Joseph P. Cleland | |
---|---|
Nickname(s) | "Great White Father" "Jumping Joe" |
Born | Holdrege, Nebraska, U.S. | March 2, 1901
Died | March 28, 1975 Belleair, Florida, U.S. | (aged 74)
Buried | |
Service | United States Army |
Years of service | 1925–1955 |
Rank | Major General |
Service number | O-16239[1] |
Unit | U.S. Army Infantry Branch |
Commands | Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 33rd Infantry Regiment Provisional Service Command, Guadalcanal 103rd Infantry Regiment U.S. Military Attaché, Santiago, Chile 504th Airborne Infantry Regiment 508th Infantry Regiment 40th Infantry Division IX Corps 1st Cavalry Division XVIII Airborne Corps |
Wars | World War II Korean War |
Awards | Army Distinguished Service Medal Silver Star Legion of Merit Soldier's Medal Bronze Star Medal Complete list |
Alma mater | Kemper Military School United States Military Academy United States Army Command and General Staff College |
Spouse(s) |
Florence Emily Cadotte
(m. 1931–1975) |
Other work | President, Kemper Military School |
Joseph P. Cleland (March 2, 1901 – March 28, 1975)[a] was a career officer in the United States Army. A 1925 graduate of the United States Military Academy (West Point), he served until 1955 and was a veteran of World War II and the Korean War. Cleland attained the rank of major general, and his commands included the 103rd Infantry Regiment, 40th Infantry Division, IX Corps, 1st Cavalry Division, and XVIII Airborne Corps. His awards and decorations included the Army Distinguished Service Medal, Silver Star, Legion of Merit, Soldier's Medal, and Bronze Star Medal.
A native of Holdrege, Nebraska, Cleland was raised and educated in Omaha and attended Kemper Military School, from which he graduated in 1921. He then attended the United States Military Academy, from which he graduated in 1925 as a second lieutenant of Infantry. Initially assigned to the 17th Infantry, Cleland served at several posts in the western United States. During the 1930s, he served in the Philippines and Panama, and attended the United States Army Command and General Staff College.
During World War II, Cleland served as chief of staff for the 43rd Infantry Division, then commanded the division’s 103rd Infantry Regiment during combat in the Philippines. He ended the war as a temporary brigadier general and deputy commander of the 43rd Division, and he subsequently served in Japan during the post-war occupation.
After the war, Cleland volunteered for parachutist training, after which he commanded the 504th Airborne Infantry Regiment and 508th Airborne Regimental Combat Team. During the Korean War, he commanded the 40th Infantry Division, 1st Cavalry Division and IX Corps. After the war he commanded the XVIII Airborne Corps.
Cleland retired in 1955 and was the owner and operator of a farm in Bedford, Virginia. In addition, he served as president of Kemper Military School from 1957 to 1959. After a period of declining health, in the early 1970s Cleland sold the farm and retired to Belleair, Florida. He died in Belleair on March 28, 1975, and was buried at West Point Cemetery.
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