Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank 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 battlefield, who was norma ...

Joseph May Swing (February 28, 1894 – December 9, 1984) was a senior

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

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," fro ...

, who fought in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and commanded the

11th Airborne Division The 11th Airborne Division ("Arctic Angels") is a United States Army multirole infantry division made up of specialized light infantry and airborne infantry based in Alaska. Currently, this unit specializes in arctic warfare, airborne operat ...

during the campaign to liberate the Philippines in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Early life and military career

Joseph May Swing was born in

Jersey City, New Jersey Jersey City is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, second-most populous

, on February 28, 1894, the son of Mary Ann (née Snellgrove) and Joseph Swing. He attended the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York that educates cadets for service as Officer_(armed_forces)#United_States, comm ...

(USMA) at

West Point, New York West Point is the oldest continuously occupied military post in the United States. Located on the Hudson River in New York (state), New York, General George Washington stationed his headquarters in West Point in the summer and fall of 1779 durin ...

and was commissioned as an additional second lieutenant upon graduation in June 1915 (⁶see

the class the stars fell on "The class the stars fell on" is an expression used to describe the class of 1915 at the United States Military Academy in West Point, New York. In the United States Army, the insignia reserved for generals is one or more stars. Of the 164 gradu ...

). Having been assigned to the Field Artillery Branch of the

, from September 1915 onwards he served with the 4th Field Artillery Regiment at

Texas City, Texas Texas City is a city in Galveston County, Texas, United States, on the southwest shoreline of Galveston Bay. Texas City is a deepwater port on Texas's Gulf Coast, as well as a petroleum-refining and petrochemical-manufacturing center. The popu ...

, which soon moved to

El Paso El Paso (; ; or ) is a city in and the county seat of El Paso County, Texas, United States. The 2020 United States census, 2020 population of the city from the United States Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau was 678,815, making it the List of ...

, later moving to

Columbus, New Mexico Columbus is an incorporated village in Luna County, New Mexico, United States, about north of the Mexican border. It is considered a place of historical interest, as the scene of a 1916 attack by Mexican general Francisco "Pancho" Villa that ...

in March 1916. Swing served with Brigadier General John J. Pershing's

Punitive Expedition A punitive expedition is a military journey undertaken to punish a political entity or any group of people outside the borders of the punishing state or union. It is usually undertaken in response to perceived disobedient or morally wrong beha ...

in the hunt for

Pancho Villa Francisco "Pancho" Villa ( , , ; born José Doroteo Arango Arámbula; 5 June 1878 – 20 July 1923) was a Mexican revolutionary and prominent figure in the Mexican Revolution. He was a key figure in the revolutionary movement that forced ...

, during which he was promoted to second lieutenant on May 8 and then promoted again to

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 se ...

on July 1, until July when he moved with his regiment to

Fort Bliss Fort Bliss is a United States Army post in New Mexico and Texas, with its headquarters in El Paso, Texas. Established in 1848, the fort was renamed in 1854 to honor William Wallace Smith Bliss, Bvt.Lieut.Colonel William W.S. Bliss (1815–1853 ...

, Texas. He remained here until October when he was transferred to the 8th Field Artillery Regiment at

Fort Myer Fort Myer is the previous name used for a U.S. Army Military base, post next to Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington County, Virginia, and across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C. Founded during the American Civil War as Fort Cass and ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

, with whom he served until May 1917, a month after the

American entry into World War I The United States entered into World War I on 6 April 1917, more than two and a half years after the war began in Europe. Apart from an Anglophile element urging early support for the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, British and an a ...

. He was promoted to

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

on the 15th of that month and, in June, after being assigned as aide-de-camp to Brigadier General

Peyton C. March General Peyton Conway March (December 27, 1864April 13, 1955) was a senior officer of the United States Army. He served in the Philippines, on the Mexican border, and World War I. March was the ninth Chief of Staff from 1918 to 1921, accomplishi ...

, a position he would hold for the rest of the war, both men embarked for service in

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. Swing, promoted to the temporary rank of

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

on March 5, 1918, was to serve in France until later in the month when March, now a major general, was recalled to

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

to become the new army chief of staff. He married General March's daughter, Josephine, on July 8, 1918.

Between the wars

After the war, Swing continued his career in the

artillery Artillery consists of ranged weapons that launch Ammunition, munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during sieges, and l ...

, graduating with honors from the United States Army Field Artillery School at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. In 1927 he graduated from the

Command and General Staff School The United States Army Command and General Staff College (CGSC or, obsolete, USACGSC) at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, is a graduate school for United States Army and sister service officers, interagency representatives, and international military ...

at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, and in 1935 he graduated from the

United States Army War College The United States Army War College (USAWC) is a U.S. Army staff college in Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania, with a Carlisle postal address, on the 500-acre (2 km2) campus of the historic Carlisle Barracks. It provides graduate-level instru ...

in Washington D.C. On June 24, 1936 he was promoted to lieutenant colonel. From 1938 to 1940 he served as

chief of staff The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supportin ...

for the 2nd Infantry Division, then as commander of artillery for the 1st Cavalry Division. On June 26, 1941 he was promoted to colonel in the

Army of the United States The Army of the United States was one of the four major service components of the United States Army. Today, the Army consists of the Regular Army, the Army National Guard of the United States, the Army National Guard while in the service of the ...

