Joseph Alexander McChristian (October 12, 1914 – May 13, 2005) was a

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 ...

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 ...

and the assistant chief of staff for intelligence,

Military Assistance Command, Vietnam U.S. Military Assistance Command, Vietnam (MACV) was a joint-service command of the United States Department of Defense. MACV was created on 8 February 1962, in response to the increase in United States military assistance to South Vietnam. MACV ...

(J-2, MACV) (then commanded by General

William Westmoreland William Childs Westmoreland (March 26, 1914 – July 18, 2005) was a United States Army general, most notably commander of United States forces during the Vietnam War from 1964 to 1968. He served as Chief of Staff of the United States Army from ...

) from July 13, 1965 to June 1, 1967. As J-2, MACV, he predicted that the North Vietnamese would attack in full force, which they did during the 1968

Tet offensive The Tet Offensive was a major escalation and one of the largest military campaigns of the Vietnam War. It was launched on January 30, 1968 by forces of the Viet Cong (VC) and North Vietnamese People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) against the force ...

. His prediction was unpopular because the official policy was that US and South Vietnamese forces were winning the war.

Early life and education

Born 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 ...

and raised in

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...

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 ...

, McChristian enlisted in the Army on July 2, 1933. He was subsequently appointed to 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 ...

, earning a B.S. degree in 1939. McChristian later graduated from 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 multina ...

in 1951 and the Army War College in 1955.

Military career

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 opposing ...

, McChristian served with the 10th Armored Division in Europe earning a

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 ...

and four Bronze Star Medals. From 1949 to 1950, McChristian was a member of the Joint Military Assistance Group in

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...

. During the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

, he served on the faculty at the Military Academy. After learning

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

, McChristian returned to Greece as Army attaché from 1956 to 1960. From August 5, 1968 to his retirement on April 30, 1971, as a

, he was assistant chief of staff for intelligence in the Department of the Army. McChristian received two

Distinguished Service Medal Distinguished Service Medal (DSM) is a high award of a nation. Examples include: *Distinguished Service Medal (Australia) (established 1991), awarded to personnel of the Australian Defence Force for distinguished leadership in action * Distinguishe ...

s and the Legion of Merit. He is a member of the

Military Intelligence Hall of Fame The Military Intelligence Hall of Fame is a hall of fame established by the Military Intelligence Corps of the United States Army in 1988 to honor soldiers and civilians who have made exceptional contributions to military intelligence. The hall is ...

Personal

McChristian was the son of Robert Lee McChristian Sr. (February 14, 1888 – September 9, 1955) and Lillian (Alexander) Stone (August 28, 1892 – September 28, 1971). They were married on June 7, 1910 in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

, but were divorced in 1929. The family moved to Chicago after their first son was born, and then to Miami after their third son was born. McChristian's older brother Robert Lee McChristian Jr. (August 1, 1912 – August 22, 1995) worked in the sport fishing industry and invented a fishing reel mechanism, while his younger brother Stanley Earl McChristian (February 10, 1918 – June 18, 2018) was a World War II veteran and retired

Air Force An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an ...

major. After his death in

Jupiter, Florida Jupiter is the northernmost town in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. According to the 2020 Census, the town had a population of 61,047 as of April 1, 2020. It is 84 miles north of Miami, and the northernmost community in the Miami met ...

, McChristian was 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 ...

on July 29, 2005. His wife Dempsie Catherine (Van Fleet) McChristian (August 15, 1918 – April 1, 2013) was interred beside him eight years later. She was the daughter of General

James A. Van Fleet General James Alward Van Fleet (March 19, 1892 – September 23, 1992) was a United States Army officer who saw service during World War I, World War II and the Korean War. Van Fleet was a native of New Jersey, who was raised in Florida and gradu ...

Notes

References

*Major General Joseph A. McChristian, ''The Role of Military Intelligence 1965-1967 (Vietnam Studies)'', Department of the Army, Washington DC, 1974 (Library of Congress Catalogue Card number 74-600003) *Jake Blood, ''The Tet Effect: Intelligence and the Public Perception of War (Cass Military Studies)'' Routledge 2005. {{DEFAULTSORT:McChristian, Joseph A. 1914 births 2005 deaths Military personnel from Chicago People from Miami United States Army soldiers United States Military Academy alumni United States Army personnel of World War II Recipients of the Silver Star Joint Forces Staff College alumni United States Military Academy faculty United States Army War College alumni United States military attachés Recipients of the Legion of Merit United States Army generals United States Army personnel of the Vietnam War Recipients of the Air Medal Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army) Burials at Arlington National Cemetery