Matthew Ridgway

General Matthew B. Ridgway

Matthew Bunker Ridgway spent thirty-eight years in the United States Army, progressing from a newly commissioned infantry officer to Army Chief of Staff. He commanded airborne forces in some of the most difficult campaigns of the Second World War, rebuilt the Eighth Army during the Korean War, succeeded General Douglas MacArthur in the Far East, and later served as Supreme Allied Commander Europe.

His decorations included two Distinguished Service Crosses, four Army Distinguished Service Medals, two Silver Stars, two Legions of Merit, two Bronze Star Medals for valor and the Purple Heart.

Early Life and Military Career

Matthew Bunker Ridgway was born on March 3, 1895, at Fort Monroe, Virginia, into an Army family.

He graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point in April 1917 and was commissioned into the infantry. Although the United States entered the First World War that same month, Ridgway did not reach the fighting in Europe. Instead, he served on the Mexican border and later returned to West Point as an instructor.

During the interwar years, Ridgway accumulated an unusually broad range of military and diplomatic experience. His assignments included service in China, Nicaragua, the Philippines and Latin America, as well as attendance at the Army’s senior professional schools.

By the beginning of the Second World War, he was serving in the War Plans Division of the War Department General Staff.

The 82nd Airborne Division

In 1942, Ridgway joined the 82nd Infantry Division as assistant division commander. When the formation was converted into the 82nd Airborne Division, he became its commanding general.

Ridgway led the division into combat in the Mediterranean, including operations in Sicily and Italy.

His willingness to move forward with his troops became a defining characteristic of his battlefield command.

During the Sicily campaign in 1943, Ridgway repeatedly exposed himself to enemy fire while directing his division during confused and difficult fighting. His actions resulted in the first of his two Distinguished Service Crosses.

Normandy

On June 6, 1944, Ridgway parachuted into Normandy with the 82nd Airborne Division.

For several days he moved among widely dispersed airborne units while the division fought to secure and expand its positions behind Utah Beach. From June 6 through June 9, Ridgway repeatedly exposed himself to artillery, mortar and small-arms fire while directing operations and coordinating his troops.

His leadership during the Normandy fighting resulted in the award of a second Distinguished Service Cross.

The two awards are represented by the Distinguished Service Cross ribbon with one oak leaf cluster.

Ridgway was also wounded during his Second World War combat service, resulting in the award of the Purple Heart.

XVIII Airborne Corps

In August 1944, Ridgway relinquished command of the 82nd Airborne Division and assumed command of XVIII Airborne Corps.

This distinction is important to his later wartime record. During Operation Market Garden he was no longer commanding the 82nd Airborne Division, but the corps controlling American airborne formations.

During the fighting in Holland from September 17 to 19, 1944, Ridgway repeatedly moved through threatened areas to reach forward units and personally assess the situation. His actions earned him the Silver Star.

Ridgway continued commanding XVIII Airborne Corps through the Battle of the Bulge and the final campaigns into Germany.

On April 30, 1945, near the Elbe River, German artillery fire halted work on a pontoon bridge. Ridgway went forward to the bridge site while it remained under fire and moved among the troops until work resumed.

For this action he received another Silver Star.

His two awards are represented by the Silver Star with one oak leaf cluster.

By the end of the war, Ridgway had become one of the United States Army’s most experienced airborne commanders.

Postwar Service

After the defeat of Germany, Ridgway commanded the Mediterranean Theater of Operations and subsequently served in a series of important international and Army assignments.

His responsibilities included service with the United Nations Military Staff Committee, the Inter-American Defense Board and command of United States forces in the Caribbean.

In 1950, events in Korea brought Ridgway back to battlefield command.

Korean War

Following China’s large-scale intervention in the Korean War, United Nations forces suffered severe reverses. On December 23, 1950, Lieutenant General Walton Walker, commander of the United States Eighth Army, was killed in a vehicle accident.

Ridgway was selected to replace him.

He assumed command of Eighth Army at a moment when its morale and confidence had been badly shaken. Ridgway travelled extensively among frontline units, replaced commanders where necessary and demanded that his headquarters obtain a much clearer understanding of enemy strength, terrain and operational objectives.

Rather than continuing an uncontrolled withdrawal, Eighth Army began conducting deliberate offensive operations designed to exploit its advantages in artillery, air power and logistics.

The change was significant.

Under Ridgway’s command, Eighth Army halted the enemy advance and regained the initiative, pushing north again toward the 38th Parallel.

Far East Command

In April 1951, President Harry S. Truman relieved General Douglas MacArthur of his commands.

Ridgway succeeded him as Commander in Chief, Far East Command, Commander in Chief of United Nations Command and Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers in Japan.

He was promoted to four-star general the following month.

Ridgway directed United Nations military operations while armistice negotiations proceeded and also supervised the final stages of the Allied occupation of Japan.

His service in Korea and the Far East resulted in another award of the Army Distinguished Service Medal.

Supreme Allied Commander Europe

In 1952, Ridgway succeeded General Dwight D. Eisenhower as Supreme Allied Commander Europe.

He assumed responsibility for NATO forces at a time when the alliance was attempting to construct an effective multinational defense against the Soviet Union.

Ridgway served in Europe until 1953, when he returned to Washington for his final active-duty assignment.

Chief of Staff of the United States Army

Ridgway became Chief of Staff of the United States Army in August 1953.

During his tenure he argued strongly that nuclear weapons could not eliminate the requirement for capable conventional ground forces. He also questioned proposals for direct American military intervention in Indochina during the crisis surrounding the French position at Dien Bien Phu.

Ridgway directed Army planners to examine what intervention would actually require. Their conclusions indicated that a major American ground commitment could be necessary and that intervention carried substantial military risks.

His position placed him at odds with aspects of the Eisenhower administration’s emerging “New Look” defense policy, which placed greater reliance on nuclear deterrence while reducing conventional ground forces.

Ridgway completed his term as Army Chief of Staff and retired from active service in 1955.

Later Life

Retirement did not end Ridgway’s involvement in questions of national defense. He wrote and spoke extensively about military leadership, preparedness and the responsibilities of senior commanders.

In 1986, President Ronald Reagan presented him with the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

In 1992, the Association of Graduates of the United States Military Academy named him a Distinguished Graduate.

General Matthew Bunker Ridgway died on July 26, 1993, at the age of 98.

He was buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

Ridgway’s career encompassed the transformation of the United States Army from the small interwar force he entered after West Point to the global military establishment of the Cold War. He commanded airborne soldiers in Sicily and Normandy, led a corps across Western Europe, restored the combat effectiveness of Eighth Army in Korea, commanded Allied forces in two major theatres and finished his career as Chief of Staff of the United States Army.

His record was distinguished not only by senior command but by personal courage in combat, reflected in two Distinguished Service Crosses, two Silver Stars, two Bronze Star Medals for valor and the Purple Heart.