Earle Wheeler

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Earle G. Wheeler
1908-1975
General Earle G. Wheeler US Army
Nickname	Bus
Place of birth	Washington D.C.
Place of death	Frederick, Maryland
Allegiance	U.S. Army
Years of service	1932-1970
Rank	General
Commands	Chairman, Joint Chiefs Chief of Staff, U.S. Army

Earle Gilmore "Bus" Wheeler, (January 13, 1908 - December 18, 1975) was a US Army General and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Born in Washington D.C., Wheeler graduated from West Point in 1932 and was commissioned into the infantry. After 4 years at Fort Benning, he went to China with the 15th Infantry Regiment, then accompanied that regiment to Fort Lewis in 1938-1940.

He served in a variety of training assignments from 1941-1944, then went to Europe in November 1944 with the 63rd Infantry Division. In late 1945 he returned to the U.S. as an instructor at Fort Sill, then returned to Germany from 1947-1949 as a member of the U.S. Constabulary.

He attended and graduated from the National War College in 1950, then returned to Europe in various NATO staff positions until 1955, when he transferred to the General Staff at the Pentagon. He took command of the 2nd Armored Division in 1958 and III Corps in 1959, then became Director of the Joint Staff in 1960. In 1962 he was briefly Deputy Commander of U.S. Forces in Europe before being named Chief of Staff of the United States Army later that year.

In 1964 he succeeded Maxwell D. Taylor as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and held that post until 1970. Wheeler died in Frederick, Maryland after a heart attack, while being transported by ambulance from his West Virginia home to Washington DC. [1]

Considering the large number of general officers available in 1964 with distinguished combat records in World War II and Korea, the staff officer Wheeler was a surprising choice for the top Pentagon post. His relative lack of combat experience, however, might actually have been seen as a plus in the eyes of the new president, Lyndon B. Johnson. The latter was not known for his tolerance of independent thinking, and Wheeler's dutiful acquiesence in Johnson's conduct of the Vietnam War is a failure for which Wheeler has been harshly criticized by some historians.

Preceded by George H. Decker	Chief of Staff of the United States Army 1962–1964	Succeeded by Harold K. Johnson
Preceded by Maxwell Taylor	Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff 1964–1970	Succeeded by Thomas Moorer

Chairmen of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the United States
Bradley | Radford | Twining | Lemnitzer | Taylor | Wheeler | Moorer | Brown | Jones | Vessey | Crowe | Powell | Jeremiah (acting) | Shalikashvili | Shelton | Myers | Pace