Van Fleet, Oldest Living 4-Star General, Turns 100
Associated Press
POLK CITY, Fla. —
Schoolchildren, military officers and diplomats from near and far were among more than 1,000 well-wishers paying tribute Thursday to retired Army Gen. James A. Van Fleet on his 100th birthday.
Van Fleet, the oldest living four-star general, was praised as a hero, a soldier’s general, a combat commander whose campaigns remain models today in war colleges.
Van Fleet played a key role in two major World War II battles--the landing at Utah Beach on D-Day and the Battle of the Bulge.
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