General James Alward Van Fleet (19 March 1892 – 23 September 1992) was a United States Army officer who served during World War I, World War II and the Korean War. Van Fleet was a native of New Jersey, who was raised in Florida and graduated from the United States Military Academy. He served as a regimental, divisional and corps commander during World War II and as the commanding general of United States Army and other United Nations forces during the Korean War.
James Van Fleet was born in the Coytesville section of Fort Lee, New Jersey. His family then moved to Florida while he was an infant, and he grew up there. Van Fleet received his high school education at the Summerlin Institute in Bartow, Florida.
After graduating from Summerlin in 1911, Van Fleet received an appointment to the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York. While he was a cadet at West Point, he was a member of the Army football team and was a standout fullback on the undefeated Army team of 1914. Van Fleet graduated in the famous West Point Class of 1915, which included so many future generals that it has been called "the class the stars fell on" (stars being the insignia of generals). Van Fleet's classmates included Dwight D. Eisenhower and Omar Bradley, among many others.
After graduation, Van Fleet was commissioned as a second lieutenant into the Infantry Branch of the United States Army. He was assigned to a company of the 3rd Infantry Regiment at Plattsburgh, New York, where he served from 12 September to 1 October 1915. He then served at Madison Barracks, in Sacketts Harbor, New York, until 11 May 1916. The 3rd Infantry was then transferred to Eagle Pass, Texas, for service on the Mexican border until 8 October 1917, over six months after the American entry into World War I. During his time in Texas, Van Fleet was promoted twice, to first lieutenant on 1 July 1916, and to captain on 15 May 1917.
Van Fleet then transferred to Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, where he served as an instructor for provisional officers, 10 October 1917 to 22 March 1918; commanding Army Service Schools Detachment No. 2, to 6 April 1918; at Kansas City, Missouri, inspecting 7th Infantry Regiment, National Guard of Missouri, 1 to 5 April; at Camp Forrest, Ga., Camp Wadsworth, S. C., and Camp Mills, Long Island, commanding a company of the 16th Machine Gun Battalion, from 10 April to 4 July 1918. He received a temporary promotion to major on 17 June 1918.
Van Fleet was then shipped to France, where he commanded the 17th Machine Gun Battalion, part of the 6th Division, from 12 September 1918 to 11 June 1919. He was wounded in action in the Meuse–Argonne offensive on 4 November 1918, just seven days before the Armistice with Germany which caused hostilities to cease.
After the war, Van Fleet was reduced to his permanent rank of captain in 1922 and promoted to major in the Regular Army in December 1924. While serving as the senior officer of the University of Florida's U.S. Army Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) program, Van Fleet also served as the head coach of the Florida Gators football team in 1923 and 1924, after assisting William G. Kline for a year. He led the Gators into national prominence with a 12–3–4 (.737) record.
From 1924 to 1927 he was stationed at Camp Galliard in the Panama Canal Zone where he commanded the 1st Battalion of the 42nd Infantry. This assignment was followed by one at the Infantry School at Fort Benning, Georgia. At Fort Benning Van Fleet served as an instructor from April 1927 to September 1928 and as a student in the Advanced Course from September 1928 to June 1929. In addition to his other duties, Van Fleet served as head coach of the post's football team. Van Fleet then returned to the University of Florida where he was the Professor of Military Science and Tactics from July 1929 to June 1933.
From July 1933 to July 1935 he was stationed at Fort Williams in Cape Elizabeth, Maine, where he served as commander of the 2nd Battalion of the 5th Infantry and also as the post's executive officer. During this assignment, he oversaw the construction of a duck pond in the northwest corner of the parade field.
Unlike the majority of his fellow officers who rose to high command in the next few years, Van Fleet was unique in the sense that he never attended either the Command and Staff College or the Army War College during his military career.
Van Fleet commanded the 8th Infantry Regiment (part of the 4th Infantry Division) for three years (July 1941 to July 1944) and led it into combat in Europe in World War II, participating in the D-Day landings on Utah Beach in June 1944. On Utah Beach Van Fleet distinguished himself by outstanding combat leadership and was awarded his first Distinguished Service Cross (DSC).
Although widely regarded by many as an outstanding officer, he was blocked from promotion because the Army Chief of Staff, General George C. Marshall, who had a tendency to forget and confuse names, erroneously confused Van Fleet with a well-known alcoholic officer with a similar name. When General Dwight D. Eisenhower, a former West Point classmate of Van Fleet's and now the Supreme Allied Commander in Western Europe, informed Marshall of his mistake, Van Fleet was soon promoted to divisional and corps command.
Following promotion to brigadier general in August 1944, Van Fleet became the Assistant Division Commander of the 2nd Infantry Division (July to September 1944) and then briefly commanded the 4th Infantry Division (September to October 1944) before assuming command of the 90th "Tough Ombres" Infantry Division (October 1944 to February 1945) and gaining a promotion to major general in November. He gained the admiration and respect of his superiors, in particular Lieutenant General George S. Patton, commander of the Third Army, for his command of the 90th.
After briefly commanding XXIII Corps, on 17 March 1945 Van Fleet replaced Major General John Millikin as commander of III Corps where Millikin served with Patton's Third Army. Van Fleet commanded III Corps through the end of the war and the occupation of Germany until returning to the United States in February 1946.
Van Fleet was reassigned to Governor's Island, New York, as commander of the 2nd Service Command before becoming the Deputy Commanding General of the 1st United States Army in June 1946. In December 1947 he went to Frankfurt, Germany as G-3 (operations officer) of the United States European Command.
In February 1948, Van Fleet was promoted to lieutenant general and sent to Greece as the head of the Joint U.S. Military Advisory Group and executor of the "Truman Doctrine". He was instrumental in the outcome of the Greek Civil War by providing advice to the Greek government and 250 military advisers, as well as administering $400 million in military aid. The central square in the northern Greek city of Kastoria has featured a bust of Van Fleet for many years, and was replaced with a new statue as recently as 2007.
Van Fleet was commanding general of the Second United States Army from 10 August 1950 to 11 April 1951.
On 14 April 1951, Van Fleet arrived in Korea, replacing General Matthew B. Ridgway as commander of the U.S. Eighth Army and United Nations forces. Van Fleet was then promoted to four-star general on 31 July 1951. He commanded the Eighth United States Army.