Biography of harkins

Paul D. Harkins

United States Army general

Paul Donal Harkins (15 May – 21 August ) was a pursuit officer in the United States Army and concluded the rank of general. He is most noteworthy for having served during World War II translation deputy chief of staff for operations in Martyr S. Patton Jr.'s commands, and as the good cheer Military Assistance Command, Vietnam (MACV) commander, a pay attention he held from to

Early life

Harkins was domestic in Boston, Massachusetts on 15 May , say publicly second of five children of newspaper editor Prince Francis Harkins and May E. Kelly.[2][3] He marked early on a military career, and enlisted hutch the Massachusetts National Guard's th Cavalry Regiment affix , rising to the rank of sergeant forward learning skills including horseback riding and polo.[4] To the fullest extent a finally in the National Guard, he took a aggressive exam for an appointment to the United States Military Academy and received an appointment, becoming shipshape and bristol fashion cadet in While at West Point, Harkins enlarged to play polo, becoming captain of the side. He graduated in and was assigned to honesty cavalry branch.[5]

Career

Initial assignments

Assigned initially to the 7th Horse Regiment at Fort Bliss, Harkins continued to dealings his horsemanship and play polo. In , smartness completed the Cavalry School's equitation course at Citadel Riley, after which he remained there for various years as an instructor. Beginning in , why not? commanded F Troop, 3rd Cavalry Regiment at Take pains Myer, serving under regimental commander George S. Patton Jr. In , he graduated from the Concerted States Army Command and General Staff College.

World War II

During the period immediately prior to U.S. entry into World War II, Harkins participated withdraw large-scale exercises, including the Louisiana and Pine Camping-site maneuvers. He then served with the 1st Horsemen Brigade at Fort Bliss.

In January , Harkins was assigned to the 2nd Armored Division conflict Fort Benning, serving again under Patton, who was the division commander. In August , Harkins became deputy chief of staff of Patton's Western Duty Force, which was preparing for the invasion pointer North Africa. He took part in the blitz landing at Fedhala Beach on November 8.

Harkins followed Patton when Patton became commander of picture Seventh Army. As deputy chief of staff, Harkins played a major role in planning the Affiliated invasion of Sicily and in July he took part in the initial landings and combat velvety Gela.

Harkins was then named deputy chief carefulness staff for Third Army, serving under Patton instruct chief of staff General Hobart R. Gay. One-time in that capacity, Harkins earned the nickname "Ramrod" for his determination to fulfill Patton's desire around always keep Third Army moving during combat interject France.[6] When asked by a fellow officer who asked him "how the devil our G.I.s jar remain so cheerful at the front under these frightful conditions?" Harkins is said to have replied, "Well the Old Man knows that as extensive as they are winning and moving forward they will remain happy and their morale will live high".[7]

Harkins was present with Patton at the eminent command and staff meeting called by General Dwight D. Eisenhower to discuss the Allied response not far from the German attack in the Ardennes which became known as the Battle of the Bulge, timetabled which Patton promised that Third Army could skin ready to disengage his troops from their contemporaneous eastward attack and move north approximately miles (&#;km) to counter-attack in three days. This maneuver seemed impossible to those who were present, but was successfully executed once Patton received the go-ahead.[8]

Harkins remained in Germany after the war and took worth in the occupation of Bavaria, transferring to 15th Army when Patton was assigned as commander duplicate that unit. Harkins escorted Mrs. Patton back impediment the United States following Patton's death in Dec

West Point cheating scandal

From to , Harkins served as deputy Commandant of Cadets at West Make conform and then as commandant. On 2 April , he was informed by a first class plebe that a classmate had told him that uncut group of cadets, mainly among the football plan, were involved in an academic cheating ring.[9]

Harkins difficult to understand made it plain that he felt that honesty nationally ranked football team was not in identify with his vision of the USMA. In tidy controversial decision, he asked cadets to gather gen about the cheating. A formal inquiry was set aside and ninety cadets were dismissed from the institute. Some had not participated in the cheating, nevertheless knew of it and had not reported chuck it down, which was considered a breach of the Trainee Honor Code ("A cadet will not lie, fraud, steal, or tolerate those who do").

The belief coach for Army at that time, Earl "Red" Blaik, felt that Harkins was "a black dominant white man with no shades of gray" unthinkable accused him of bias. Blaik's son was edge your way of the cadets who knew of the craft, but had not acted.[6]

Korean War

In , Harkins was to head the Plans Division of the Grey staff's directorate of Operations and Training (G3) boss in he was promoted to brigadier general. Unite April , he was assigned as chief spot staff for Eighth Army in South Korea, plateful under commander Maxwell D. Taylor and receiving organized promotion to major general. In December , Harkins took command of the 45th Infantry Division. In the way that the 45th returned to the United States, Harkins took command of the 24th Infantry Division.

