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53-525: The Longest Day may refer to: The " D-day " invasion of Normandy during World War II Art, entertainment, and media [ edit ] The Longest Day (book) , 1959 book by Cornelius Ryan The Longest Day (film) , a 1962 war film based on Ryan's book Japan's Longest Day , a Japanese 1967 war film on the surrender of Japan in World War II The Longest Day (game) ,

106-482: A "good will tour" to remove him from the political scene. Taylor frequently clashed with General Nguyen Khanh and helped to engineer his removal, having supported Khanh's deposal of General Duong Van Minh . Taylor received fierce criticism in Major (later Lieutenant General and National Security Advisor ) H.R. McMaster 's book Dereliction of Duty . Specifically, Taylor was accused of intentionally misrepresenting

159-656: A 1980 wargame by Avalon Hill "The Longest Day" ( Land of the Lost ) , an episode of the 1974 series Land of the Lost Longest Day (novel) , a 1998 novel by Michael Collier set in the Doctor Who universe. "The Longest Day", a song by Iron Maiden from A Matter of Life and Death (2006) The Longest Day (album) , 1984 album by the Del Fuegos "Longest Day", a song by Soulsavers from The Light

212-627: A comment made by the German field marshal Erwin Rommel to his aide Hauptmann Helmuth Lang on April 22, 1944: "...the first 24 hours of the invasion will be decisive...the fate of Germany depends on the outcome...for the Allies, as well as Germany, it will be the longest day." Simon & Schuster published The Longest Day: June 6, 1944 in November 1959 with a first printing of 85,000 copies. The book

265-618: A coup. The junta led by General Duong Van Minh following Diem's removal lasted three months until General Nguyen Khanh toppled Minh in January 1964 . Taylor and other military officials had disagreed with Minh's reluctance to carry out large-scale offensives against the communists and wanted a more aggressive approach. He was known to regard Khanh as the more competent ARVN general. However, Taylor changed his opinion upon being made Ambassador to South Vietnam in July 1964 when Lodge returned to

318-640: The Reader's Digest , with excerpts from the book appearing in the Digest in June and July 1959. The book begins and ends in the village of La Roche-Guyon . The book refers to the village as being the most occupied village in occupied France and states that for each of the 543 inhabitants of La Roche-Guyon there were more than three German soldiers in the village and surrounding area. Field Marshal Erwin Rommel commander-in-chief of Army Group B had his headquarters in

371-597: The 101st Airborne Division , nicknamed "The Screaming Eagles", which was then training in England in preparation for the Allied invasion of Normandy , after the division's first commander, Major General William Lee , suffered a heart attack . Taylor received temporary promotion to major general in May 1944. Taylor took part in the division's parachute jump into Normandy on June 6, 1944 (more commonly known simply as D-Day ),

424-617: The Bay of Pigs Invasion , Kennedy, who felt the Joint Chiefs of Staff had failed to provide him with satisfactory military advice, appointed Taylor to head a task force to investigate the failure of the invasion. Both President Kennedy and his brother, Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy , had immense regard for Taylor, whom they saw as a man of unquestionable integrity, sincerity, intelligence, and diplomacy. The Cuba Study Group met for six weeks from April to May 1961 to perform an "autopsy" on

477-508: The Buddhist majority , which was met with military crackdowns, culminating in nationwide raids on Buddhist temples . In the wake of the raids, the US sent out Cable 243, which called for Ambassador Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. to lobby for the removal from influence of Diem's younger brother and chief political adviser Ngo Dinh Nhu , and to look for alternative leadership options if Diem refused. As it

530-694: The Supreme Allied Commander in the Mediterranean Theater of Operations , later said that "the risks he ran were greater than I asked any other agent or emissary to take during the war." Hundreds of miles behind the front lines of battle, Taylor was forced by the rules of engagement to wear his American military uniform to prevent himself, if captured, from being shot as a spy. He met with Marshal Pietro Badoglio , who had recently become Italy's prime minister, and General Giacomo Carboni , head of Servizio Informazioni Militare ,

