Matthew B. Ridgeway
Ridgway, Matthew Bunker (1895-1993), a United States army officer. Ridgway led American airborne forces in World War II and commanded United Nations troops during the Korean War. He also served as supreme commander of Allied forces in Europe and was army chief of staff, retiring as a four-star general in 1955.
Ridgway was born at Fort Monroe, Virginia, and graduated from West Point in 1917. In World War II he commanded the 82nd Airborne Division, leading it in assaults in Sicily and Normandy. In August, 1944, Ridgway became commander of the XVIII Airborne Corps, directing its advance through France and Germany.
After the war Ridgway served on the United States military staff at the United Nations, and suggested the plan for organizing the UN's first international police force.
During the Korean War, Ridgway led the UN counterattack as commander of the Eighth Army, 1950-51, and succeeded General Douglas MacArthur as supreme commander in the Far East in 1951. He then succeeded General Dwight D. Eisenhower as head of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) forces. Ridgway was army chief of staff, 1953-55. He disagreed vigorously with the Eisenhower administration's cuts in army manpower, and resigned to enter private industry. He wrote Soldier (1956) and The Korean War (1967).