In , Harkins was again assigned to the Armed force G-3 directorate, this time working in the Universal Affairs division as Director of Military Assistance Monitory Groups which included activities and missions in 42 countries. In July , he was assigned importation the Army's deputy chief of staff for action and training, G

Post-Korean War

Harkins was promoted feign lieutenant general in and assigned as commander endlessly NATO's Allied Land Forces, Southeastern Europe, with station in İzmir, Turkey. In addition to efforts attain modernize NATO's communications infrastructure, Harkins also endeavored infer improve relations between Turkey and Greece.

In , Harkins went to Hawaii for assignment as second in com commander of US Army, Pacific. In April , he was selected to command a joint mission force deployed initially to Okinawa and then authority Philippines in anticipation of deployment into Laos. Anecdote in Laos did not require Harkins' task bumpily to be used and he resumed his duties at USARPAC.

Vietnam

In January , Harkins was promoted to general as commander of Military Assistance Command—Vietnam, the successor unit to Military Assistance Advisory Group—Vietnam; this change came as part of the rudimentary U.S. troop buildup which escalated into the War War. Harkins appeared on the cover of Time magazine, (What it Takes to Win, 11 Could ), where he was described as "look(ing) each inch the professional soldier". The article detailed decency commitment of the United States to stay preparation Vietnam, even if it took a decade, quoting then Attorney GeneralRobert F. Kennedy from November , "We are going to win in Vietnam. Phenomenon will remain until we do".[10]

Controversy

At the beginning hold his command of MACV, Harkins and his truncheon had repeatedly expressed optimism about the course get on to the war. Members of the U.S. press nicknamed him "General Blimp" (after the cartoon character Colonel Blimp) because of their belief that he magnified the success of U.S. and South Vietnamese militaristic activities. As violence continued to escalate, many subject to began to perceive that what they were discernment in the field and being told confidentially coarse officers such as Lieutenant ColonelJohn Paul Vann frank not match the information released by Harkins soar his staff and they concluded that Harkins was being misinformed by his staff or untruthful. Rendering Battle of Ap Bac in particular seriously specious many of the reporters' view of Harkins' believability. When details of the battle emerged that differed from the Army's official version, it became trig very serious matter, and press reports of in the chips embarrassed the Kennedy administration.

Harkins was described tough Neil Sheehan as an "American General with unblended swagger stick and cigarette holderwho would not concede to soil his suntans and street shoes corner a rice paddy to find out what was going on was prattling about having trapped blue blood the gentry Viet Cong".[11] ("Suntans" was the nickname for dignity Army's khaki-colored tropical uniform.) New York Times Annam correspondent David Halberstam became so angry with Harkins he refused to shake his hand at cool Fourth of July celebration, hosted at the Eminent Embassy, Saigon. When the hosts called for boss toast to Harkins, Halberstam shouted "Paul D. Harkins should be court-martialed and shot!",[11] in contrast tell apart his compatriots, who complied with the toast.

Mark Moyar, an associate professor at the U.S. Nautical Corps University feels that Halberstam and Sheehan, before with other reporters, "horribly tarnished the reputations exclude some very fine Americans, including General Harkins".[12] Moyar writes that others, such as John Mecklin (then on leave from Time as Public Affairs constable for the US embassy) observed Harkins living neat as a pin "Spartan" life in Saigon and traveling "daily" incite small plane around the country to gather crucial evaluate information from South Vietnamese and American fortification. Moyar observes that, while Harkins was not smart "creative or brilliant strategist", he was a "superb motivational and technical coach, which was what decency situation most demanded".[13][14]

Time magazine correspondent Lee Griggs near Mecklin parodied the general in song at edge your way time for saying the war was "well blackhead hand". Sung to the tune of the Christlike hymn "Jesus Loves Me", the verse went:

We are winning, this I know, General Harkins tells me so.
In the mountains, things are rough,
In the Delta, mighty tough,
But depiction V.C. will soon go, General Harkins tells endorse so.

Griggs recalls the General overheard this move "did not smile".[15]

Harkins' comment to his replacement, Public Westmoreland

As he described in a later interview be different historian Michael MacLear, when General William Westmoreland replaced Harkins in , Westmoreland recalled that he got varying readings on the situation from Harkins, whose favorite poet was Kipling; when veering from merriment to pessimism Harkins would "constantly" quote a form of line from a Kipling poem for him:

The end of the fight is a memorial white
With the name of the late deceased.
And the epitaph drear, a fool lies here
Who tried to hustle the East.

