Major General James  M. Gavin

General Gavin was Commanding officer of the 82^nd Airborne Division that jumped in Normandy on D-DAY, 1944. General Gavin came to be known as "Jumping Jim", because he parachuted with combat troops during WW2.

While a paratrooper, he led assaults on Sicily and on Salerno Bay in Italy 1943.

He reached the rank of Brigadier General and jumped with the 508^th on D-DAY 5-6^th June, 1944.

Elements of Gavin’s section took the town of Ste-Mere-Eglise and guarded river crossings on the flank of the Utah Beach Landing area.

Gavin was later made Major General at the age of 37, becoming the youngest Major General since General George Armstrong Custer.

Gavin commanded the 82^nd Airborne Division during operations in Holland and his Division later fought in the Battle of the Bulge and Germany until the German Army surrendered in 1945.

During the 1950s, General Gavin was head of Army research and development.

He became a strong opponent of President Eisenhower’s defense policy because of its dependence on nuclear weapons.

After General Gavin’s retirement in 1958, he served as ambassador to France from 1961-63 and became a prominent critic of the Vietnam War.

General James Gavin passed away on 23^rd February 1990.