biography
| name: |
Gavin, James (Maurice)
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| |
nickname Jumping Jim
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| sex:
| male
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| lived:
| (1907–90)
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| biography:
| US soldier, born in New York City, New York, USA. An orphan, he grew up in coal-mining towns in Pennsylvania, enlisted in the army, and won an appointment to West Point, from which he graduated in 1929. He became commander of the 82nd Airborne Division (Aug 1944), the youngest division commander of World War 2, and during the 1950s he developed a reputation as a strategist of limited war. In 1961 President Kennedy appointed him ambassador to France. His memoir, On to Berlin, appeared in 1978. |
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