John McPherson LeMoyne (born 15 December 1943) is a retired

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 ...

Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

. John LeMoyne entered military service in 1964 and was commissioned in 1968 after graduating from the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

, in

Gainesville, FL Gainesville is the county seat of Alachua County, Florida, and the largest city in North Central Florida, with a population of 141,085 in 2020. It is the principal city of the Gainesville metropolitan area, which had a population of 339,247 in 2 ...

. LeMoyne held several command and staff positions both overseas and in the United States. In Vietnam, he commanded an infantry company, where he received a Purple Heart. In Europe, his assignments included command of the 3rd Battalion, 30th Infantry, 3rd Infantry Division; Operations Officer and later Chief of Staff for the

U.S. 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 ...

and Seventh Army. General LeMoyne's stateside assignments included serving as the Commander, 1st Brigade, 24th Infantry Division and Commanding General,

U.S. Army Infantry Center 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 Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

, Fort Benning, GA. Upon LeMoyne's retirement, Florida Senator Bill Nelson noted that his unit led the ''Hail Mary'' behind the Iraqi Army in Kuwait, contributing to the quick end of hostilities.

Education

Born in

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

and raised in

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

, LeMoyne attended P. K. Yonge Laboratory School in Gainesville, graduating in 1961. He enlisted in the Army Reserve to become a Special Forces soldier in 1964. LeMoyne later completed a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration at the

, and earned a master's degree in Public Administration from

Shippensburg State College Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania (Ship or SU) is a public university in Shippensburg, Pennsylvania. It is part of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education. Founded in 1871, it later became the first teachers college in Pennsylvania. ...

. He was commissioned through

ROTC The Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC ( or )) is a group of college- and university-based officer-training programs for training commissioned officers of the United States Armed Forces. Overview While ROTC graduate officers serve in all ...

as a

Second Lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

in the

Infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and marine i ...

in the

and has served with distinction for over three decades in peace and during two wars. Most notable was his final assignment as the Army's Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel, G-1.

Vietnam

While serving as a

First Lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a s ...

while assigned to the Air Force Advisory Group, Lieutenant LeMoyne was awarded the Army Commendation Medal (Valor) with one cluster.

Military awards

;Badges, tabs, and patches : Combat Infantry Badge

Combat Infantryman Badge The Combat Infantryman Badge (CIB) is a United States Army military decoration. The badge is awarded to infantrymen and Special Forces soldiers in the rank of colonel and below, who fought in active ground combat while assigned as members of ei ...

Master Parachutist Badge The Parachutist Badge, also commonly referred to as "Jump Wings" is a military badge of the United States Armed Forces. The United States Space Force and United States Coast Guard are the only branches that do not award the Parachutist Badge, bu ...

Ranger Tab In the United States Army, tabs are cloth and/or metal arches displaying a word or words signifying a special skill that are worn on U.S. Army uniforms. On the Army Combat Uniform and Army Service Uniform, the tabs are worn above a unit's Should ...

Pathfinder Badge The Pathfinder Badge is a military badge of the United States Army awarded to soldiers who complete the U.S. Army Pathfinder School at Fort Benning, Georgia. To be awarded the Pathfinder Badge, the soldier must complete Pathfinder instruction i ...

Army Staff Identification Badge : ViPaBa

Republic of Vietnam Parachutist Badge

Medals and ribbons

During his later career, Lemoyne earned a Defense Distinguished Service Medal, an

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 ...

and three awards of 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 ...

. LeMoyne was inducted into the U.S. Army Ranger Hall of Fame in 2014.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:LeMoyne, John 1943 births Living people Military personnel from Ohio University of Florida alumni United States Army Rangers United States Army personnel of the Vietnam War Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania alumni United States Army personnel of the Gulf War Recipients of the Legion of Merit United States Army generals Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army) Recipients of the Defense Distinguished Service Medal