"Joint Chiefs of Staff" John William Vessey Jr Hand Written Letter JG Autographs For Sale

Up for sale"Joint Chiefs of Staff" John William Vessey Jr Hand Written Letter.This item is certified authentic by JGAutographs and comes with their Letter of Authenticity.

ES-6731E
John William "Jack" Vessey Jr.(June 29, 1922 –August 18, 2016) was a career officer in theUnited States Army. Heattained the rank ofgeneral, and is mostnotable for his service as the tenthChairman ofthe Joint Chiefs of Staff. A native ofMinneapolis, Vessey was a 16-year-oldRooseveltHigh Schoolstudent in 1939 when he began his 46-year militarycareer by falsely claiming to be 18 so he could join theMinnesota Army NationalGuard's 59th Field Artillery Brigade, a unit of the34thInfantry Division. His unit was activated forWorld War II, and he took part in combat in theNorth AfricanandItalianCampaigns.Vessey received abattlefield commissiontosecond lieutenantduringtheBattle of Anzio, andserved as a field artillery forward observer until the end of the war. Heremained on active duty after the war, and continued to advance throughpositions of increasing rank and responsibility, including assignments inWest Germanyduring theCold War. He graduated from theUniversityof Maryland University Collegein 1963, and received aMaster of Sciencedegree fromGeorge WashingtonUniversityin 1965. In addition, Vessey completed theUnited States Army Command and General Staff CollegeandArmed Forces Staff Collegecoursesand the program of study at theIndustrialCollege of the Armed Forces. During theVietnam War, he served as executive officer of the25thInfantry DivisionArtillery and acting commander of 2ndBattalion,77th Field Artillery,and he received theDistinguishedService Crossfor heroism during theBattle of Suoi Tre. Heserved as commander of the3rd ArmoredDivisionArtillery from 1967 to 1969, and the division chief ofstaff from 1969 to 1970. Vessey was promoted tobrigadier generalin1970, and assigned as commander of U.S. Army Supply Thailand, a logisticssupport area for soldiers serving in Vietnam. He commanded U.S. militaryactivities inLaosfrom 1973 to 1974, when he was promoted tomajor generalascommander of the4th InfantryDivision. In 1975, Vessey was promoted tolieutenant generalandassigned as the Army's deputy chief of staff for operations and plans, G-3. Hewas promoted togeneralin 1976, andnamed to commandUnited States Forces KoreaandtheEighth United States Army.In 1978, Vessey also assumed command of theRepublic of Korea-United StatesCombined Forces Command. He served in Korea until 1979, when he wasassigned asVice Chiefof Staff of the United States Army. In 1982, PresidentRonald Reagannamed Vessey as Chairman of the JointChiefs of Staff. He served until retiring in October 1985, and his tenure wasmost notable for his high-profile support of the Reagan-era increase in defensespending and military preparedness. Vessey opted to retire before thecompletion of his second two-year term; according to published reports, he hadintended to retire in June 1985 in deference to his wife's wishes toleaveWashington, DCfortheir home in ruralMinnesota, but remained on duty until theresolution of theTWA Flight 847hostagecrisis and other ongoing military activities. After leaving the Army, Vesseybecame involved in efforts to account for military personnel listed as missingin action, and made several trips to Southeast Asia to search for remains aspart of resolving theVietnam War POW/MIA issue.He was awarded thePresidential Medal ofFreedomin 1992. Vessey died inNorth Oaks, MinnesotaonAugust 18, 2016. He was buried at the Minnesota State Veterans CemeteryinLittle Falls, Minnesota.