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<p style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><a href="https://usmalibrary.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/assembly/id/6180/rec/1">https://usmalibrary.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/assembly/id/6180/rec/1</a></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><em>Assembly</em>, January 1990, vol. 48, no. 4, pp. 2-6</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><strong> LYMAN LOUIS LEMNITZER</strong></p>
<p align="center" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-align: center; line-height: 115%;"><strong>No. 6625<span style="mso-tab-count: 1;"> </span>Class of 1920</strong></p>
<p align="center" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-align: center; line-height: 115%;"><strong>Died November 12, 1988, in Washington, DC, aged 89 years.</strong></p>
<p align="center" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-align: center; line-height: 115%;"><strong>Interred at Arlington National Cemetery</strong></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; line-height: 115%;">When at the age of 89, General Lyman L. Lemnitzer, Class of 1920, died 12 November 1988 at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, America lost one of its great 20th century soldiers. General Mathew B. Ridgway summed up General Lemnitzer's accomplishments so well when he wrote: </p>
<p style="line-height: 115%; margin: 0in .5in 6.0pt .5in;">"Few U.S. Army officers have had as varied service in high posts as has General Lemnitzer - in both military and foreign relations fields.</p>
<p style="line-height: 115%; margin: 0in .5in 6.0pt .5in;">"In all of them he has served with great distinction and credit to the Army and the nation—characterized by sound judgment, professional competence, vision, courage, and the power of decision, accompanied by a warm engaging personality and a wonderful sense of humor. The word SUPERIOR sums it all up."</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; line-height: 115%;">"He was a skilled tactician, planner and negotiator. His career was marked by unrivaled skill and unselfish devotion," was President Ronald Reagan's tribute to his character in presenting to Lemnitzer the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1987.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; line-height: 115%;">He was a special talent - the ability to get along with all people and accomplish much. His daughter Lois states of his disposition: "He had no phoniness or pretensions. He was very straightforward. He had friends in all areas - the troops, civilians, kids, and neighbors." According to General T. W. Parker, who worked for the general for 9 years, General Lem was exceptionally loyal to subordinates, perhaps even to a fault at times. Naturally his loyalty developed great loyalty in return. Lem's colleagues almost universally greeted him as "Lem," and his subordinates, out of his hearing, always spoke of "General Lem." This was less a means of shortening a long name, than an expression of the intimate regard they had for a caring leader.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; line-height: 115%;">He, above all, was a family man as his daughter-in-law, Lydia, attested to with the following story:</p>
<p style="line-height: 115%; margin: 0in .5in 6.0pt .5in;">"On one of his trips to Washington, Billy, his grandson, asked Pop (family title for the general) if he would have time to visit his 4th grade and tell them a little bit about NATO, since the class was studying European countries…. Pop said he would make the time, and the following morning he visited the school. The teacher asked Billy to introduce the general. All Billy could think of was what the general meant to him; he spoke up: 'This is my grandfather.' "</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; line-height: 115%;">General Lemnitzer was also a man of singular accomplishment recognized by 46 medals, badges, and decorations. In whatever position placed, he succeeded.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; line-height: 115%;">As a result of the above expressed characteristics, the honor of being the first and, up to this time, the only officer to achieve the distinction of filling virtually all of the key high command positions belongs to General Lemnitzer.*</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The general's daughter Lois, when asked what contributed to his phenomenal success, replied without hesitation: "Duty, Honor, Country." As readers will know, that is the motto exemplifying the ideals of West Point. Yet the basis of this creed was learned by the general long before he entered the Academy—it was assimilated in his childhood Honesdale, Pennsylvania home. Of second-generation Bavarian lineage, he had, while growing up, instilled in him the characteristics filled of discipline, family unity, strong religious belief, personal responsibility, and love of country; these were stressed, practiced, and accepted. His years at the Academy, as a member of the Class of 1920, reinforced and solidified these home-taught principles.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; line-height: 115%;">As a youth he displayed unusual skill in rifle marksmanship. Later, he became one of the Army's best rifle marksmen. He merited the Distinguished Marksman's Medal, a decoration he always wore proudly as one of his primary achievements.