Clyde Davis Eddleman (January 17, 1902 – August 19, 1992) was a

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 ...

four-star general who served as commander,

United States Army Europe United States Army Europe and Africa (USAREUR-AF) is an Army Service Component Command (ASCC) /Theater Army responsible for directing United States Army operations throughout the U.S. European Command (EUCOM) and U.S. Africa Command (AFRICO ...

from 1959 to 1960, and as

Vice Chief of Staff of the United States Army The vice chief of staff of the Army (VCSA) is the principal deputy to the chief of staff of the Army, and is the second-highest-ranking officer on active duty in the Department of the Army. The vice chief of staff generally handles the day-to-d ...

from 1960 to 1962.

Military career

Eddleman was born on January 17, 1902, in

Orange, Texas Orange is a city and the county seat of Orange County, Texas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 19,324. It is the easternmost city in Texas, located on the Sabine River at the border with Louisiana, and is from Houst ...

. He graduated from Lake Charles High School in

Lake Charles, Louisiana Lake Charles (French: ''Lac Charles'') is the fifth-largest incorporated city in the U.S. state of Louisiana, and the parish seat of Calcasieu Parish, located on Lake Charles, Prien Lake, and the Calcasieu River. Founded in 1861 in Calcasieu ...

in 1919. In 1924 he 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 ...

, receiving his commission in the Infantry. Eddleman went to Australia with General

Walter Krueger Walter Krueger (26 January 1881 – 20 August 1967) was an American soldier and general officer in the first half of the 20th century. He commanded the Sixth United States Army in the South West Pacific Area during World War II. He rose fro ...

in early 1943 as assistant chief of staff, G-3, and remained there until 1945. He participated in all of

Sixth United States Army Sixth Army is a theater army of the United States Army. The Army service component command of United States Southern Command, its area of responsibility includes 31 countries and 15 areas of special sovereignty in Central and South America and t ...

's campaigns, including the occupation of Japan. He was awarded the

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 ...

for his activities in the

Leyte Leyte ( ) is an island in the Visayas group of islands in the Philippines. It is eighth-largest and sixth-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 2,626,970 as of 2020 census. Since the accessibility of land has be ...

and Luzon Campaigns, and the

Silver Star The Silver Star Medal (SSM) is the United States Armed Forces' third-highest military decoration for valor in combat. The Silver Star Medal is awarded primarily to members of the United States Armed Forces for gallantry in action against an e ...

for reconnaissance under fire at

Biak Biak is an island located in Cenderawasih Bay near the northern coast of Papua (province), Papua, an Indonesian province, and is just northwest of New Guinea. Biak is the largest island in its small archipelago, and has many atolls, reefs, and c ...

, Leyte, and Manila. He was promoted to brigadier general at the Leyte beachhead. Because of his familiarity with joint operations, Eddleman was selected by General Douglas MacArthur to become a member of the Joint Operations Review Board from January to June 1946. He was then selected to be the first deputy commandant of the

Armed Forces Staff College The Joint Forces Staff College (JFSC), located in Norfolk, Virginia, was established as the Armed Forces Staff College in 1946 and incorporated into the National Defense University in August 1981. It educates and acculturates joint and multinat ...

. He was chairman of the faculty board and director of instruction of the school for the first four classes. Eddleman arrived in

Trieste Trieste ( , ; sl, Trst ; german: Triest ) is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is the capital city, and largest city, of the autonomous region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, one of two autonomous regions which are not subdivided into provi ...

in June 1949 to become deputy commander of

Trieste United States Troops The Army command Trieste United States Troops (TRUST) was established 1 May 1947 in accord with a protocol to the Treaty of Peace with Italy which created the Free Territory of Trieste as a new independent, sovereign State under a provisional reg ...

(TRUST), and director general, civil affairs, Allied Military Government. He remained in this assignment for over a year. In November 1950 Eddleman was recalled to Washington to become chief of Plans Division, G-3, and later G-3 of the army. He remained in that position until 1954. In May of that year, he assumed command of the 4th Infantry Division, at the time headquartered in

Frankfurt, Germany Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...

. In May 1955, he was reassigned as commandant of the Army War College, staying in that position only four months until he was moved to deputy chief of staff for military operations and operations deputy for Joint Chiefs of Staff activities. He then assumed command of the

Seventh United States Army The Seventh Army was a United States army created during World War II that evolved into the United States Army Europe (USAREUR) during the 1950s and 1960s. It served in North Africa and Italy in the Mediterranean Theater of Operations and Fran ...

in Germany on July 1, 1958. Nine months later he was promoted to four-star rank and assigned as Commander-in-Chief, United States Army, Europe, and remained there until November 1, 1960, when he became

. He filled this position until his retirement on March 31, 1962.

Awards

Eddleman's awards and decorations include the

with

oak leaf cluster An oak leaf cluster is a ribbon device to denote preceding decorations and awards consisting of a miniature bronze or silver twig of four oak leaves with three acorns on the stem. It is authorized by the United States Armed Forces for a speci ...

, the

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 ...

, the

Bronze Star Medal The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service in a combat zone. Wh ...

, and the

Philippine Distinguished Service Star The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

Post military

After retiring from the army, Eddleman was a vice president of

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for four years, later becoming director and corporate representative. He also was on the board of directors of the

Army and Air Force Mutual Aid Association American Armed Forces Mutual Aid Association (AAFMAA) is a Virginia-based not-for-profit, tax-exempt, member-owned association that provides diversified financial services, including life insurance, investing and trust services, mortgage service ...

from 1962 to 1980, when he was elected chairman of the board, a position he filled until 1982. Eddleman died at

Walter Reed Army Medical Center The Walter Reed Army Medical Center (WRAMC)known as Walter Reed General Hospital (WRGH) until 1951was the U.S. Army's flagship medical center from 1909 to 2011. Located on in the District of Columbia, it served more than 150,000 active and ret ...

on August 19, 1992, survived by his wife, Lorraine Heath Eddleman (1904–1999), and one son, John Heath Eddleman. He and Lorraine are now buried 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 ...

.Burial Detail: Eddleman, Clyde D
– ANC Explorer

References

General Orders No. 22, October 5, 1992 Death of Clyde Davis Eddleman
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eddleman, Clyde 1902 births 1992 deaths People from Orange, Texas United States Military Academy alumni Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army) Recipients of the Silver Star Recipients of the Legion of Merit People from Lake Charles, Louisiana Burials at Arlington National Cemetery United States Army Vice Chiefs of Staff United States Army generals of World War II United States Army generals Military personnel from Texas