Trivia

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.

One of foremost proponents of airborne units as a potent combat formation, Ridgway prolifically commanded the United States 82nd Airborne Division in Sicily and Italy as well as the XVIII Airborne Corps in Western Europe during World War 2.

Featured on the cover of Time Magazine in 1951 and 1953.

Was cited by United States president Harry Truman as one of his personal favourite generals alongside his successor as commander of the United States 8th Army General James Van Fleet.

Although he advocated for the expansion of United States military's arsenal of weapons of mass destruction including chemical and biological weapons, he also staunchly warned all American presidents during his tenure as United States Chief Of Army Staff as well as post retirement to refrain from ever involving American forces in a ground war in Asia. The only president to indeed take his advice seriously was his superior from WW2, preceding Chief Of Army Staff cum Supreme Allied Commander of Europe post WW2 and good friend since military academy Dwight Eisenhower.