John Galvin (general)

John Galvin
Galvin in March 1991
Birth name	John Rogers Galvin
Born	May 13, 1929 Wakefield, Massachusetts, U.S.
Died	September 25, 2015(2015-09-25) (aged 86) Jonesboro, Georgia, U.S.
Buried	Arlington National Cemetery
Allegiance	United States
Service / branch	United States Army
Years of service	1954–1992
Rank	General
Commands	1st Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile) 24th Infantry Division VII Corps United States Southern Command U.S. European Command Supreme Allied Commander
Battles / wars	Vietnam War Cold War
Awards	Defense Distinguished Service Medal   Army Distinguished Service Medal   Silver Star   Legion of Merit (3)   Distinguished Flying Cross   Soldier's Medal   Bronze Star (3)   Air Medal with "V" Device
Other work	Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University, U.S. Commission on National Security/21st Century

John Rogers Galvin (May 13, 1929 – September 25, 2015) was an American army general who served as the sixth dean of the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and a member of the U.S. Commission on National Security/21st Century.

Galvin began his service as an enlisted soldier in the Massachusetts Army National Guard from 1947 to 1950 before he received an appointment to United States Military Academy at West Point, graduating in 1954 with a Bachelor of Science degree. In 1969, during the Vietnam War, lieutenant colonel Galvin commanded the 1st Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile). For his actions as the battalion's commander he was awarded the Silver Star, the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Soldiers Medal.^[1]

He earned a Master of Arts degree in English from Columbia University in 1962^[2] and later completed a fellowship at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy in 1971. Galvin served with the Army Combat Development Command, from 1970 to 1972, as a Military Assistant with Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE), from 1974 to 1975 and commanded the 24th Infantry Division in the early 1980s. He was promoted to lieutenant general and commanded the VII Corps in Germany from July 1983 to February 1985.

Galvin's career included the rare opportunity to command two different Department of Defense Unified Commands following his promotion to full (4-star) general. He served as Commander in Chief, United States Southern Command in Panama from 1985 to 1987 and Commander in Chief, United States European Command from June 26, 1987, to June 23, 1992. During his tenure as Commander U.S. European Command he also served as NATO's Supreme Allied Commander, Europe (SACEUR).^[3]

During his time as SACEUR many stay-behind networks in Europe were dismantled, a process that started with the revelations by Italy's then prime minister, Giulio Andreotti, who disclosed to the Italian Parliament the existence of a Gladio stay-behind anti-communist paramilitary network headed by NATO and present in most European countries.^[4]

Galvin lived with his wife Ginny and had four daughters. One of his daughters, Beth, served a medical reporter for WAGA, the FOX affiliate in Atlanta during 1996-2024. The Galvin Middle School in Wakefield, Massachusetts, is named after him. The United States Military Academy awarded Galvin (Class of '54) the 1997 Distinguished Graduate Award.^[5] On September 25, 2015, he died in Jonesboro, Georgia at the age of 86.^[6]

• 8th Cavalry Regiment Distinctive Unit Insignia

^[7]

• Galvin, John (1969). Air Assault: the Development of Airmobile.
• Galvin, John (1997). Three Men of Boston. Brassey's. ISBN 1574881116.
• Galvin, John (2006). The Minute Men: The First Fight: Myths and Realities of the American Revolution. Potomac Books. ISBN 1597970700.
• Galvin, John (2015). Fighting the Cold War: A Soldier's Memoir. Lexington, Kentucky: University Press of Kentucky.

• Notable graduates of West Point

• Interview with General Galvin from the Dean Peter Krogh Foreign Affairs Digital Archives
• U.S. Commission on National Security "people" page
• NATO biography