John William Vessey Jr.

Vessey was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on 29 June 1922, the son of John William Vessey and Emily Katherine (Roche) Vessey. He attended the schools of Minneapolis, and was 16 in May 1939 when he claimed to be 18 so that he could enlist in the Minnesota Army National Guard. Vessey was assigned as a motorcycle courier in the 59th Field Artillery Brigade, 34th Infantry Division. In 1940, he graduated from Roosevelt High School. In February 1941, his unit was activated for training and mobilization in anticipation of U.S. participation in World War II. ==Military career==

World War II Vessey served with the 34th Infantry Division throughout its World War II service. Vessey was with the 34th when it went ashore on the Anzio beachhead in Italy in May 1944; there he received a battlefield commission as a second lieutenant, after which he served as a forward observer. 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 the United Nations Command. His tour was marked by increased military tension, caused by evidence of a North Korean buildup and by President Jimmy Carter's 1977 announcement that U.S. ground forces would be withdrawn.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. 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 a Marine contingent to Lebanon as part of a multinational peacekeeping force intended to restore peace among warring factions there. 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. The President pointed out that Vessey had served in many leadership positions in his career and stated: In retirement, he served President Reagan and his successors, Presidents George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton, as a special emissary to Vietnam on the question of American service personnel missing from the Vietnam War. He was also awarded the nation's highest civilian award, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, in 1992. ==Personal life==

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. ==Summary of service==

Source: Dates of rank Awards and decorations Assignments • 1939: National Guard enlisted service • 1941: 34th Division Artillery, Camp Claiborne, LA, Northern Ireland, North Africa, and Italy as S/Sgt, 1st Sgt, and then battlefield commission to 2Lt (Communications Officer/Forward Observer/Air Observer) • 1945: US Army Field Artillery School, Fort Sill, OK • 1949: Student, Field Artillery Officers Advanced Course, Field Artillery School, Fort Sill, OK • 1950: Battery Officer; then Battery Commander, 18th Field Artillery, Fort Sill, OK • 1951: Assistant S-3 and Liaison Officer; then Headquarters Battery Commander; then Assistant S-3 and Liaison Officer, 4th Infantry Division Artillery US Army, Europe • 1954: Student, Artillery Officer Advanced Course, Artillery and Guided Missile School, Fort Sill, OK • 1955: Battery Commander, Artillery and Guided Missile School Officer Candidate School • 1956: Gunnery Instructor, Artillery and Guided Missile School, Fort Sill, OK • 1957: Student, US Army Command and General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth, KS • 1958: Artillery Section, Eighth US Army with duty station CINCPAC Coordination Center, Philippines • 1958: Chief, Operations Branch, Artillery Section, Eighth US Army, Korea • 1959: Assignment Officer, then Executive Officer, Artillery Officers Division, Office of Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel, Washington, D.C. • 1963: Student, Armed Forces Staff College, Norfolk, VA • 1963: Commander, 2d Battalion, 73d Artillery, 3d Armored Division, US Army, Europe • 1965: Student, Industrial College of the Armed Forces, Washington, D.C. • 1966: Executive Officer, 25th Infantry Division Artillery, Vietnam • 1967: Commander, 3d Armored Division Artillery, US Army, Europe • 1969: Chief of Staff, 3d Armored Division, US Army, Europe • 1970: Student, US Army Primary Helicopter School, Fort Wolters, TX; later US Army Aviation School, Fort Rucker, AL • 1970: Commanding General, US Army Support Command, Thailand • 1972: Deputy Chief, JUSMAGTHAI (Chief MAAG, Laos) • 1973: Director of Operations, Office Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations and Plans, Washington, D.C. • 1974: Commanding General, 4th Infantry Division (Mechanized), Fort Carson, CO • 1975: Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations and Plans, US Army, Washington, D.C. • 1976: Commanding General, Eighth US Army; and Commander in Chief, US Forces, Korea; and Commander in Chief, United Nations Command • 1978: Commander in Chief, Republic of Korea-United States Combined Forces Command, Korea • 1979: Vice Chief of Staff, US Army, Washington, D.C. • 1982: Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff, Washington, D.C. ==References==