Van Fleet, James Alward
- Date of birth:
- March 19th, 1892 (Coytesville/New Jersey, United States)
- Date of death:
- September 23rd, 1992 (Polk City/Florida, United States)
- Buried on:
- Arlington National Cemetery
Plot: 7. Grave: 8195A. - Nationality:
- American
Biography
Servicenumber 0-3847.
Do you have more information about this person? Inform us!
Silver Citation Star
- Period:
- First World War (1914-1918)
- Rank:
- Captain
- Unit:
- 17th Machine-Gun Battalion, 6th Division, American Expeditionary Forces (AEF), U.S. Army
- Period:
- Second World War (1939-1945)
- Rank:
- Colonel
- Unit:
- 8th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division "Ivy Division", U.S. Army
- Awarded on:
- June 20th, 1944
"For extraordinary heroism in connection with military operations against an armed enemy while Commanding the 8th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division, in action against enemy forces from 6 to 8 June 1944, in France. In the initial landing and assault upon the European continent, Colonel Van Fleet quickly organized his troops and pushed them rapidly across the beach in an orderly and determined manner, brushing aside resistance and thereby greatly expediting the early establishment of the Division beachhead. Colonel Van Fleet was always well forward and on numerous occasions personally went up to check his battalions. His superior leadership and personal example of courage aided in clearing the beach with a minimum of casualties and substantially contributed to the rapid advance of the division to its D- Day objective. On 7 June 1944, while the enemy was using observed fire to vigorously shell the highways and avenues of approach in the vicinity of his unit, he displayed cool leadership and skill in maintaining order under severely trying conditions, and did so encourage and inspire confidence in all members of the Combat Team that they followed his example and advanced with no hesitation, and with minimum losses of both men and equipment. This was at a critical time when a failure to procure advanced positions would have endangered the success of the operation. On the morning of 8 June 1944, while visiting his front line battalions, with disregard for his personal safety, he captured an enemy guard and procured important information from him which aided the Regiment in successfully advancing against the enemy's strongly entrenched successive positions. The cool fearlessness, personal bravery, and leadership displayed by Colonel Van Fleet were an inspiration to his men and exemplify the highest traditions of the military forces of the United States, reflecting great credit upon himself, the 4th Infantry Division, and the United States Army."
Headquarters, First U.S. Army, General Orders No. 28
- Period:
- Second World War (1939-1945)
- Rank:
- Colonel
- Unit:
- 8th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division "Ivy Division", U.S. Army
- Awarded on:
- 1944
Headquarters, 4th Infantry Division, General Orders No. 52 (Bronze Oak Leaf Cluster)
- Period:
- Second World War (1939-1945)
- Rank:
- Major General
- Unit:
- HQ, 2nd Infantry Division "Indianhead", U.S. Army
- Awarded on:
- 1944
Bronze Oak Leaf Cluster in lieu
- Period:
- Second World War (1939-1945)
- Rank:
- Major General
- Unit:
- HQ, 2nd Infantry Division "Indianhead", U.S. Army
- Period:
- Second World War (1939-1945)
- Rank:
- Major General
- Unit:
- HQ, 90th Infantry Division "Tough 'Ombres", U.S. Army
- Awarded on:
- 1945
"For extraordinary heroism in connection with military operations against an armed enemy while Commanding the 90th Infantry Division, in action against enemy forces during the period 6 to 22 December 1944, in the Saar River operations. Major General Van Fleet personally directed laying and maintaining a smoke screen which in spite of shifting winds, unpredictable weather, and fierce enemy action, completely concealed all crossing movements from the enemy. His gallant leadership, personal bravery and zealous devotion to duty exemplify the highest traditions of the military forces of the United States and reflect great credit upon himself, the 90th Infantry Division, and the United States Army."
This award was obtained in the form of an Oak Leaf to be attached on the ribbon of the first award.
