John Ernest Dahlquist – General, United States Army

Courtesy of Michael T. Stein:

General John Ernest Dahlquist
Born March 12, 1896 in Minneapolis, Minnesota
Died June 30, 1975

Second Lieutenant (ORC) 1917
Brigadier General 1942
Major General 1943
Lieutenant General 1953
General 1954

Instructor, Infantry School 1924-28
Student, Command & General Staff School 1930-31
Served in the Philippines 1931-34
Student, Army War College 1935-36
Served with Personnel Division, Army General Staff 1937-41
Assistant Chief of Staff, European Theater of Operations 1942
Assistant Division Commander, 76th Infantry Division 1942-43
Commanding General, 70th Infantry Division 1943-44
Commanding General, 36th Infantry Division 1944-45
Served with Secretary of War´s Personnel Board 1945-46
Deputy Director of Personnel & Administration, War Department 1947-49
Commanding General, 1st Infantry Division 1949-51
Commanding General, V U. S. Corps 1952-53
Commanding General, 4th U. S. Army 1953
Chief of Army Field Forces 1953-55
Commander-in-Chief, Continental Army Command 1955-56
Retired 1956
Distinguished Service Cross – Distinguished Service Medal – Silver Star – Legion of Merit – Bronze Star Medal

General John E. Dahlquist, the first commander of the 70th Infantry Division, died June 30, 1975 and was buried in Arlington Cemetery.

Energetic, unassuming General Dahlquist took charge of the 36th just before the Southern France invasion, spirited it through that highly successful venture and the spectacular drive that followed, and carried T-Patchers to final victory nine months later deep in the Austrian Tyrol.

From Minneapolis and the University of Minnesota, as a young Lieutenant he joined the Occupation Forces in Germany after World War I. Later he had a tour of duty in the Philippines and before the shadow of World War II appeared he became a qualified air observer. In July, 1942, General Dahlquist was appointed Deputy Chief of Staff to General Eisenhower in England. Tireless in battle, the General roved from point-to-point to spur on his front line units, once saw his aide, Captain Wells Lewis, killed beside him while leading the attack to relieve the “Lost Battalion” in the Vosges Forests. He determined the Division role which carried it over hitherto impregnable St. Marie Pass. Soon after V-J Day General Dahlquist was called to assignment with the Secretary of War’s Personnel Board in Washington.

Michael Robert Patterson

Michael Robert Patterson was born in Arlington and is the son of a former officer of the US Army. So it was no wonder that sooner or later his interests drew him to American history and especially to American military history. Many of his articles can be found on renowned portals like the New York Times, Washingtonpost or Wikipedia.

Reviewed by: Michael Howard