Matthew Ridgway Biography

General Matthew Bunker Ridgway (March 3, 1895 – July 26, 1993) was the 19th Chief of Staff of the United States Army. He served with distinction during World War II, where he was the Commanding General of the 82nd Airborne Division, leading it in action in Sicily, Italy and Normandy, before taking command of the newly formed XVIII Airborne Corps in August 1944, holding this post until the end of the war, commanding it in the Battle of the Bulge, Operation Varsity and the Western Allied invasion of Germany.