General Orders No. 29, Headquarters Third U.S. Army
- Period:
- Second World War (1939-1945)
- Rank:
- Major General
- Unit:
- HQ, III Army Corps, Third U.S. Army. U.S. Army
- Awarded on:
- 1945
Citation:
"For extraordinary heroism in connection with military operations against an armed enemy while serving with Headquarters, III Army Corps, in action against enemy forces on 9 January 1945 in military operations in Luxembourg. On that date, near Nothum, Luxembourg, General Van Fleet proceeded to the scene of a scheduled advance vital to the mission of the entire corps. Displaying courageous leadership, he visited all elements participating in the attack, fearlessly exposing himself to heavy enemy artillery, mortar, and rocket fire, and inspiring the men by his cool demeanor and conspicuous bravery. With utter disregard for his own safety he remained with the forward units until he was assured of the success of the mission. General Van Fleet's heroic actions and unswerving devotion to duty exemplify the highest traditions of the military forces of the United States and reflect great credit upon himself, the III Corps, and the United States Army."
This award was obtained in the form of a second Oak Leaf to be attached on the ribbon of the first award.
General Orders No. 133, Headquarters Third U.S. Army.
"For extraordinary heroism in connection with military operations against an armed enemy while serving with Headquarters, III Army Corps, in action against enemy forces on 9 January 1945 in military operations in Luxembourg. On that date, near Nothum, Luxembourg, General Van Fleet proceeded to the scene of a scheduled advance vital to the mission of the entire corps. Displaying courageous leadership, he visited all elements participating in the attack, fearlessly exposing himself to heavy enemy artillery, mortar, and rocket fire, and inspiring the men by his cool demeanor and conspicuous bravery. With utter disregard for his own safety he remained with the forward units until he was assured of the success of the mission. General Van Fleet's heroic actions and unswerving devotion to duty exemplify the highest traditions of the military forces of the United States and reflect great credit upon himself, the III Corps, and the United States Army."
This award was obtained in the form of a second Oak Leaf to be attached on the ribbon of the first award.
General Orders No. 133, Headquarters Third U.S. Army.
- Period:
- Second World War (1939-1945)
- Rank:
- Major General
- Awarded on:
- 1945
General Orders No. 28, War Department.
- Period:
- Second World War (1939-1945)
- Rank:
- Major General
- Awarded on:
- 1947
War Department, General Orders No. 60
- Period:
- Korean War (1950-1953)
- Rank:
- Lieutenant General
- Awarded on:
- 1950
Department of the Army, General Orders No. 32
- Period:
- Korean War (1950-1953)
- Rank:
- General
- Awarded on:
- March 26th, 1953
- Period:
- Second World War (1939-1945)
- Period:
- Second World War (1939-1945)
Bronze Oak Leaf Cluster
- Period:
- Second World War (1939-1945)
- Period:
- Second World War (1939-1945)
- Period:
- First World War (1914-1918)
- Period:
- Second World War (1939-1945)
- Period:
- Second World War (1939-1945)
- Period:
- Second World War (1939-1945)
- Period:
- Second World War (1939-1945)
United Nations Service Medal for Korea
- Period:
- Korean War (1950-1953)
Ridder Grootkruis in de Orde van Oranje Nassau met zwaarden (ON.1x)
- Period:
- Second World War (1939-1945)
Distinguished Service Order (DSO)
- Period:
- Second World War (1939-1945)
Basilikon Tagma toy Phoinikos - Grand Cross
- Period:
- Second World War (1939-1945)
- Period:
- Second World War (1939-1945)
Chevalier de l' Ordre National de la Legion d'Honneur
- Period:
- Second World War (1939-1945)
Croix de Guerre 1940
Order of Diplomatic Service Merit
Sources
- Photo 1: US Army
- Photo: U.S. Army photo
- - Obituary, Los Angeles Times, September 24, 1992, p. A28
- Obituary, New York Times, September 24, 1992, p. D24
- Home of Heroes.com
- Valor Awards
Looking for reliable information or news facts about WW2? Do you want to create your own battlefield tour to sights of wars from the past? Or are you interested in war medals and their recipients? TracesOfWar.com tells you more!
More information
© STIWOT, 1999-2024. All rights reserved. Privacy statement, cookies, disclaimer and copyright