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U.S. Army. Via Arlington National Cemetary
Website
Swing was a former artillerist whose service as an
artillery commander in the cavalry
was excellent preparation for mastering the logistics of airborne troops.
Following the fiasco of the airborne drops in Sicily, he arranged for
maneuvers by 82 Airborne Division that helped dissuade Leslie
McNair, the Army's Ground Forces Commander, from abolishing the
divisions in favor of much smaller units resembling regimental combat teams. The Swing Board also released a report that was highly influential on subsequent paratroop doctrine.
Swing commanded 11 Airborne Division in the Luzon campaign. Though Swift insisted that his paratroops train to ride in gliders and his glider troops learn to make jumps, his division did not actually drop, but was landed south of Manila and drove north towards the city.
Swing directed the occupation of Atsugi airfield, the largest military airfield in Japan, in the first days of the occupation. Upon retirement, Swing became a commissioner of the Bureau of Immigration and Naturalization.
| 1894-2-28
|
Born at Jersey City, New Jersey |
|
| 1915 |
Second lieutenant |
Graduates from Military Academy.
Assigned to 4 Field Artillery |
| 1916 |
First lieutenant |
8 Field Artillery |
| 1917 |
Captain |
Aide-de-campe, General March |
| 1918 |
Aide-de-campe, Army Chief of
Staff |
|
| 1921 |
1 Field Artillery |
|
| 1924 |
Major |
|
| 1926 |
Command and General Staff School |
|
| 1927 |
Instructor, Field Artillery
School |
|
| 1931 |
Office of the Chief of Field
Artillery |
|
| 1934 |
Army War College |
|
| 1935 |
Executive officer, 6 Field
ARtillery |
|
| 1936 |
Lieutenant colonel |
|
| 1938 |
Assistant chief of staff, G-2 (Intelligence), 2 Division |
|
| 1940 |
Chief of staff, 2 Division |
|
| 1941 |
Colonel | Commander, Artillery, 1 Cavalry
Division |
| 1942 |
Brigadier general |
Commander, Artillery, 82 Division |
| 1942-8-15 |
Commander, Artillery, 82
Airborne Division |
|
| 1942 |
War Department |
|
| 1943-2 |
Major
general |
Commander, 11 Airborne Division |
| 1948 |
Commander, I Corps |
|
| 1949 |
Commandant, Artillery School |
|
| 1950 |
Commandant, Army War College |
|
| 1951 |
Lieutenant
general |
Commander, 6 Army |
| 1954 |
Retires |
|
| 1984-12-9 |
Dies |
References
Arlington National Cemetary Website (accessed 2008-7-4)
Generals.dk (accessed 2008-7-4)
The Pacific War Online Encyclopedia © 2007-2008, 2011-2012, 2014 by Kent G. Budge. Index
