15/08/2025
Tomorrow is
One of the first U.S. Army paratroopers, eventual Lt. Gen. James Gavin first enlisted in the Army in 1924, at the age of 17.
Fourteen months later he would be attending West Point. In August 1941 he attending parachute school in Fort Benning, Ga. He would be come part of the group responsible designing, testing, training and growing the U.S. paratrooper force, eventually literally writing the book on paratrooper tactics; Field Manual 31-30: Tactics and Technique of Air-Borne Troops.
Making a combat jump in Africa he would lead the first U.S. regimental combat jump, earning the Distinguished Service Cross and becoming one of the youngest generals at age of 36.
He would also jump during D-Day and Operation Market Garden. In the movie A Bridge too Far he was played by Ryan O’Neal.
After retiring from the Army as a Lt. Gen., he served as the Ambassador to France during the President John Kennedy’s administration.
Lt. General James Gavin is died in 1990 and is buried at the United States Military Academy Post Cemetery. He was 82.
You can leave a tribute to him, or 10 million other fallen Veterans at the VA’s online memorial, VLM https://www.vlm.cem.va.gov/JAMESMAURICEGAVIN/788A1
