John K. Singlaub
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| John K. Singlaub | |
|---|---|
| Born 1921 | |
 Major General John K. Singlaub |
|
| Place of birth | Independence, California |
| Service/branch | United States Army |
| Years of service | 1943 - 1977 |
| Rank | Major General |
| Battles/wars | World War II Korean War Vietnam War |
| Awards | Silver Star Legion of Merit (3) Bronze Star (2) Air Medal (2) Purple Heart |
John Kirk Singlaub is a highly-decorated OSS officer and Major General in the United States Army, and a founding member of the Central Intelligence Agency, (CIA). He was a joint founder of the Western Goals Foundation, a conservative private intelligence dissemination network, and is a contributing author to several books, the author of his autobiography as well as numerous articles.
Singlaub was born in Independence, California on July 10, 1921.[1] After graduating from Van Nuys High School in 1939 he attended the University of California at Los Angeles and received after graduation his commission as a second lieutenant of infantry on January 14, 1943.[1]
Singlaub was parachuted behind German lines in Europe in order to prepare the French Resistance fighters for the D-Day invasion during World War II. He headed CIA operations in postwar Manchuria during the Chinese Communist revolution, led troops in the Korean War, managed the secret war along the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Vietnam, and worked with the Contras in Nicaragua. Active for 40 years in overt and covert operations, he had private and secret interviews with many military and government leaders worldwide. He personally knew William Casey, Director of Central Intelligence during the Reagan Administration, as well as Oliver North, and was involved in the Iran-Contra Affair.
Singlaub was also active with the World Anti-Communist League, described by former member Geoffrey Stewart-Smith as "largely a collection of Nazis, Fascists, anti-Semites, sellers of forgeries, vicious racialists, and corrupt self-seekers." [2] He is credited with purging the organization of these types and making it respectable.[3]
U.S. Army General William Childs Westmoreland described Singlaub as a "true military professional" and "a man of honest, patriotic conviction and courage." Congressman Henry J. Hyde, (Judiciary, Foreign Affairs, and Intelligence Committees), described Singlaub as "a brave man, a thorough patriot, and a keen observer" - someone who had been "in the centre of almost every controversial military action since World War II."
In 1977, while Singlaub was chief of staff of U.S. forces in South Korea, he publicly criticized President Jimmy Carter's decision to withdraw U.S. troops from the Korean peninsula. On March 21, 1977, Carter relieved him of duty for overstepping his bounds and failing to respect the President's authority as Commander-in-Chief.".[4][5]
Singlaub was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster, the Silver Star, the Legion of Merit with two Oak Leaf clusters, the Bronze Star with Oak Leaf cluster, the Air Medal with Oak Leaf cluster, the Army Commendation Medal, and the Purple Heart. His foreign decorations include the French Croix de Guerre with Palm and Bronze Star devices, British Mention in Despatches oak leaf, as well as decorations from China, the Netherlands, and the Republic of Vietnam.
He now lives in Arlington, Virginia.
[edit] Publications include
- Hazardous Duty by Major General John K. Singlaub (with Malcolm McConnell). Autobiography, Summit Books, June 1991. ISBN 0671705164
