- Born
- Died
- Birth nameMatthew Bunker Ridgway
- Matthew B. Ridgway was born on March 3, 1895 in Fort Monroe, Virginia, USA. He was married to Marjory Anthony Long, Margaret Wilson and Caroline Blount. He died on July 26, 1993 in Fox Chapel, Pennsylvania, USA.
- SpousesMarjory Anthony Long(1947 - July 26, 1993) (his death, 1 child)Margaret Wilson (divorced)Caroline Blount (divorced, 2 children)
- Highly optimistic approach to any senior command assigned to him irrespective of the grim situation.
- His habit of wearing a hand grenade attached upto the chest level of his uniform as a means of inspiring his troops.
- US army general.
- Army chief of staff, 1953-1955.
- Supreme Allied Commander, Europe (SACEUR), 1952-1953.
- Was awarded United States' highest civilian honour, the Presidential Medal Of Freedom, by President Ronald Reagan in May 1986 with the citation "Heroes come when they are needed; great men step forward when courage seems in short supply. And there was Ridgway".
- Took charge of the United States 8th Army during the Korean War in December 1950 after the accidental death of its incumbent commander General Walton Walker. Ridgway oversaw the formation's revamping and under his leadership, the 8th Army pushed back the North Korean communist army towards the north apart from inflicting significant casualties upon the Chinese volunteer forces which slowed their advance.
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