 | Lieutenant General | 1 September 1975 |
 | General | 1 November 1976 |
 | ||
   | ||
 |  |  |
 |  |  |
  |  |   |
 |  |  |
   |  |  |
 |  |  |
 |  |  |
| Unit Awards | ||
 |  |  |
| Pocket Badges |
  |
| Civilian Awards |
.svg) |
This article incorporatespublic domain material fromSelected Works of General John W. Vessey, Jr., USA(PDF).United States government. Archived fromthe original(PDF) on 15 September 2012.
| Military offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Vice Chief of Staff of the United States Army 1979–1982 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff 1982–1985 | Succeeded by |
Leaders of theUnited States Army | ||
|---|---|---|
| Senior officers / commanding generals |   | |
| Chiefs of staff | ||
| Vice chiefs of staff | ||
 |  | ||
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
