From: Everette (194cbteng@bellsouth.net)
Date: Mon Nov 07 2005 - 09:10:30 PST
November 4
1944 Gen. Sir John Dill dies
On this day in 1944, British Gen. John Dill dies in Washington, D.C., and is
buried in Arlington Cemetery, the only foreigner to be so honored.
Born on Christmas Day, 1881, in County Armagh, Ireland, Dill was a military
man from his earliest years, serving in the South African War at age 18,
then in World War I. He was promoted to the office of director of military
operations and intelligence of the British War Office in 1934 and knighted
for service to the empire in 1937.
When the Second World War broke out he was already serving as chief of the
imperial general staff and renowned for his gifts as a strategist. It was
his decision to reinforce the British position in Egypt with 150 tanks in
August 1940, despite a shortage of such armaments back home. And in March
1941, he championed Britain's defense of Greece against the Axis invasion.
But such early strategic successes were followed up by more cautious
decision-making, which disturbed Prime Minister Winston Churchill, who
favored more aggressive maneuvers against the enemy. Consequently, Churchill
removed Dill from his post and transferred him to the United States, to
become chief British military representative to Washington. It was there
that Dill developed a close personal friendship with George C. Marshall, the
U.S. chief of staff, which resulted in a closer U.S.-British alliance.
Upon Dill's death, it was Marshall who intervened to have Dill buried at
Arlington National Cemetery, normally reserved only for Americans who had
served their nation during wartime. Dill's plot is also marked by only one
of two equestrian statues in the cemetery.
Everette
In all my perplexities and distresses, the Bible has never failed to give me
light and strength.
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