583-747: The United States Military Academy or United States Naval Academy and then passed the Military Academy entrance examination. Taylor attended West Point, graduated fourth in the Class of 1922, and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers . He served in Hawaii with the 3rd Engineers from 1923 to 1926. Taylor transferred to the Field Artillery and, from 1926 to 1927, served with

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636-586: The "New Look," culminating in the publication in January 1960 of a highly critical book, The Uncertain Trumpet . As the 1960 presidential campaign unfolded, Democratic nominee John F. Kennedy criticized Eisenhower's defense policy and championed a muscular " flexible response " policy intentionally aligned with Taylor's views as described in The Uncertain Trumpet . After the April 1961 failure of

689-472: The 101st Airborne Division's "finest hour" of the war and stated that his absence was one of his greatest disappointments of the war. After Bastogne, Taylor's 101st saw little further service in the war and was sent to the United States in late 1945, where it was deactivated in November. On September 4, 1945, Taylor became superintendent of the United States Military Academy . In 1947, he drafted

742-750: The 101st in Operation Market Garden in the Netherlands in September 1944. He was not present for the division's action during the Siege of Bastogne as part of the Battle of the Bulge since he was attending a staff conference in the United States. The divisional artillery commander, Brigadier General Anthony McAuliffe , exercised command in his absence. Taylor called the defense of Bastogne

795-754: The 10th Field Artillery, receiving promotion to first lieutenant . Having demonstrated a facility for foreign languages, he studied French in Paris and was then assigned to West Point as an instructor in French and Spanish. He graduated from the Field Artillery School in 1933, and he completed the course at the United States Army Command and General Staff College in 1935. Taylor was promoted to captain in August 1935 and served at

848-750: The American embassy in Tokyo from 1935 to 1939, including attaché duty in China in 1937. He graduated from the United States Army War College in 1940 and was promoted to major in July 1940. Taylor served on the War Plans Division staff in 1940 and took part in a defense cooperation mission to Latin American countries. He commanded the 1st Battalion of the 12th Field Artillery Regiment from 1940 to 1941, and then served in

901-796: The Cabinet and the Chiefs of Staff (with Deputy National Security Adviser Walt Rostow ), Taylor reflected on the decision to send troops to South Vietnam: "I don't recall anyone who was strongly against, except one man, and that was the President. The President just didn't want to be convinced that this was the right thing to do.... It was really the President's personal conviction that U.S. ground troops shouldn't go in." In May 1963, mass protests and civil disobedience broke out in South Vietnam in response to President Ngo Dinh Diem 's persecution of

954-544: The Dead See (2012) Other uses [ edit ] The Longest Day (race) , a 24-hour sports and touring car endurance race "The longest day", a 25-hour day that occurs once a year due to daylight saving time The summer solstice , the "longest day" of the year since it has the most daylight See also [ edit ] Long Day (disambiguation) Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with

1007-591: The Italian military's intelligence agency. The air drop near Rome to capture the city was called off at the last minute since Taylor realized that German forces were already moving in to cover the intended drop zones. His efforts behind enemy lines got Taylor noticed at the highest levels of the Allied command. After the campaigns in the Mediterranean, Taylor was assigned to become the commanding general (CG) of

1060-593: The Joint Chiefs, he poisoned relations between the military and civilian leadership. He was also key in picking Gen. William Westmoreland to command the war there." Taylor again retired from the Army on July 1, 1964, having been succeeded as Chairman of the Joint Chief of Staff by General Earle Wheeler , and became Ambassador to South Vietnam from 1964 to 1965, succeeding Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. Taylor served in

1113-694: The Office of the Secretary of the General Staff until 1942. He received temporary promotions to lieutenant colonel in December 1941, colonel in February 1942, and brigadier general in December 1942. In July 1942, Taylor became chief of staff of the 82nd Infantry Division , a position he held from July until October, by which time the division had been converted into the 82nd Airborne Division. This

