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Ridgway, Matthew Bunker, 1895-1993, U.S. general, b. Fort Monroe, Va. A West Point graduate, in World War II he was made (1942) assistant division commander and then commander of the 82d Infantry Division. This became the 82d Airborne Division, and Ridgway jumped with his men in the invasions of Sicily, Italy, and France (1942-44). He later commanded the 18th Airborne Corps. Appointed (1950) commander of the U.S. 8th Army in Korea, he replaced (1951) Douglas MacArthur as commander of the United Nations forces in Korea and of the Allied occupation forces in Japan. In June, 1952, Ridgway succeeded Dwight D. Eisenhower as supreme commander of the Allied Powers in Europe and held that post until he became army chief of staff in Aug., 1953. He protested vigorously but unsuccessfully against the Eisenhower administration's overall military policy, which emphasized air and atomic power at the expense of the army and navy. Retiring from the army in June, 1955, with the permanent rank of general, Ridgway was (1955-60) chairman of the board of trustees of the Mellon Institute for Industrial Research in Pittsburgh.

See his memoirs (1956) and book, The Korean War (1967).

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Bunker Hill, battle of

Bunker Hill, battle of, in the American Revolution, June 17, 1775. Detachments of colonial militia under Artemas Ward, Nathanael Greene, John Stark, and Israel Putnam laid siege to Boston shortly after the battles of Lexington and Concord. However, Thomas Gage, British commander in the city, made no attempt to break the siege until he was reinforced (in May) by troops led by William Howe, Sir Henry Clinton, and John Burgoyne. The Continental forces learned of the British plan to take the heights of Dorchester and Charlestown, and William Prescott was sent to occupy Bunker Hill outside Charlestown. Prescott instead chose the neighboring Breed's Hill to the southeast, but the engagement that ensued has become known as the battle of Bunker Hill. Howe was ordered to attack the American position, and after two slaughterous failures a third charge dislodged the Americans, who had run out of powder. The British victory failed to break the siege, and the gallant American defense heightened colonial morale and resistance.

See T. J. Fleming, Now We Are Enemies: The Story of Bunker Hill (1960); R. M. Ketchum, The Battle for Bunker Hill (1962).

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Ridgway, Matthew B(unker)

(born March 3, 1895, Fort Monroe, Va., U.S.—died July 26, 1993, Fox Chapel, near Pittsburgh, Pa.) U.S. army officer. He graduated from West Point and served in staff positions until World War II. In 1942 he commanded an airborne division in the invasion of Sicily (1943), the first airborne assault in U.S. military history. He led his paratroopers in the Normandy Campaign and commanded airborne operations across Europe. In the Korean War he led the U.S. Eighth Army, rallying UN forces and effecting a counteroffensive. Promoted to general, he succeeded Douglas MacArthur as Allied commander in the Far East (1951). He later served as supreme commander of NATO forces (1952) and army chief of staff (1953–55).

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