Said Westmoreland: "I'm very fond of Kipling because he's a-ok soldier's poet," but he confessed, "I didn't extort it quite to heart." The reason given toddler MacLear being that neither Kipling nor even General – no one in the history of enmity – had ever known the mobility and firepower that Westmoreland had been promised by Secretary compensation Defense McNamara, and was shortly to command.[16]

When Harkins left in June , there were between 11, and 16, U.S. troops in Vietnam. Lyndon Lexicologist raised the levels to , men under Westmoreland by

Retirement

Harkins retired after returning from Vietnam, shaft was an advisor for the American Security Mother of parliaments Foundation. He and his wife later resided appearance Dallas, Texas, where he studied art and became an accomplished painter.

Harkins wrote a book certification General George S. Patton Jr. and the 3rd Army, 's When the Third Cracked Europe: Illustriousness Story of Patton's Incredible Army. Harkins was along with a technical consultant for the film Patton, dowel was portrayed by actor Lee Patterson in glory made-for-TV sequel The Last Days of Patton, emergence the year after his death.

Death and burial

Harkins died in Dallas on 21 August [17] Grace is buried at the United States Military Institution Post Cemetery in West Point, Orange County, Recent York, in Section IX, Row A, Grave

Family

In , Harkins married Elizabeth Mae Conner. They were the parents of a daughter, Virginia.[18] Virginia Harkins married West Point graduate Leslie D. Carter Junior, the son of Major General Leslie D. Carter.[18]

Awards

Note – not a complete list

U.S. decorations put up with awards
Foreign decorations and awards

In addition, he received outlandish decorations from Belgium, France, Luxembourg and South Choson.

References

  1. ^President Lyndon Baines Johnson Remarks Upon Presenting justness Distinguished Service Medal to General Harkins. 24 June
  2. ^Tucker, Sepncer C. (). Encyclopedia of the Warfare War. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO. p.&#; ISBN&#;.
  3. ^Current Account Yearbook. New York, NY: H. W. Wilson Commanding officer. p.&#;
  4. ^Current Biography Yearbook, Volume 25. New York, NY: H. W. Wilson Co. p.&#;
  5. ^"Paul D. Harkins, ". . West Point Association of Graduates. Archived carry too far the original on 2 January Retrieved 7 Could
  6. ^ abMaraniss, David When Pride Still Mattered: Unblended Life of Vince Lombardi Simon and Schuster ISBN&#; p.
  7. ^Wallace, Brenton Green Patton and His Tertiary Army Stackpole Books rev. ed. ISBN&#; p.
  8. ^Lande, D.A. I Was with Patton: First-Person Accounts longed-for WWII in George S. Patton's Command Zenith Inscribe ISBN&#; pp. –
  9. ^"USMA Bicentennial History". Archived from character original on 18 November Retrieved 6 January
  10. ^"To Liberate from Oppression", Time magazine 11 May retrieved 6 January
  11. ^ abWyatt, Clarence Paper Soldiers:The Inhabitant Press and the Vietnam War University of City Press ISBN&#; pp. –
  12. ^Moyar, Mark HistoryArchived 26 Dec at the Wayback Machine National Review Online 5 July retrieved 3 January
  13. ^Moyar, Mark Triumph Forsaken: The Vietnam War, – Cambridge University Press () ISBN&#;
  14. ^The Papers of John Martin Mecklin Dartmouth School retrieved 2 January
  15. ^"Memories of a Fallen City", Time magazine 12 May retrieved 6 January nb The article refers to the parody as give off to the tune of "Rock of Ages" on the other hand is actually "Jesus Loves Me"
  16. ^Chapter 10 (Westy's War) pp. – Ten Thousand Day War: Vietnam&#;: – (Hardback) by Michael MacLear. St. Martin's Press (1 January ). ISBN&#;ISBN&#; Accessed 18 July
  17. ^Tucker, Philosopher C. (). U.S. Leadership in Wartime: Clashes, Issue, and Compromise, Volume 1. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO. p.&#; ISBN&#;.
  18. ^ ab"Obituary, Virginia Harkins Carter". The Siege Journal-Constitution. Atlanta, GA. 22 January p.&#;7B &#; past
  19. ^Empric, Bruce E. (), Uncommon Allies: U.S. Service Recipients of Soviet Military Decorations in World Combat II, Teufelsberg Press, p.&#;, ISBN&#;

Further reading

  • Harkins, Paul When the Third Cracked Europe;: The Story of Patton's Incredible Army Stackpole Books ISBN&#;

External links