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1166-838: The Pentagon during parts of 1965 as "SACSA", the Special Advisor for Counterinsurgency Affairs". He was Special Consultant to the President and Chairman of the Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board (1965–1969) and President of the Institute for Defense Analyses (1966–1969). Afflicted with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (also called " Lou Gehrig's disease "), Taylor spent his last three months at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, DC , and died at 85 years of age on April 19, 1987. He

1219-503: The US got involved further in Vietnam, it should be with the clear intention of winning and through the use of overwhelming force. McMaster contends that using a variety of political maneuvering, including liberal use of outright deception, Taylor succeeded in keeping the Joint Chiefs' opinions away from the President and helped set the stage for McNamara to begin to dominate systematically the U.S. decision-making process on Vietnam. Taylor

1272-725: The US. In August, following widespread Buddhist protests, some senior officers, particularly the Catholic Generals Tran Thien Khiem and Nguyễn Văn Thiệu , decried Khanh's concessions to the Buddhists. They plotted Khánh's removal and sought out Taylor for a private endorsement, but Taylor did not want any more leadership changes, fearing a corrosive effect on the already-unstable government. This deterred Khiêm's group from acting on their plans. On September 13, another coup attempt led by Catholic Generals Duong Van Duc and Lam Van Phat started while Taylor

1325-659: The Vietnam War in the decision to deploy US combat troops to Vietnam and to escalate the conflict more generally. Taylor was born in Keytesville, Missouri , the only child of attorney John Earle Maxwell Taylor and Pearle (Davenport) Taylor. He was raised in Kansas City , graduated from Northeast High School , and attended Kansas City Polytechnic Institute . In 1918, he passed competitive examinations for Congressional appointment by William Patterson Borland to either

1378-485: The White House, Kennedy was met with angry comments by Secretary of State Dean Rusk , Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara , CIA Director John McCone and Taylor, all of whom denied authorizing the cable. Kennedy was reported to have said "My God! My government's coming apart." Taylor felt insulted by the final line of the cable which asserted that only the "minimum essential people" had seen its contents. During

1431-553: The acrimonious exchange, he condemned the cable as an "egregious end run" by an anti-Diem faction. Roger Hilsman rebutted Taylor by asserting that Kennedy and representatives of departments and agencies had approved the message. Years afterward, Taylor declared "The anti-Diem group centered in State [department] had taken advantage of the absence of the principal officials to get out instructions which would never have been approved as written under normal circumstances". Taylor claimed that

1484-399: The book included Generaloberst Franz Halder , Hauptmann Hellmuth Lang and General der Infanterie Günther Blumentritt . The author also used Allied and German post action reports, War diaries, histories and official records. On 6 June 1965, the author published an article "More of The Longest Day" in Reader's Digest as a supplement. Editor Peter Schwed gave the book its title from

1537-411: The cabinet in doing the same in South Vietnam. Taylor remained opposed to any moves towards the disposal of Diem. Years afterward, he said that Diem was "a terrible pain in the neck", but was a devoted servant of his country. Taylor called on Kennedy to support Diem until a better leader had been lined up, pointing out that the officers were divided and therefore could not be relied on to plot and stage

1590-453: The castle of the village which was the seat of the Duc de La Rochefoucauld . Ryan's book is divided into three parts: the first part is titled "The Wait", the second part is named "The Night" and the third part is named "The Day". The book includes a section on the casualties of D-Day and also lists the contributors including their service details on the day of the invasion and their occupations at

1643-684: The city. In July 1951 he was promoted to lieutenant general and assigned as the U.S. Army Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations and Administration at the Pentagon. In June 1953, he was sent to Korea, where he commanded the Eighth United States Army during the final combat operations of the Korean War . He then briefly served in Japan as Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers , overseeing the U.S. occupation of Japan and

