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GEN John (jack) Russell Deane Jr., U.S. Army retired, died July 18 in Bangor, Maine. He was 94.
GEN Deane was born on June 8, 1919, in San Francisco to an Army family. He graduated from the U.S. Military Academy in 1942 and served in the Army until 1977. He started as a platoon leader for the 104th Infantry Division in Europe and moved up the ranks to lieutenant colonel. Later postings included commander, 2nd Battle Group, Berlin; chief of staff, field forces, Vietnam; commanding general, 173rd Airborne Brigade, Vietnam; and commanding general, 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, N.C. He also served as an intelligence officer in Europe just after World War Π and later was named deputy director of the Defense Intelligence Agency. Deane retired from active duty as commander of U.S. Army Materiel Command (AMC).
COL Jack C. Mason was helping GEN Deane assemble his papers for a possible story of his life in the Army. What follows here are mostly Deane's own comments on his career.
GEN John Qack) R. Deane Jr. lived a full life by any measure. His entire 94 years revolved around soldiers. Born into an Army family after World War I, Deane's childhood was filled with adventures at posts as far away as Panama and China. He served as a private in the 16th Infantry Regiment before achieving his goal of attending the U.S. Military Academy. Upon graduation in 1942, his leadership abilities were measured immediately as he was placed in an untested division entering combat for the first time.
Deane advanced rapidly. MG Terry de la Mesa Allen became his first mentor. In less than three years of service and after almost two hundred days of continual combat operations, Deane ended the campaign in Europe as a lieutenant colonel and battalion commander in the 104th Infantry Division.
Deane recounted how he had led his battalion during the advance through Cologne, Germany. "I had issued orders to do certain things a certain way. ... Contrary to our orders on how to proceed through Cologne, one of my company execs, Bill Dyer, grabbed a few guys and just took off. His group knocked off snipers and went down to the Rhine River. After they returned, I found...