Ridgely Gaither

Ridgely Gaither (February 23, 1903 – October 26, 1992) was a United States Army lieutenant general prominent as commander of the 40th Infantry Division during the Korean War, and commander of the XVIII Airborne Corps, U.S. Army Caribbean Command and Second United States Army.

Ridgely Gaither
Ridgely Gaither as commander of the 11th Airborne Division in 1952
Born(1903-02-23)February 23, 1903
Baltimore, Maryland
DiedOctober 26, 1992(1992-10-26) (aged 89)
Annapolis, Maryland
Buried
Arlington National Cemetery
AllegianceUnited States
Service/branchUnited States Army
Years of service1924–1962
RankLieutenant General
Commands heldArmy Parachute School
82nd Airborne Division
11th Airborne Division
40th Infantry Division
XVIII Airborne Corps
U.S. Army Caribbean Command
Second United States Army
Battles/warsWorld War II
Korean War
AwardsArmy Distinguished Service Medal (2)
Silver Star (2)
Legion of Merit
Bronze Star Medal
Other workPolice Commissioner in Annapolis, Maryland

Early life

Gaither was born in Baltimore, Maryland, on February 23, 1903 to a family which included Army officers since the American Revolution and is the namesake of Gaithersburg, Maryland. Gaither graduated from St. John's College in Annapolis and received his commission as a second lieutenant of Infantry in 1924.[1][2]

Military career

Gaither served in positions of increasing responsibility and rank, including assignments in the continental United States, Alaska, Hawaii and China.[3] He graduated from the Infantry Officer Course in 1933 and the Command and General Staff College in 1939.[4]

World War II

An early advocate of using paratroopers in offensive military operations, from 1943 to 1944 Gaither commanded the Army Parachute School, receiving promotion to brigadier general.[5][6]

While there, he was instrumental in forming the 555th Parachute Infantry Company (nicknamed the Triple Nickels), a segregated unit which was the U.S. Army's first African-American paratrooper unit.[7]

In 1945, Gaither went to Europe to take part in fighting against Nazi Germany, including a combat parachute jump with the 17th Airborne Division. He landed east of the Rhine River, almost on top of a German anti-aircraft battery. The Americans took the position, and Gaither said later that one group of Germans might have been taken prisoner sooner if he had not shot down their white flag of surrender, which was so dirty he did not immediately recognize it.[8]

Later in 1945, General Gaither was assigned as assistant division commander of the 86th Infantry Division in the Philippines, where he served until the end of the war and immediately afterwards.[9]

Interbellum

From 1946 until 1949, Gaither served as assistant division commander of the 88th Infantry Division, with duty on the border between Italy and Yugoslavia. He also served as a member of the Allied commission that established the border, military governor of Trieste, and as president of the War Crimes Court in Florence, Italy.[10][11][12][13][14]

Gaither commanded the 82nd Airborne Division from July to October, 1949.[15][16]

From 1949 to 1951, Gaither served in the Operations Division of the Office of the Army's Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations.[17]

Gaither commanded the 11th Airborne Division from 1951 to 1953.[18][19][20]

Korean War

General Gaither was commander of the 40th Infantry Division from 1953 to 1954 and saw combat during the Battle of Heartbreak Ridge.[21][22]

Senior command

In 1955, Gaither was assigned as commander of the XVIII Airborne Corps.[23]

From 1955 to 1956, Gaither served as the U.S. Army's assistant chief of staff for Intelligence, G-2, and was promoted to lieutenant general.[24]

Gaither was deputy commander of the Continental Army Command from 1957 to 1958, with duty as commander of Army Reserve Forces.[25]

From 1958 to 1960 Gaither was commander of the U.S. Army Caribbean Command.[26][27][28] He became a hereditary member of the Maryland Society of the Cincinnati in 1960.

