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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.
- ^ U.S. Army Adjutant General (1946). Official Army Register. Vol. I. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 128 – via Google Books.
- ^ Official Register of the Officers and Cadets of the United States Military Academy. West Point, NY: United States Military Academy Printing Office. 1921. p. 55 – via Google Books.
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