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; line-height: 115%;">His military career started slowly. As a cadet, he found the academic curriculum, with its emphasis on mathematics, science, and military to be advanced beyond his high school preparation. By hard study, he graduated No. 86 in a class of 271. While never wearing cadet chevrons during his years at the Academy, he nevertheless showed a ruggedness of character as a catcher on the baseball team. He always savored the "star" he won by a victory over Navy.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; line-height: 115%;">For the Class of 1920, the climate for a military career was not auspicious. As "Benny Havens O" says: "Promotion's very slow." For his class the situation was exacerbated - graduation was delayed one day so that all who served in France and who had applied for and were accepted in the Regular Army were placed on the rolls one day ahead of the Class of 1920. The bulge in the list held back promotion of the future general from lieutenant to captain for 15 years. Unless war intervened, and the war to end all wars had just terminated, the outlook at best for the graduates was retirement as colonels after 30 years.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Regardless, Lyman's enthusiasm for the Army remained high. His career was greatly enhanced and abetted by marriage to a Honesdale girl, Katherine Mead Tryon - a lifetime commitment blessed by two children - a son Brigadier General William Lyman Lemnitzer, Retired, Class of 1951, and a daughter Lois. Their wedding having been in New York City on 6 November 1923, Kay and Lem had just celebrated their 64th anniversary before Lem passed away on 12 November 1988.</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Upon graduation, Lem chose the Coast Artillery Corps (CAC) as his branch. In his career, up to 1940, military schools played an important part in his development as an officer. During that period, he attended the Basic and the Battery Officers CAC courses, he taught Tactics at the CAC School at Fort Monroe, and twice he was stationed at West Point as an instructor in the Department of Natural and Experimental Philosophy. However, the most influential schooling events were attendance at the Command and General Staff School (1935–36) and at the Army War College (1939–40). Both latter schools expanded his knowledge on how the Army functioned in time of war. He responded creatively to the instruction, took deep interest in the planning exercises that such courses required, and established an Army-wide reputation as an up-and-coming young staff officer ready for higher rank and responsibility. </p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Shortly after graduation from the War College (having returned to CAC duty in Georgia), he was brought into Washington as a member of the War Plans Division of the War Department's General Staff. Here he learned detailed war planning working on Operation Torch (the invasion of North Africa) under the mentorship of two outstanding veterans of World War I, Generals George C. Marshall, Chief of Staff, and Lesley J. McNair, Commander, Army Ground Forces. </p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In 1942, now a brigadier general, Lem was in England as CG of the 34th Anti-Aircraft Brigade. His outstanding staff experience with Operation Torch, becoming known to General Eisenhower, brought him into Allied Headquarters as Chief, Plans and Operations, G-3. </p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; line-height: 115%;">It was in this latter position that he became involved in a most dangerous mission; he was selected by General Mark Clark to accompany him on a secret submarine trip to the coast of North Africa. The purpose was to contact friendly French officials three weeks in advance of the Allied landing there. With his penchant for understatement, General Lem stated of the trip: "The real excitement came when we left Africa. We were nearly captured by the Vichy French, who sensed something was going on. We had a hard time getting away from the coast because of ten feet high waves, but we finally managed to get back to the sub." For his part in the maneuver, he was awarded the Legion of Merit. </p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; line-height: 115%;">An exploit of which the general was most proud occurred a few days later. En route by air to Gibraltar with General Jimmy Doolittle and other top brass, their plane was attacked by German planes. General Lemnitzer manned a B-17 machine gun and shot down one of the attacking JU-88s. This accomplishment represented one of his most vivid memories of World War II; his marksmanship had remained undiminished by time. </p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In January 1943, he was assigned as Deputy Chief of Staff to General Mark Clark in Morocco during the early phases of the organization of Fifth Army. Resuming active command of his brigade in late February 1943, he led it through the Tunisian Campaign and the early landing phases of the Sicilian Campaign. </p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; line-height: 115%;">General Lemnitzer's service during the remainder of the war was as Deputy Chief of Staff and Chief of Staff to General (later Field Marshal) Sir Harold Alexander, who eventually became the Supreme Allied Commander, Mediterranean. Responsibility