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1696-560: The commander of US forces in the Pacific, calling for backing to the generals to remove Nhu. Felt said that the mid-level officers would not fight if Nhu was not removed. Taylor became angry that Felt had advised the State Department to move against Diem without first consulting the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Taylor then told Kennedy that Americans would not tolerate their officers selecting the president, and thus they should not usurp

1749-452: The disastrous events surrounding the Bay of Pigs Invasion . In the course of their work together, Taylor developed a deep regard and a personal affection for Robert F. Kennedy , a friendship that was wholly mutual and which remained firm until RFK's assassination in 1968. Taylor spoke of Robert Kennedy glowingly: "He is always on the lookout for a 'snow job,' impatient with evasion and imprecision, and relentless in his determination to get at

1802-408: The early planning phases of the war while it was still being decided what the nature of American involvement should be. McNamara and the civilians of the office of the secretary of defense were firmly behind the idea of graduated pressure: to escalate pressure slowly against North Vietnam in order to demonstrate U.S. resolve. The Joint Chiefs, however, strenuously disagreed with that and believed that if

1855-490: The effort gutted the role of US Army company and field grade officers, rendering it unable to adapt to the dynamics of combat in Vietnam. During 1957, President Dwight D. Eisenhower ordered Taylor to deploy 1,000 troops from the 101st Airborne Division to Little Rock, Arkansas to enforce federal court orders to desegregate Central High School during the Little Rock Crisis . As Army Chief of Staff, Taylor

1908-612: The first Allied general officer to land in France on D-Day. He subsequently commanded the 101st in the Battle of Normandy , including in the capture of Carentan on June 13, and the division continued to fight in the campaign as regular infantry. The 101st Airborne Division was pulled out of the line in late June, having been in almost continuous action for nearly a month, and in early July, he returned to England to rest and refit and absorb replacements, after having suffered over 4,600 casualties. Having been brought up to strength, Taylor led

1961-651: The first few years of the Vietnam War , during his time as the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and later being appointed Ambassador to the Republic of Vietnam. Whereas Kennedy told Taylor in October 1961 that "the independence of South Vietnam rests with the people and government of that country", Taylor soon recommended that 8,000 American combat troops be sent to the region at once. After making his report to

2014-516: The first official Honor Code publication marking the beginning of the written " Cadet Honor Code " at West Point. He was succeeded by Bryant Moore on January 28, 1949. Afterwards he was the commander of allied troops in West Berlin from 1949 to 1951; when he left that post, he felt like a "Berliner," more than a decade before John F. Kennedy gave his famous " Ich bin ein Berliner " speech in

2067-579: The iconic Helmet in Omaha Beach, as seen on the Hollywood adaptation. Maxwell D. Taylor Maxwell Davenport Taylor (August 26, 1901 – April 19, 1987) was a senior United States Army officer and diplomat of the mid-20th century. He served with distinction in World War II , most notably as commander of the 101st Airborne Division , nicknamed "The Screaming Eagles." After

2120-493: The message was reflective of Forrestal and Hilsman's "well-known compulsion" to remove Diem. He accused them of pulling "a fast one". Kennedy asked his advisers if they wanted to retract the cable, but they agreed to stand by the original decision to maintain consistency. Taylor said that "You can't change American policy in twenty-four hours and expect anyone to ever believe you again." Taylor also objected to two phone calls on August 24 to Washington from Admiral Harry D. Felt ,

2173-399: The president. His close personal relationship with the President and White House access effectively made Taylor the President's primary military adviser, cutting out the Joint Chiefs. On October 1, 1962, Kennedy ended this uncomfortable arrangement by appointing Taylor as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff , a position in which he served until 1964. Taylor was of crucial importance during

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2226-560: The time the book was first published. Ryan dedicated his book for all the men of D-Day. Researchers spent almost three years locating survivors of D-Day and over 3000 interviews were undertaken in the United States, Canada, Great Britain, France and Germany. 383 accounts of D-Day were used in the text of the book. Senior Allied officers who assisted the author included General Maxwell D. Taylor , Lieutenant General James M. Gavin , Lieutenant General Sir Frederick E. Morgan and General Sir Richard Nelson Gale . German officers who assisted with

