General Matthew Bunker Ridgway was a senior officer in the United States Army, who served as Supreme Allied Commander Europe (1952–1953) and the 19th Chief of Staff of the United States Army (1953–1955). Although he saw no combat service in World War I, he was intensively involved in World War II, where he was the first Commanding General (CG) of the 82nd "All American" Airborne Division, leading it in action in Sicily, Italy and Normandy, before taking command of the newly formed XVIII Airborne Corps in August 1944. He held the latter post until the end of the war in mid-1945, commanding the corps in the Battle of the Bulge, Operation Varsity and the Western Allied invasion of Germany.
Ridgway in 1951
Ridgway and members of his staff outside Ribera, Sicily, July 25, 1943. To Ridgway's right is his aide, Captain Don C. Faith Jr..
From left to right: Major General J. Lawton Collins, British Field Marshal Sir Bernard Montgomery and Ridgway, December 1944
Ridgway and Major General James M. Gavin during the Battle of the Bulge, December 19, 1944
Supreme Allied Commander Europe
The Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) is the commander of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's (NATO) Allied Command Operations (ACO) and head of ACO's headquarters, Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE). The commander is based at SHAPE in Casteau, Belgium. Effectively SACEUR is the second-highest military position within NATO, below only the Chair of the NATO Military Committee in terms of precedence. There is another Supreme Allied Commander in NATO, Supreme Allied Commander Transformation (SACT), titularly equal, but their duties are less important. SACT, in Norfolk, Virginia, has responsibility for capability development, rather than operations.
Supreme Allied Commander Europe
Gen. Eisenhower in front of the flag of SHAPE on 8 October 1951
2013 SACEUR change of command at SHAPE
Image: Eisenhower Chiefof Staff Portrait