and diplomacy proved to be in these posts two of General Lem's strong points. The following illustrates well his sense of responsibility: </p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In 1943, Prime Minister Marshal Badoglio agreed with General Eisenhower to announce jointly an armistice on 8 September. The plan was named Giant II. It called for combined parachute and air landings at five airfields near Rome and for a small seaborne unit with weapons and supplies to land in support of the airborne troops. On 8 September, Eisenhower received a message from General Taylor in Rome stating, "Situation Innocuous," indicating that Giant II should be cancelled - the Italians were not ready. General Lemnitzer was directed to send a message to General Ridgway to cancel the mission, and an acknowledgment of the message was requested. None was returned. Lemnitzer remembered the admonition of General McNair that "Paper is no good; it must be translated into action." He flew to the airborne division airfield. There he contacted General Ridgway who was sending his troopers aloft. The message of cancellation had not been received. Fortunately, the planes could be recalled by radio. Generals Ridgway and Taylor were both impressed with Lemnitzer's sense of responsibility that on that day averted a catastrophe. </p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The general's success in the diplomatic field was displayed on several occasions. He had an active part in the discussions with Marshal Badoglio that subsequently led to the capitulation of Italy on 3 September 1943. Likewise, he dealt with Marshal Tito and Soviet Marshal Tolbukhin for the coordination of final military operations by the Allied Forces in Italy and the Yugoslavian and the Russian armed forces against Germany in southern Europe. In March 1945, General Lem entered Switzerland in civilian clothes, charged with management of the discussion with German representatives which resulted in the unconditional surrender of the German armed forces in Italy and southern Austria (Operation Sunshine). In discharging these responsible and important functions he earned a widespread reputation as an able negotiator and a military diplomat. </p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In recognition of his commendable success in diplomacy, Lemnitzer was awarded the Companion of the Bath. Field Marshal Alexander wrote of his very sensitive position in an Allied Headquarters:</p>
<p style="line-height: 115%; margin: 0in .5in 6.0pt .5in;">"No more loyal officer could be found, either from the British or American point of view and his ability as a Staff Officer is beyond question exceptional. He has done as much as any man to cement the friendship between our two nations and to bring to a successful conclusion the campaign in Italy." </p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; line-height: 115%;">When asked his opinion of the inevitability of World War II, Lem replied: "In my opinion, if the U.S. had been militarily strong in 1941, the Japanese would never have attacked Pearl Harbor and Hitler would at all costs have avoided provoking the U.S. in the Atlantic area." </p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; line-height: 115%;">After the war, the general, acknowledged as a superb planner and skilled negotiator, proceeded to Washington as Senior Army Member of the Joint Strategic Survey Committee of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and a little later was made Deputy Commandant of the National War College. Of this latter assignment, Lemnitzer stated:</p>
<p style="line-height: 115%; margin: 0in .5in 6.0pt .5in;">"I was very much involved in the establishment of the National War College and strongly supported its being the highest element of our military school system. It was obvious to Generals Eisenhower, Guenther and myself that there was a most important requirement for such a military-civilian school in the U.S. postwar structure."</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; line-height: 115%;">He was intimately involved with NATO even before its beginning and was present at the NATO treaty signing ceremony in Washington on 4 April 1949. In fact, he participated in the drafting of the NATO treaty and in its presentation to the U.S. Senate for ratification. He continued to be one of NATO's strongest advocates. After his retirement as SACEUR, General Lem spent uncounted hours advancing the cause of NATO. He made speeches everywhere; he testified on its behalf at every opportunity; he headed the SHAPE Officers Association for many years, faithfully presiding over its meetings and activities. No one did more to support NATO than Lem<span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Aptos; mso-hansi-font-family: Aptos;">—</span>because he truly believed in its importance. </p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; line-height: 115%;">On the strength of his experience as a military diplomat, in 1949 Lem was named first director of the Office of Military Assistance, under Secretary of Defense James Forrestal. In this capacity he played a key role in establishing the Military Assistance Program, which has provided a major element in the Free World's mutual security activities. </p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; line-height: 115%;">By this time, a major general for five years, General Lem, reviewed his military record. His