Beschreibung:

Lot of 5. All are inscribed or addressed to Doris Ann Eberhardt. Of the 5, all but Nimitz are buried at Arlington National Cemetery. (Nimitz is at Golden Gate National Cemetery at San Bruno, CA.) Includes: Admiral Chester William Nimitz (1885-1966). 4 x 5" photograph inscribed and signed as Fleet Admiral. Nimitz was commander of the submarine base at Pearl Harbor during WWI, and transferred to the Bureau of Navigation in 1939. Ten days after the attack on Pearl Harbor in Dec. 1941, he was made Commander of the Pacific Fleet. Although retired from active duty shortly after WWII, as Fleet Admiral, he was technically on active service for life. General Albert Coady Wedemeyer (1897-1989). 7 x 9" image printed on 11 x 14" heavy paper, inscribed and signed as Lieutenant General in lower margin. A graduate of USMA in 1919, Wedemeyer also attended the German Army General Staff College. This was to become even more useful when it became apparent that the US would probably enter the war in Europe. FDR had Wedemeyer draw up plans to defeat Germany, plans that were put into action after war was declared in December 1941. He later was assigned Chief of Staff for Lord Mountbatten, Chief of the Allies' Southeast Asia Command, and later Chief of US forces in China. Admiral Harold Raynsford Stark (1880-1972). 8 x 10" photo, signed in lower margin. Includes TNS by Stark apologizing for the delay in answering the request for a photo since he had been out of town. Stark graduated from the Naval Academy in 1903 and received a commission as Ensign in 1905. He rose through the ranks, achieving the rank of Admiral in 1939. He became Chief of Naval Operation, but lost the post in March 1942 after the disaster at Pearl Harbor. He was criticized (and formally censured by a Naval investigation in 1945) for not passing along key intelligence to Admiral Kimmell that might have alerted him to the planned attack by Japan. He was eventually viewed in a less negative light after some time had passed. General Matthew Bunker Ridgway (1895-1993). 8 x 10" photo, signed lower center photo (does not seem to have rank). Includes a note signed by William Ray, Lt. Col., ADC, on Chief of Staff letterhead dated Sept. 1953. Raised as an "Army brat," and proud of it, Ridgway was not admitted to USMA on his first application (failed geometry), but did enter on the second try. He graduated in 1917. Promotions and brevets came quickly in anticipation of the US entering WWI, but Ridgway did not get sent to Europe, but rather to Texas in command of an Infantry company. In 1918 he returned to West Point as an instructor in Spanish. Between wars he completed other training courses and was sent to Tientsin, China. His fluency in Spanish got him into a military-diplomatic role, one he hoped would continue. He certainly was noticed and flagged for "fast-tracking." He served in southern Europe and North Africa, and later in the D-Day landings. He was given command of the 18th Airborne and led many advances into the Netherlands and Germany. He succeeded MacArthur as commander of UN forces in Korea (1951), and Eisenhower as Supreme Commander of Allied Forces in Europe (1952). Eisenhower then appointed him Chief of Staff for the Army (1953). He served a frustrating two years, in conflict with the President, Secretary of Defense, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Admiral Radford, over the role of the Army in the post-war era. He retired a few months early and retired to Pittsburgh. When Ridgway died at the age of 98, many obituaries noted that the "Old Army" was dead, it was the end of an era. Although somewhat junior to them, he was the last of the "old guard," Eisenhower, MacArthur, Patton, Clark, Bradley. Admiral Arthur William Radford (1896-1973). 8 x 10" photo, signed as Admiral in lower central part of image. A graduate of the Naval Academy, Radford served throughout American involvement in WWI. Shortly after the war, he was assigned to aviation units. He was briefly in command of