GAVIN, JAMES

born March 22, 1907, New York, N.Y., U.S. died Feb. 23, 1990, Baltimore, Md. in full James Maurice Gavin U.S. Army commander known as the jumping general because he parachuted with combat troops during World War II. After graduating from the United States Military Academy at West Point (1929) Gavin was commissioned a second lieutenant, and he rose to the rank of major general at the age of 37. He became a paratrooper in 1941 and went on to command the 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, which joined the 82nd Airborne Division. He led assaults on Sicily and on Salerno Bay, Italy, in 1943; he commanded the parachute assault section of the division during the Normandy Invasion on June 6, 1944, and also commanded the division during airborne operations in The Netherlands. His division later fought in Germany until the German army surrendered in 1945. After the war Gavin was chief of staff of the 5th Army, chief of staff of allied forces in southern Europe, and commanding general of the U.S. 7th Corps in West Germany. He became a lieutenant general in 1955. While heading army research and development he became a strong opponent of President Dwight D. Eisenhower's defense policy because of its dependence on nuclear weapons. After his retirement in 1958 he served as ambassador to France (196163) and became a prominent critic of the Vietnam War. Gavin was the author of such books as Airborne Warfare (1947), Crisis Now (1968), and the autobiographical On to Berlin (1978).