contemporaries were convinced he merited higher rank; his record however showed a lack of command in combined arms functions. About this deficiency he determined to take action. It would be done the hard way; at age 51, he became a student in the Basic Airborne Course at Fort Benning (the drop-out rate for even younger men in good physical shape was 30 to 35%) and entered the rigorous training to qualify as a parachutist. He succeeded and was made CG of the 11th Airborne Division. A year later, he welcomed the opportunity of being a combat commander in Korea as CG, 7th Infantry Division. Here he participated in the battles of Heartbreak Ridge, the Punch Bowl, and Mundingni Valley, and in the fighting in the Chorwon Valley. Here he won the Silver Star for conspicuous gallantry. </p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; line-height: 115%;">When asked what the primary lessons were he learned in the Korean War, he replied,</p>
<p style="line-height: 115%; margin: 0in .5in 6.0pt .5in;">"I learned once again that the US was involved in a war because of our lack of military preparedness. In my opinion we were, five years after World War II, more poorly prepared to fight in Korea than at any time in our history except possibly in the Revolutionary War. The Soviets and their surrogate Kim Il-Sung would never have attacked the Republic of Korea if we had been better prepared to respond quickly and effectively to a North Korean attack." </p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; line-height: 115%;">With division command experience now added to his record, General Lem was on track, all signals green, for assignments to higher responsibility. He soon was to demonstrate to successive Presidents that he was a talented<strong> </strong>officer<strong> </strong>with unmatched credentials of courage, diplomacy, foresight, and successful know-how to merit continued recognition, as a commander and as a skillful planner. He did not seek positions; rather the positions called for a man of his demonstrated qualifications, talents, and skill. </p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In March of 1955, now a full general, he took command of the US Armed Forces, Far East; in June 1955, he became the Commander-in-Chief of the United Nations and Far East Commander and Governor of the Ryukyus Islands. </p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In July of 1957 he returned to Washington as Vice Chief of Staff. In this role, despite the fact that the Army had the most effective Space program (von Braun team) of the services, Lemnitzer concurred with Eisenhower that a separate independent space program was best for the country - NASA was born. The good of the country transcended a narrow parochial Army viewpoint on the subject. </p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; line-height: 115%;">On 1 July 1959, General<strong> </strong>Lemnitzer<strong> </strong>became Chief of Staff, U.S. Army. Of the appointment, the<em> Newsweek</em> reported:</p>
<p style="line-height: 115%; margin: 0in .5in 6.0pt .5in;">"Last week, President Eisenhower nominated Lemnitzer as Army Chief of Staff…. but it was not for his cloak-and-dagger exploits or his combat experience that Lemnitzer got the job. It was for his ability as a planner, strategist, diplomat, and negotiator."</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; line-height: 115%;">His tour as Chief of Staff was beset by the conflict of Flexible Response versus Massive Retaliation. Never one to shy away from a conflict of ideas, Lemnitzer concurred wholeheartedly with the need for a conventional arms capability as well as a nuclear one. Flexible Response was not an idea easily sold. For instance, President Eisenhower was inclined to favor Massive Retaliation. </p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In Lemnitzer's own words:</p>
<p style="line-height: 115%; margin: 0in .5in 6.0pt .5in;">"We must maintain a wide variety of military forces which, together with the forces of our allies, are extremely tailored to fight in the great variety of wars, short of general nuclear war in which we might become involved. We must maintain strategic retaliatory forces that can deliver nuclear firepower against appropriate targets in an enemy's territory."</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Congress stepped into the picture. The Johnson Committee concluded that General Lemnitzer was right. </p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; line-height: 115%;">His logic was always driven by the concept that military strength and the resolve to use it, if necessary, are what prevent war. He abhorred war and its waste of men and material; he was totally committed to prevent it. But, if war was inevitable, he was like Stonewall Jack-son in the Civil War: he drew his sword and threw away the scabbard. </p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; line-height: 115%;">His efforts as Chief of Staff were to improve things by first working intelligently with what he had. Then he tried to make further improvements through hard, persistent work, quiet negotiations and the attitude of a realist. As Chief of Staff General Lem's working habits included starting his day between 8:30 and 9 AM, and usually ending about 6:30 PM. He worked hard while in the office but rarely took work home. His pace was to start slow and to increase in intensity as the day progressed. He was not