Walter Bedell Smith

General a. D. Walter Bedell Smith

Walter Bedell "Beetle" Smith (born October 5, 1895 in Indianapolis , Indiana ; †  August 9, 1961 in Washington, DC ) was Dwight D. Eisenhower's chief of staff during his tenure as Commander in Chief of the Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force and director from 1950 to 1953 of the US secret service CIA . He also served as the United States Ambassador to the Soviet Union from 1946 to 1949 .

Life

Smith's first service in the military was as a privateer in the Indiana National Guard . During the First World War he served in the 4th US Infantry Division of the US Army as a reserve infantryman.

When General George C. Marshall Chief of Staff of the Army was, he appointed Smith to Assistant Secretary of the General Staff . In September 1941 he was appointed secretary and in February 1942 secretary to the Combined Chiefs of Staff . Before the invasion of North Africa, Marshall sent him to Great Britain, where he became Dwight D. Eisenhower's chief of staff. He held this position until VE Day . As a representative of the Allies , he signed the Armistice of Cassibile with the Kingdom of Italy on September 3, 1943 and the unconditional surrender of the German armed forces on May 7, 1945 .

Smith left the Army to become U.S. ambassador to the Soviet Union. He was ambassador from 1946 to 1949 and then returned to the Army as a four-star general. He was then director of the CIA from 1950 to 1953. On February 9, 1953, he resigned from the Army and succeeded David KE Bruce United States Under Secretary of State . So he was until October 1, 1954 Deputy Secretary of State John Foster Dulles .

On August 9, 1961, Smith died of a myocardial infarction at Walter Reed Military Hospital in Washington . His body was interred in Arlington National Cemetery.

Awards

Selection of decorations, sorted based on the Order of Precedence of Military Awards :

• Army Distinguished Service Medal (x3)
• Navy Distinguished Service Medal
• Legion of Merit
• Bronze star
• Grand Cross of the Belgian Order of the Crown
• Grand Officer of the French Legion of Honor
• Croix de guerre with palm tree
• Croix de guerre with palm tree
• Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath
• Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire
• Grand Cross of the Luxembourg Order of the Oak Crown
• Grand Cross of the Moroccan Ouissam Alaouite
• Grand Cross of the Order of the Dutch Lion
• Silver Cross of the Polish Virtuti Militari
• Commander with the Star of the Order of the Rebirth of Poland
• Kutuzov 1st class
• Commander of the Czechoslovak Order of the White Lion
• Grand Cross of the Tunisian Order of Fame

Web links

Commons : Walter Bedell Smith  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• Literature by and about Walter Bedell Smith in the catalog of the German National Library
• Newspaper article about Walter Bedell Smith in the 20th century press kit of the ZBW - Leibniz Information Center for Economics .
• Walter Bedell Smith in nndb (English)