Earle Gilmore "Bus" Wheeler, (January 13, 1908 - December 18, 1975) was a U.S. Army General and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/ewheeler.htm
Born in Washington D.C., Wheeler graduated from West Point in 1932 and was
commissioned into the infantry. After 4 years at Fort Benning, he went to China
with the 15th Infantry Regiment, then accompanied that regiment to Fort Lewis
in 1938-1940.
He
served in a variety of training assignments from 1941-1944, then went to Europe
in November 1944 with the 63rd Infantry Division. In late 1945 he returned to
the U.S. as an instructor at Fort Sill, then returned to Germany from 1947-1949
as a member of the U.S. Constabulary.
He
attended and graduated from the National War College in 1950, then returned to
Europe in various NATO staff positions until 1955, when he transferred to the
General Staff at the Pentagon. He took command of the 2nd Armored Division in
1958 and III Corps in 1959, then became Director of the Joint Staff in 1960. In
1962 he was briefly Deputy Commander of U.S. Forces in Europe before being
named Chief of Staff of the United States Army later that year.
In 1964
he succeeded Maxwell
D. Taylor as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and held that post
until 1970. Wheeler died in Frederick, Maryland after a heart attack, while
being transported by ambulance from his West Virginia home to Washington D.C.
Considering
the large number of general officers available in 1964 with distinguished
combat records in World War II and Korea, the staff officer Wheeler was a
surprising choice for the top Pentagon post. His relative lack of combat
experience, however, might actually have been seen as a plus in the eyes of the
new president, Lyndon B. Johnson. The latter was not known for his tolerance of
independent thinking, and Wheeler's dutiful acquiesence in Johnson's conduct of
the Vietnam War is a failure for which Wheeler has been harshly criticized by some
historians.
Earle
Gilmore Wheeler was born on January 13, 1908 at Washington, D.C., he graduated
from West Point in 1932 and was commissioned in the Infantry.
After
four years at Fort Benning, Georgia, during which he was advanced to First
Lieutenant in August 1935, he graduated from the Infantry School in 1937,
served at Tientsin, China, with the 15th U.S. Infantry. In 1938-40 he was at
Fort Lewis, Washington, with the same regiment, and in 1940-41 was an
instructor at West Point, receiving promotion to temporary Captain in 1941 and
then graduating from the Command and General Staff School. He was advanced to
temporary Major in February and Colonel in November. After various training assignments,
mainly in the South, he was sent to Europe in November 1944 as Chief of Staff
of the 63rd Infantry Division, which landed at Marseilles, France, and joined
Alexander M. Patch's 7th Army. Late in 1945 he returned to the U.S. and for a
year was an instructor at the Artillery School, Fort Still, Oklahoma. In 1946,
he returned to Europe, and from 1947 to 1949 was on the staff of the U.S.
Constabulary (formerly VI Crops) in occupied Germany.
He
graduated from the National War College in 1950 and was promoted to Brigadier
General in November 1952, serving in staff posts with NATO forces in Southern
Europe until 1955, when he was attached to the General Staff in Washington,
receiving promotion to Major General in November of that year. In October 1958,
he took command of the 2nd Armored Division at Fort Hood, Texas, moving up to
command also of III Corps in March 1959. In April 1960, he was promoted to
temporary Lieutenant General and named Director of the Joint Staff of the Joint
Chiefs of Staff. In March 1962, he was promoted to temporary General and made
Deputy Commander of U.S. Forces in Europe under Lauris Norstad, and
in October of that year he became Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army.
In July
1964, he succeeded General
Maxwell D. Taylor as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He held
that post, through a period of rapid modernization of the Armed Forces during a
trying era of war in Vietnam, until he retired in July 1970. In 1973 he
revealed that he had, on the personal orders of President Richard M. Nixon,
directed secret and, when made public, highly controversial, bombing missions
over Cambodia in 1969-70.
He died
at Frederick, Maryland, December 18, 1975, after a heart attack and while being
transported by ambulance from his West Virginia home to Washington, D.C. He had
held the Chairmanship oft he Joint Chiefs longer than anyone else. His nickname
was "Bus."
He is
buried in Section 30 of Arlington National Cemetery.
Frances
Howell "Betty" Wheeler, 90, who was a prominent hostess as the wife
of two four-star Army generals, died July 1, 2004, of cancer at a hospital in
Martinsburg, West Virginia. She lived on a farm near Martinsburg.
Mrs.
Wheeler was well known in military and diplomatic circles for many years,
particularly from 1964 to 1970, when her husband, General Earle G. Wheeler, was
chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. General Wheeler previously was Army
Chief of Staff.
Mrs.
Wheeler, who lived in various military quarters near Washington for many years,
christened the nuclear submarine USS Billfish in 1970.
She had
been married to General Wheeler for 43 years when he died in 1975.
In 1980,
she married another four-star general, Frank S. Besson Jr., who, like General
Wheeler, was a member of the Class of 1932 at the U.S. Military Academy at West
Point, New York. Gen. Besson was the founder and first commander of the Army
Materiel Command and an authority on military transportation and logistics.
They
lived in Alexandria until his death in 1985. After General Besson's death, she
resumed using the name of her first husband.
In 1988,
Mrs. Wheeler christened the Army logistical support vessel General Frank S.
Besson Jr.
Survivors
include a son from her first marriage, Dr. Gilmore "Bim" Wheeler;
seven stepchildren from her second marriage; three grandchildren; and two
great-grandchildren.
WHEELER,
FRANCES H. "Betty" (Age 90)
On July
1, 2004. Beloved widow of General Earle G. Wheeler, former Chairman of the
Joint Chiefs of Staff, died in Martinsburg, West Virginia. She is survived by
her son, Dr. Gilmore "Bim" Wheeler and his wife, Judy; three
grandsons, William G. and John R. Wheeler and Jonathan Aronoff;
daughters-in-law, Laura and Jennifer Wheeler; two great-grandchildren, Chelsey
and William Wheeler, as well as seven step-children by her second husband,
General Frank S. Besson, Jr.
Services
will be held on Friday, July 9, 2004 at 2:45 p.m. at the Old Post Chapel at
Fort Myer with interment to follow at Arlington National Cemetery. In lieu of
flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Army Emergency Relief, 200
Stovall Street, Alexandria, VA 22332.
WHEELER,
FRANCES H
DATE OF BIRTH: 10/28/1913
DATE OF DEATH: 07/01/2004
DATE OF INTERMENT: 07/09/2004
BURIED AT: SECTION 30 SITE 434-1
ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY
WIFE OF WHEELER, EARLE GILMORE - GEN US ARMY
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