Characteristics Of The Three Military Leaders

Three Military Leaders: How They Contributed to American Military Tradition

Throughout history there has been many amazing military leaders that have contributed to American military traditions. Military traditions center less on strategy than on the constitutional nature of the American military. For purposes of this paper the top three military leaders that were huge in history were General John J. Pershing, General George Marshall, and General B. Ridgway. All three men showed excellent leadership and service to our country. Also in my opinion I think that all three Generals were appropriate Christian role models. Each of them were willing to lay their life down for their country and their men. The Bible says, “Greater love hath no
Marshall was born in 1880 and then died in 1959. Marshall was one of the greatest military leaders in American history. He was an officer in World War One and soon after became the assistant commandant at the U.S. Infantry School. Marshall was a leader that was very respected and so he was named chief of staff when World War II began in 1939. The U.S. Army in September 1939 had no modern weaponry and was very small. One big area Marshall was responsible for was increasing the size of the U.S. Army especially since Germany was increasing their man power. By the time the U.S. Army began fighting the Germans in 1942, its combat strength had increased dramatically. Another big area he helped with was Operation Overlord in 1944. Operation Overlord was the code name for the Battle at Normandy and it was an Allied landing in France that was scheduled for June in 1944. The element of surprise was essential for the operation to succeed, keeping it top secret was a challenge however because of the many parties that participated in the landings, beside the Americans there were also British troops and members of the French resistance present at operation
He was the son of Colonel Thomas Ridgway and Ruth Bunker Ridgway. Courage, character, and commitment were Ridgway’s hallmark. He grew up around the military lifestyle so it was no wonder that he decided to follow in his father's footsteps. General Ridgway oversaw the 82nd's transition into the US Army's first airborne division, and he trained his unit until it was a highly-effective combat division. He was ordered to North Africa to help train the 82nd Airborne began for the invasion of Sicily since Ridgway played a role in planning for the invasion. This was the first major airborne operation in US history, however his men took heavy losses. Ridgway’s troops dropped into the Salerno beachhead to help as reinforcements. That was until November 1943, Ridgway and the 82nd departed the Mediterranean and were sent to Britain to prepare for D-Day. After several months of training, his troops were one of three airborne groups to land in Normandy on the night of June 6, 1944. Ridgway was a true leader and directed his troops by example.
Following his time in Normandy, Ridgway had new orders to lead the new XVIII Airborne Corps which consisted of the 17th, 82nd, and 101st Airborne Divisions. His troops from XVIII Corps played a key role in turning back the Germans during the Battle of the Bulge that December. Battle of the Bulge was the last German offensive campaign of World War