03/23/2022
A LEADERSHIP GREAT—Celebrating the birthday of Lieutenant General James M. Gavin who was born on this day, March 22, 1907. A native of Brooklyn, NY, Lt. Gen. Gavin graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, Class of ‘29. Soon after he took command of the 82nd Airborne Division during World War II, he became the youngest Major General (shown) commanding a division since the American Civil War.
Lt. Gen. Gavin fast became a Division icon earning a reputation among his men as the general who carried an M1 rifle—along with the weight of the ammunition to go with it—forgoing the lighter weapons traditionally carried by staff officers and other generals.
During Operation "Market Garden" on September 17, 1944, he fractured his spine on the jump. He kept the injury to himself, though, and endured the pain for nearly two months until after the campaign was over.
Lt. Gen. Gavin believed that an army should represent the people it defended. He fought against segregation in the U.S. Army, and ultimately it was his 82nd Airborne Division that embraced integrated units, changing the Army forever.
Lt. Gen. Gavin was a serious man, but he did see the lighter side. As his account of Operation Husky goes, “When we jumped into Sicily, the units became separated, I couldn't find anyone. Eventually, I stumbled across two colonels, a major, three captains, two lieutenants and one rifleman and we secured the bridge. Never in the history of war have so few been led by so many.”
Lt. Gen. Gavin led from the front and with unyielding energy. He served in every major campaign fought by the 82nd during WWII. And his contributions shaped the future and the warrior ethos of the Airborne. As his most famous quote goes, “Show me a man who will jump out of an airplane and I'll show you a man who will fight.”
Here’s to a great leader! All The Way!
Photo, Major General James M. Gavin, Victory Portrait, Courtesy of the National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution. Design by Gary Daniels