John Dahlquist

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John E Dahlquist

John Ernest Dahlquist (March 12, 1896 - July 30, 1975 ) was a general in the US Army during World War II . He had a total of three different divisions in command and achieved the rank of four-star general.

biography

Dahlquist was born in Minneapolis , Minnesota. His parents were from Dalsland , Sweden . He graduated from the University of Minnesota and served in the occupation army of Germany after World War I. He taught at the US Army Infantry School from 1924 to 1928. He graduated and left the Command and General Staff School in 1931, he was transferred to the Philippines. Between 1935 and 1936 he studied at the Army War College . He served on the Army General Staff in the Personnel Division upon graduation.

Second World War

At the beginning of America's entry into World War II, he became Assistant Chief of Staff for Europe in 1942. In the same year he became Assistant Division Commander of the 76th Infantry Division. In 1943 he became the first commander of the 70th Infantry Division and in 1944 the commander of the 36th Infantry Division.

Dahlquist received his strongest criticism while in command of the 36th Infantry Division. This unit included the 442nd Infantry Regiment, a regiment made up exclusively of Americans of Japanese descent. He sent this regiment on October 24, 1944 on a suicide mission in order to free the (white) American soldiers at St. - the so-called Lost Battalion . The 442nd Infantry Regiment lost 800 men (including 121 dead) to save 211 soldiers

On May 8, 1945, Hermann Göring surrendered to the 36th Infantry Division. Since Dahlquist spoke fluent German, he was the first US soldier to hear Göring. Press photos of Dahlquist, who was obviously talking to Göring in a casual atmosphere, led to protests in the American public.

After the war he returned to the USA. He commanded the 1st Infantry Division , the V Corps , the 4th US Army , the Army Field Forces. In 1954 he became a four-star general. He ended his career as Commander in Chief of the Continental Army Command and retired in 1956. He died in 1975 and was buried in Arlington National Cemetery .

marriage

Dahlquist was married to Ruth D. Dahlquist. Both were buried in Arlington. They had a son Donald John (1932-1993) and two grandchildren: John William and Donette Ruth.

Orders and awards

Dahlquist was honored with an honorary Master of Arts from the University of Minnesota in 1954.

additional

Dahlquists role in the context of the 442th Regiment is in the documentary The War of Ken Burns documented.

literature

  • Kenneth D. Alford: Nazi Plunder: Great Treasure Stories of World War II . Da Capo Press, New York 2003, ISBN 978-0-306-81241-5 .
  • Douglas Sterner: Go for Broke. The Nisei Warriors of World War II Who Conquered Germany, Japan, and American Bigotry . American Legacy Historical Press, Clearfield, Utah 2008, ISBN 978-0-9796896-1-1 , chapter The lost battalion. Rescue in the Vosges Mountains and Chapter The Vosges Mountains. A different kind of war .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Douglas Sterner: Go for Broke. The Nisei Warriors of World War II Who Conquered Germany, Japan, and American Bigotry . American Legacy Historical Press, Clearfield, Utah 2008, pp. 91 and 95.
  2. ↑ Sterner 2007, pp. 70-75.
  3. ↑ Christopher C. Meyers: Vosges Mountains (The Lost Battalion) , accessed June 1, 2020.
  4. ^ Alford 2003, pp. 43-46
  5. ^ Time magazine article
  6. ↑ Alford 2003, p. 46
  7. ↑ John Ernest Dahlquist ( English ) Find A Grave. Retrieved May 22, 2019.
  8. ^ University of Minnesota Alumni Association
personal data
SURNAME Dahlquist, John
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Dahlquist, John Ernest (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American four-star general in the US Army
DATE OF BIRTH March 12, 1896
PLACE OF BIRTH Minneapolis , Minnesota
DATE OF DEATH July 30, 1975