(AUS).

World War II

Swing was promoted to brigadier general (AUS) on February 16, 1942 and organized the division artillery of the 82nd Infantry Division, shortly before their conversion to an airborne division. After being promoted to the temporary rank of major general, on February 15, 1943 Swing activated the newly formed

at Camp Mackall, North Carolina. He was then sent to the

Mediterranean Theater of Operations The Mediterranean Theater of Operations, United States Army (MTOUSA), originally called the North African Theater of Operations, United States Army (NATOUSA), was a military formation of the United States Army that supervised all U.S. Army for ...

(MTO) to assist with planning the airborne operations conducted during

Operation Husky Operation or Operations may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity * Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory * ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Man ...

, the invasion of Sicily. His permanent rank was upgraded from lieutenant colonel to colonel on August 1, 1943. After returning to the United States, he continued to oversee the training of the 11th Airborne Division, leading them to a successful victory in the Knollwood training maneuver on December 7, 1943. The performance of Swing and the 11th Airborne is credited with saving the concept of the airborne division. Swing and the officers and men of the 11th Airborne Division shipped out for the Southwest Pacific in May 1944. He would lead the division for the duration of the war, from the invasion of the Philippines to the

occupation of Japan Japan was occupied and administered by the Allies of World War II from the surrender of the Empire of Japan on September 2, 1945, at the war's end until the Treaty of San Francisco took effect on April 28, 1952. The occupation, led by the ...

. Swing and the 11th Airborne Division greeted General

Douglas MacArthur Douglas MacArthur (26 January 18805 April 1964) was an American general who served as a top commander during World War II and the Korean War, achieving the rank of General of the Army (United States), General of the Army. He served with dis ...

upon his arrival in Japan at Atsugi Airdrome on August 30, 1945. Swing emerged from the war with several decorations, the highest of which was the Distinguished Service Cross, awarded for his outstanding bravery in mid-April 1945. The citation for the medal reads:

Postwar

Swing commanded the 11th Airborne Division, during which time his permanent rank became brigadier general on June 16, 1947, until 1948 when he was assigned command of I Corps in Kyoto, Japan. On January 24, 1948 his permanent rank was upgraded to major general. This was followed by a stint as commandant of the Field Artillery School at Fort Sill, then as commandant of the Army War College at Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania. His final posting was as commander of the Sixth Army in San Francisco in 1951. Swing retired from active duty on February 28, 1954, retiring with the rank of

lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank 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 battlefield, who was norma ...

Frank Pace at Sixth Army Headquarters 63-1387-14 original

After leaving the army, his friend and West Point classmate President

Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was the 34th president of the United States, serving from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, he was Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionar ...

nominated him as the Commissioner of Immigration and Naturalization. Following confirmation, Swing served as the head of the

INS INS or Ins may refer to: Places * Ins, Switzerland, a municipality * Creech Air Force Base (IATA airport code INS) * Indonesia, ITF and UNDP code INS * INS Park, an entertainment complex in China Biology *'' Ins'', a New World genus of bee flie ...

from 1954 to 1962. Among the programs he implemented was the controversial

Operation Wetback Operation Wetback was an immigration law enforcement initiative created by Joseph May Swing, Joseph Swing, a retired United States Army lieutenant general (United States), lieutenant general and head of the United States Immigration and Naturaliza ...

(1954), designed to slow the number of illegal border crossings from Mexico. Swing died in San Francisco at the age of 90 on December 9, 1984, and is buried at

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is the largest cemetery in the United States National Cemetery System, one of two maintained by the United States Army. More than 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington County, Virginia. ...

, in

Arlington, Virginia Arlington County, or simply Arlington, is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Virginia. The county is located in Northern Virginia on the southwestern bank of the Potomac River directly across from Washington, D.C., the nati ...

, together with his wife, Josephine Mary Swing (1895–1972).

Decorations

Parachutist Badge * US-DSC-RIBBON

Distinguished Service Cross * Distinguished Service Medal ribbon

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. ...

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 a ...

with two oak leaf clusters * Legion of Merit ribbon

Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a Awards and decorations of the United States military, military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievemen ...

Bronze Star Medal The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious a ...

with two oak leaf clusters * Air Medal ribbon

Air Medal The Air Medal (AM) is a military decoration of the United States Armed Forces. It was created in 1942 and is awarded for single acts of heroism or meritorious achievement while participating in aerial flight. Criteria The Air Medal was establi ...

with oak leaf cluster

References

Bibliography

External links

Biography from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services website
*
''Washington Post'' obituary, dated 12 December 1984
, - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Swing, Joseph May 1894 births 1984 deaths United States Army Field Artillery Branch personnel United States Army generals United States Military Academy alumni Recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross (United States) Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army) Recipients of the Silver Star Recipients of the Legion of Merit Military personnel from Jersey City, New Jersey Recipients of the Air Medal Burials at Arlington National Cemetery Graduates of the United States Military Academy Class of 1915 United States Army personnel of World War I United States Army generals of World War II United States Army Command and General Staff College alumni United States Army War College alumni