impatient; he would listen to all presentations until the presenter had finished. He did not mind somebody answering a question with an "I don't know," as opposed to someone trying to give him a "snow job." Snow jobs would really annoy Lem, and he let the individual know it. Whenever he had a recommendation to consider from a member of his staff, he did so meticulously. He had the staffman's instinct of wanting to go over every detail with great care to make sure each alternative had been considered and evaluated. </p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; line-height: 115%;">If he disagreed with a proposal, he never told the officer involved in a blunt way. He would point out different alternatives that might be considered and, thereby, coax his subordinate into the direction he thought best. Lieutenant General Arthur G. Trudeau, who served as Chief of Research and Development under General Lemnitzer, put it this way: "I knew the general for a long time and never saw a single instance where he made an enemy - he just was always reasonable." He was very interested in each member of his staff and their families. Nobody stayed with him unless they wanted to. If anybody asked for a transfer, they got it. And he insisted on doing things like personally giving new insignia to anyone on his staff who got promoted. </p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; line-height: 115%;">General Parker recalls General Lem's remarkable memory:</p>
<p style="line-height: 115%; margin: 0in .5in 6.0pt .5in;">"He would come into the HQ in the morning and say, 'Do you know what happened on this day five years ago (or ten)?' Then he'd describe in great detail where he had been and what he had done at that time. This faculty contributed, I'm sure, to his great success and popularity with Congressional committees. He could always illustrate a point in testimony with a real-life incident. Perhaps it was his great memory, too, that made him such a fine extemporaneous speaker.”</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; line-height: 115%;">One of his great strengths was the orderly way he thought and wrote. Being a superb staff officer was one of the factors which made him an exceptional Chief of Staff. This included the clarity with which he thought through a problem and, most important, the precise way he communicated and wrote. He was living proof of the maxim that if you think well, you write well. </p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; line-height: 115%;">On 15 August 1960, President Eisenhower nominated him to be Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The Senate approved and on 27 August he was sworn in. He held this position until 30 September 1962. </p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; line-height: 115%;">During his term as Chairman, the Bay of Pigs fiasco occurred. By direction of President Kennedy, the JCS was shut out of the planning of the project in the name of secrecy for a covert CIA scheme. When the plan failed, General Lem, to avoid embarrassing the President, moved that the Chiefs would not keep the situation in the headlines by making any further statements; the Chiefs voted unanimously in favor of the proposal—again it was a decision solely for the good of the country. </p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; line-height: 115%;">During the Berlin Crisis, President Kennedy asked Lemnitzer for a recommendation. The general countered with a question: "What do you want to achieve?" The President answered: "I want to make it crystal-clear to the Russians that we mean business and we will fight." The general recommended an immediate increase in the size of the Army, a call-up of selected Reserve units, and an increase in the Army budget. The Russians got the message and backed down. Force, as Lem knew, was a powerful argument. </p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; line-height: 115%;">As General Lemnitzer approached age 64 and retirement, President Kennedy, faced with the retirement of General Lauris Norstad as Commander-in-Chief of the U.S. European Command, chose Lem as the replacement. The NATO Council, also pleased with the appointment, agreed on him as SACEUR. He served in this position from 1963 - 69. </p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; line-height: 115%;">On 1 September 1969, General Lemnitzer, after 49 years of active duty, retired from the Army. On 11 July, President Nixon, aware of the impending retirement, awarded him the U.S. Distinguished Service Medal (with three Oak Leaf Clusters) plus the Navy and Air Force Distinguished Medals - the first time in our history that the three medals were awarded simultaneously. </p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; line-height: 115%;">As mentioned earlier, he thought highly of NATO. In his opinion: "The NATO Alliance formed a shield of military security behind which the stability and prosperity of Europe have been created out of the havoc left by World War II." In answer to the question: "Do you find that NATO still commands considerable support in Europe?" He stated positively and succinctly: "Yes, I do. Most people know there hasn't been a single square inch of NATO territory lost to Communism. There have been no wars in Europe." </p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; line-height: 115%;">That his work in NATO was appreciated by its members was shown by the West German newspaper<em> Frankfurter Allegemeine Zeitung.