John S. Gleason Jr. (February 11, 1915 – May 2, 1993) was an American

banker A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital markets. Becaus ...

convicted of fraud in 1977. He previously served as the sixth

Administrator of Veterans Affairs The Administrator of Veterans Affairs was the head of the Veterans Administration, a United States Government agency responsible for military veterans benefits. The administrator was appointed by the President. In 1989, the Veterans Administration w ...

, from 1961 to 1965, and the National Commander of

The American Legion The American Legion, commonly known as the Legion, is a non-profit organization of U.S. war veterans headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. It is made up of state, U.S. territory, and overseas departments, and these are in turn made up of l ...

from 1957 to 1958. He was a decorated

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 opposing ...

veteran A veteran () is a person who has significant experience (and is usually adept and esteemed) and expertise in a particular occupation or field. A military veteran is a person who is no longer serving in a military. A military veteran that h ...

, having received the

Silver Star Medal 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 en ...

, the Legion of Merit, and three Bronze Star Medals. After the war, he served as a senior

officer An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," f ...

in the

United States Army Reserve The United States Army Reserve (USAR) is a reserve force of the United States Army. Together, the Army Reserve and the Army National Guard constitute the Army element of the reserve components of the United States Armed Forces. Since July 2020 ...

Early life and education

John Simon Gleason Jr. was born on February 11, 1915, in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...

. His father was employed at the

First National Bank of Chicago First Chicago Bank was a Chicago-based retail and commercial bank tracing its roots to 1863. Over the years, the bank operated under several names including The First National Bank of Chicago and First Chicago NBD (following its 1995 merger with ...

where he would work when he grew older. He attended college at Notre Dame, graduating in 1940. Later in life, Gleason attended Harvard Business School, earning a second degree.

Military service

Gleason interrupted his business career to enlist in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

. By the end of

, he was a lieutenant colonel and had fought in the

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; id, Papua, or , historically ) is the world's second-largest island with an area of . Located in Oceania in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is separated from Australia by the wide Torr ...

and the

Luzon Luzon (; ) is the largest and most populous island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the Philippines archipelago, it is the economic and political center of the nation, being home to the country's capital city, Manila, as ...

campaigns with the 33d Infantry Division. Remaining active in the

reserve Reserve or reserves may refer to: Places * Reserve, Kansas, a US city * Reserve, Louisiana, a census-designated place in St. John the Baptist Parish * Reserve, Montana, a census-designated place in Sheridan County * Reserve, New Mexico, a US vi ...

during the Cold War, he was promoted to

brigadier general Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

The American Legion

In 1946, Gleason organized the

Post, No. 985, of The American Legion's Department of Illinois and was elected its first commander. His tenure as the National Commander of The American Legion from 1957 to 1958 is noted for its avocation of anti-communist education of young Americans.

Career

In 1961, Gleason was appointed to the position of Administrator of Veterans Affairs. As such, he gave the national

Veterans Day Veterans Day (originally known as Armistice Day) is a federal holiday in the United States observed annually on November 11, for honoring military veterans of the United States Armed Forces (who were discharged under conditions other than d ...

speech in 1964. In 1965, he returned to First National Bank of Chicago as vice president of business development. From 1970 to 1976, Gleason was chief executive officer of Mercantile Bank.

Bank fraud

In 1977, Gleason plead guilty to charges of bank fraud for having used $500,000 of the Mercantile Bank's funds for personal use. He was convicted and sentenced to three years in prison, serving 18 months.

Later life

Gleason later became a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

deacon, serving as the first lay chaplain at Metropolitan Correctional Center. He also served as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of St. Francis Hospital in Evanston.

Personal life

Gleason married Mary Jane Harrigan (1917-1998). The couple had six children: John S. "Jack" III, Daniel, Richard, Thomas, David, and Martin.

References

External links

John S. Gleason Jr.
at

The Political Graveyard The Political Graveyard is a website and database that catalogues information on more than 277,000 American political figures and political families, along with other information. The name comes from the website's inclusion of burial locations o ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gleason, John S. Jr. 1915 births 1993 deaths 20th-century Roman Catholics American businesspeople convicted of crimes American people convicted of fraud American bank presidents Businesspeople from Illinois Catholics from Illinois Harvard Business School alumni Illinois Democrats Kennedy administration personnel Lyndon B. Johnson administration personnel National Commanders of the American Legion People from Chicago Recipients of the Legion of Merit Recipients of the Silver Star American Roman Catholic deacons United States Army reservists United States Department of Veterans Affairs officials University of Notre Dame alumni United States Army personnel of World War II