GENERAL MATTHEW BUNKER RIDGWAY
UNITED STATES 3 MARCH 1895 - 26 JULY 1993
Distinguished by the trademark grenade he often wore attached to his webbing, Matthew Ridgway was a graduate of West Point and fought in World War I. In 1942 he was placed in charge of the newly formed 82nd Airborne Division and led campaigns in Italy and Normandy. In December 1950 Ridgway took over as commander of Eighth Army following the death of Lieutenant General Walton Walker in a jeep crash.
After President Truman dismissed Macarthur, Ridgway was placed in charge of the entire UN operation at a time when the PLA had expelled UN forces from the North. Under Ridgway’s command, the UN forces were reorganised with the emphasis on tying down the PLA in key locations and vastly upgrading the use of heavy artillery. While the air war continued, the ground war became a stalemate along the 38th parallel by mid1951, although large battles continued to take place until the Pamunjom armistice.