Taylor, Maxwell Davenport (1901-1987), gained fame as a United States general in World War II (1939-1945) and the Korean War (1950-1953). He later helped shape U.S. strategy in the Vietnam War (1957-1975).
Taylor was born on Aug. 26, 1901, in Keytesville, Missouri. He graduated from the U.S. Military Academy in 1922. During World War II, Taylor helped organize the Army’s first airborne divisions and later served as artillery commander of the 82nd Airborne Division in Sicily and Italy. He was the first U.S. general to land in Normandy, France, during the Allied invasion on D-Day, June 6, 1944. Taylor commanded the 101st Airborne Division in 1944 and 1945. Taylor commanded the U.S. Eighth Army in the Korean War in 1953. From 1955 to 1959, he served as U.S. Army chief of staff. Taylor became chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in 1962 and ambassador to South Vietnam in 1964, during the Vietnam War. Taylor served there about a year and then became a special consultant to President Lyndon Johnson. Taylor died on April 19, 1987.