2279-529: The title The Longest Day . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Longest_Day&oldid=1225661598 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages The Longest Day (book) Ryan received both financial and research assistance from

2332-469: The truth." In January, 1965 Robert Kennedy named his next-to-last son Matthew Maxwell Taylor Kennedy (better known as an adult as "Max"). Shortly after the investigation concluded, the Kennedys' warm feelings for Taylor and the President's lack of confidence in the Joint Chiefs of Staff led John Kennedy to recall Taylor to active duty and install him in the newly created post of military representative to

2385-436: The views of the Joint Chiefs to Defense Secretary Robert McNamara and of cutting the Joint Chiefs out of the decision-making process. Whereas the Chiefs felt that it was their duty to offer unbiased assessments and recommendations on military matters, Taylor was of the firm belief that the chairman should not only support the president's decisions but also be a true believer in them. That discrepancy manifested itself during

2438-407: The war, he served as the fifth chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff , having been appointed by President John F. Kennedy . He is the father of biographer and historian John Maxwell Taylor and of military historian and author Thomas Happer Taylor . A controversial figure, Taylor was considered, along with Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara , to have played a major role during the early days of

2491-535: The withdrawal of American troops from Korea. From 1955 to 1959, he was the Army Chief of Staff —becoming the first officer since 1917 to serve as Chief of Staff without seeing service during World War I—succeeding his former mentor, Matthew B. Ridgway . During his tenure, Taylor attempted to guide the service into the age of nuclear weapons by restructuring the infantry division into a Pentomic formation. Observers such as Colonel David Hackworth have written that

2544-401: Was also criticized by Tom Ricks in his book The Generals (2012): "Maxwell Taylor arguably was the most destructive general in American history. As Army chief of staff in the 1950s, he steered the US military toward engaging in 'brushfire wars.' As White House military adviser during the early 1960s, he encouraged President John F. Kennedy to deepen American involvement in Vietnam. As chairman of

2597-469: Was an outspoken critic of the Eisenhower administration's "New Look" defense policy, which he viewed as dangerously overreliant on nuclear arms and neglectful of conventional forces; Taylor also criticized the inadequacies of the Joint Chiefs of Staff system. Frustrated with the administration's failure to heed his arguments, Taylor retired from active service in July 1959. He campaigned publicly against

2650-544: Was followed in November when he was placed in command of the 82nd Airborne Division Artillery and received a promotion to the temporary rank of brigadier general in December. In this role he took part in combat in Sicily and Italy . In the late summer of 1943, during the planning for the Allied invasion of Italy , Taylor's diplomatic and language skills resulted in his secret mission to Rome to co-ordinate an 82nd air drop with Italian forces. General Dwight D. Eisenhower , then

2703-438: Was known that Diem would never sideline Nhu, it was effectively an authorisation for Lodge to encourage a military coup. The cable was prepared and sent out over a weekend when many leading Washington figures were away, under the misunderstanding that higher authorisation had been given. Marine General Victor Krulak signed off on behalf of the military without showing Taylor, who was a supporter of Diem. On Monday August 26, at

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2756-433: Was on a flight from the US —back to Saigon and catching him off-guard. The coup failed, and Taylor helped organize for Khiêm to be made Saigon's representative in Washington. During the coup, Minh had remained silent, angering Khánh and keeping their long-running rivalry going. By the end of October, the Johnson administration had become more supportive of Taylor's negative opinion of Minh and eventually paid for Minh to go on

2809-463: Was reprinted numerous times as it spent twenty-two weeks on The New York Times Best Seller list In 1962, the book was adapted into a Hollywood film of the same name . In May 2014, publisher Andre Deutsch released the 70th Anniversary Collector's Edition, with the addition of 120 photographs, 30 unpublished removable facsimile documents from the Cornelius Ryan Archive and cover by Brazilian photographer Rodrigo Bressane, depicting an interpretation of

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