</em> The unique editorial accolade read: "He is an American but always considered himself to be more an Atlantic general. Late in his military career, he has shown Europe that the rating by a former superior (General Eisenhower) who described Lemnitzer as the best man ever to graduate from an American military academy was well-founded." </p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In retirement, Lem maintained an office in the Pentagon and spoke to many interested groups of the advantage of supporting NATO and of its necessity to the security of the United States. His views on the future of the United States were based on moral character: "To meet the challenge of this era, we must have the sustained strength derived from the determination, stamina and unaltering dedication to our high purposes as a people and a nation under God." </p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; line-height: 115%;">He never forgot his childhood home in Honesdale. The rapport between Lem and the town, throughout his career, was intimate and close. In appreciation of the man, its favorite son, Honesdale, on this past Decoration Day, dedicated a bridge, and a National Guard armory, to his name. </p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Too, he remained ever proud of his association with West Point. A memorable moment in his life was the notation in the Genealogical Succession of the 1980 USMA<em> Register of Graduates: </em>"6625 Lemnitzer, 18021 Son, 35753 grandson." </p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In later years, at least, Lem rarely missed attending the five-year reunions of his Class of 1920. Upon his return from such reunions, he would always complain about that "damn class of '15!" 1915, of course, was the famous class "the stars fell on," counting among its members Eisenhower, Bradley, Van Fleet, and other WW II heroes. Since class reunions at West Point are regularly held every five years it was always the fate of the Class of 1920 to be overshadowed by 1915. </p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; line-height: 115%;">General Lem expressed his gratitude to the Military Academy in these words, spoken at the end of his career: "I considered that one of the highest and most patriotic honors I could receive was to attend and graduate from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. . .. I feel the same about it today." </p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; line-height: 115%;">In his own words, as expressed to the graduating Class of 1960 he gave this opinion of the continuing value of USMA:</p>
<p style="line-height: 115%; margin: 0in .5in 6.0pt .5in;">"The importance… of education, discipline, and character as the basis for military leadership was first recognized and formally applied at West Point by Colonel Sylvanus Thayer…. The merit of his concept has been proved throughout the years. </p>
<p style="line-height: 115%; margin: 0in .5in 6.0pt .5in;">"Because of what they have received from West Point, all West Pointers have a vital obligation. The country looks to the officers of the Army and the other Armed Forces to provide the leadership which is needed in times of military emergency. The Army, in turn, looks to West Point as the fountainhead of the standards and qualities which typify the officer corps. Today as throughout the past, West Point looks to its graduates to sustain through their actions the great traditions of service, leadership, and patriotism - of Duty, Honor, Country - with which they have been imbued here." </p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; line-height: 115%;">With the passing of time, General Lemnitzer's merited place in history will certainly be established; meanwhile, having lived true to the words expressed above, he demonstrated by his accomplishments the validity of adherence to the motto: Duty, Honor, Country. </p>
<p align="right" style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; text-align: right; line-height: 115%;">Colonel Robert M. Stegmaier, Retired, Class of 1937 </p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> </p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 6.0pt; line-height: 115%;">(*These positions and the years in which he filled them are:</p>
<p style="text-indent: -.25in; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 6.0pt 40.5pt;">(1) Commanding General, United States Armed Forces Far East, Eighth Army (1955);</p>
<p style="text-indent: -.25in; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 6.0pt 40.5pt;">(2) Commander-in-Chief, United Nations Command and Governor Ryukyus (1955-57);</p>
<p style="text-indent: -.25in; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 6.0pt 40.5pt;">(3) Chief of Staff, U.S. Army (1959–60);</p>
<p style="text-indent: -.25in; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 6.0pt 40.5pt;">(4) Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff (1960–62);</p>
<p style="text-indent: -.25in; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 6.0pt 40.5pt;">(5) Commander-in-Chief, European Command (1962-69);</p>
<p style="text-indent: -.25in; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 6.0pt 40.5pt;">(6) Supreme Allied Commander, Europe (1963-69).)</p>
<p style="text-indent: -.25in; line-height: 115%; margin: 0in 0in 6.0pt .75in;"> </p>
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