Gaither was assigned as commander of the Second United States Army in 1960, where he remained until his retirement in 1962.[29]

Retirement and awards

Gaither retired from the army in 1962. His awards included two Army Distinguished Service Medals, two Silver Stars, the Legion of Merit and the Bronze Star Medal.[30][31][32][33]

Gaither lived in Annapolis, where he was commissioner of police from 1966 to 1973.[34][35]

Gaither died of congestive heart failure on October 26, 1992 at the Fairfield Nursing Center in Annapolis.[36]

Services were conducted at St. Anne's Episcopal Church, in Annapolis, followed by burial at Arlington National Cemetery. He is interred at Section 2, Site 4888-1.[37][38]

References
  1. "Miss D. W. Bassford Weds Lieut Ridgely Gaither". Baltimore Sun. July 19, 1924.
  2. Social Security Death Index
  3. "626 U.S. Citizens Listed in Tientsin". The New York Times. July 30, 1937.
  4. Official U.S. Army Register, compiled by U.S. Army Adjutant General, published by U.S. Government Printing Office, 1956
  5. "Giraud Inspects Benning Troops (newspaper photo caption)". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. July 15, 1943.
  6. Hanson W. Baldwin (October 21, 1943). "Leaps Minor Study for Paratroopers". The New York Times.
  7. Black Americans in Defense of Our Nation, published by Diane Publishing Company, 1990, p. 103
  8. "Baltimore Officer Lands Atop Anti-Aircraft Guns". Baltimore Sun. April 18, 1945.
  9. "Commander Of 11th Airborne Has Long Record Of Service". Kentucky New Era. February 23, 1952.
  10. "Gaither Denies MP's Abused Tito's Soldiers". Baltimore Sun. September 16, 1946.
  11. "Elizabeth Gaither Engaged". The New York Times. January 18, 1948.
  12. Camille M. Cianfarra (March 27, 1948). "Allies Find Yugoslavs Bolshevize Trieste Zone". The New York Times.
  13. "Powederkeg Peril in Trieste Denied". The New York Times. May 9, 1948.
  14. "U.S. to Shift Trieste Command". The New York Times. February 14, 1949.
  15. Serving History web site, 82nd Airborne Division, Past Division Commanders page
  16. 82nd Airborne Division, Steven J. Mrozek, 1997, p. 82
  17. "Army Commands in Korea Shifted]". New York Times. December 1, 1951.
  18. Web site, History of the 11th Airborne Division, by Leo Kocher, accessed July 12, 2010
  19. "13 Generals In Far East Reassigned, Army Announces Minor Shakeup". Pittsburgh Press. United Press. December 1, 1951.
  20. "11th Airborne Opens Reunion". The New York Times. December 7, 1952.
  21. Korean War order of battle: United States, United Nations, and Communist ground, Naval and Air Forces, by Gordon L. Rottman, 2002, page 32
  22. "General Moves". The Straits Times (Singapore). Associated Press. January 18, 1954.
  23. USA Airborne: 50th Anniversary, by Bart Hagerman, 1990, p. 435
  24. "Maj. Gen. Gaither Appointed Army Chief of Intelligence". Baltimore Sun. August 11, 1955.
  25. "Top Brass Inspects Guard Division". Reading (Pennsylvania) Eagle. Associated Press. August 22, 1957.
  26. "Caribbean Command to Shift". The New York Times. March 7, 1958.
  27. "Dr. Milton Eisenhower Applauded in Panama". Los Angeles Times. July 14, 1958.
  28. Hanson Baldwin (March 6, 1960). "Mock War in Panama; Five Latin Countries Join the U.S. In Testing 'Remote' Canal Defense". The New York Times.
  29. "Gaither Assumes New Command". Baltimore Sun. August 2, 1960.
  30. Official U.S. Army Register, compiled by U.S. Army Adjutant General, published by U.S. Government Printing Office, 1946
  31. "Army Honors Gen. Gaither; Legion Of Merit Presented In Washington Ceremony". Baltimore Sun. February 14, 1946.
  32. Official U.S. Army Register, compiled by US Army Adjutant General, published by U.S. Government Printing Office, 1960
  33. Home of Heroes, Army Recipients of the Silver Star for Conspicuous Gallantry in Action During World War II, accessed July 12, 2010
  34. "Gaither Gets Council OK". Baltimore Sun. January 4, 1966.
  35. "Gaither Bows Out After 8 Years in Post". The Capital (Annapolis). May 30, 1973.
  36. "Lt. Gen. Ridgely Gaither Dies; Led Infantry Division in Korea". The Washington Post. October 29, 1992.
  37. "Lt. Gen. Ridgely Gaither, Pioneer Paratrooper". Baltimore Sun. October 29, 1992.
  38. United States Department of Veterans Affairs, Nationwide Gravesite Locator
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