Chester Victor Clifton Jr. (September 24, 1913 – December 23, 1991) was a

major general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

and an aide to Presidents

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination i ...

and Lyndon B. Johnson. New Orleans 1962 JFK Jimmie Davis Mayor Schiro-ST-158-64-62

Biography

Clifton was born in

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

, before moving to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and settling in Puyallup, Washington. He attended the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattle a ...

and graduated from the

University of Wisconsin-Madison A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, the ...

with a master's degree in

journalism Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the "news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree. The word, a noun, applies to the occupation (profes ...

. As a civilian he worked as a reporter for the ''

Seattle Post-Intelligencer The ''Seattle Post-Intelligencer'' (popularly known as the ''Seattle P-I'', the ''Post-Intelligencer'', or simply the ''P-I'') is an online newspaper and former print newspaper based in Seattle, Washington, United States. The newspaper was foun ...

'' and the ''

New York Herald Tribune The ''New York Herald Tribune'' was a newspaper published between 1924 and 1966. It was created in 1924 when Ogden Mills Reid of the ''New-York Tribune'' acquired the ''New York Herald''. It was regarded as a "writer's newspaper" and competed ...

'' and later worked in public relations and management. He co-authored the book ''The Memories: J.F.K., 1961–1963'' with

Cecil W. Stoughton Cecil William Stoughton (January 18, 1920 – November 3, 2008) was an American photographer. He is best known for being President John F. Kennedy's photographer during his White House years. Stoughton was present at the motorcade at which Kenn ...

and was a public relations consultant in the development of the

John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (formally known as the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, and commonly referred to as the Kennedy Center) is the United States National Cultural Center, located on the Potom ...

. Clifton died of pneumonia after an intestinal operation at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C. on December 23, 1991, and was survived by his widow, Anne Bodine (1915–2009). He and Anne are interred at

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is one of two national cemeteries run by the United States Army. Nearly 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington, Virginia. There are about 30 funerals conducted on weekdays and 7 held on Sa ...

Career

Clifton graduated from the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a fort, since it sits on strategic high groun ...

in 1936. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Clifton served in the

Field Artillery Field artillery is a category of mobile artillery used to support armies in the field. These weapons are specialized for mobility, tactical proficiency, short range, long range, and extremely long range target engagement. Until the early 20t ...

. Following the war he was assigned to Army Headquarters to work on public relations and later became an assistant to Omar Bradley. In 1956, he became Chief of Information of the Army. Clifton joined the Kennedy administration in 1961 as senior military aide. In this position Clifton was responsible for Kennedy's daily intelligence briefings on world events. He was in the motorcade in

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County w ...

, on November 22, 1963, when Kennedy was shot. Following the assassination, Clifton was in charge of dealing with military and national security affairs from the aftermath."New audio tape sheds light on JFK assassination"
ABS-CBN News, ''Agence France=Presse'', February 1, 2012 He retained this position in the Johnson administration until his retirement from the Army in 1965.

Awards

Army Distinguished Service Medal The Distinguished Service Medal (DSM) is a military decoration of the United States Army that is presented to soldiers who have distinguished themselves by exceptionally meritorious service to the government in a duty of great responsibility. Th ...

Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements. The decoration is issued to members of the eight ...

American Defense Service Medal The American Defense Service Medal was a military award of the United States Armed Forces, established by , by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, on June 28, 1941. The medal was intended to recognize those military service members who had served ...

American Campaign Medal The American Campaign Medal is a military award of the United States Armed Forces which was first created on November 6, 1942, by issued by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The medal was intended to recognize those military members who had perfo ...

* European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal * World War II Victory Medal * Army of Occupation Medal * National Defense Service Medal *

Croix de Guerre The ''Croix de Guerre'' (, ''Cross of War'') is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was first awa ...

(France) * Italian War Cross of Military Valor

References

External links

Conversations recorded aboard Air Force One on November 22, 1963
nbsp;— digitized audio from original 1/4" reel-to-reel tapes discovered among the memorabilia of Chester Clifton Jr. {{DEFAULTSORT:Clifton, Chester Victor Jr. 1913 births 1991 deaths United States Army personnel of World War II Burials at Arlington National Cemetery Kennedy administration personnel Lyndon B. Johnson administration personnel New York Herald Tribune people Writers from Edmonton People from Puyallup, Washington Recipients of the Croix de Guerre (France) Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army) Recipients of the Legion of Merit United States Army generals United States Military Academy alumni University of Washington alumni University of Wisconsin–Madison School of Journalism & Mass Communication alumni 20th-century American writers