John K. Singlaub | |
---|---|
Birth name | John Kirk Singlaub |
Born | Independence, California, U.S. | July 10, 1921
Died | January 29, 2022 Franklin, Tennessee, U.S. | (aged 100)
Allegiance | United States of America |
Service/branch | United States Army |
Years of service | 1943–1977 |
Rank | Major general |
Battles/wars | World War II Korean War Vietnam War |
Awards | Distinguished Service Medal (2) Silver Star Legion of Merit (3) Bronze Star (2) Air Medal (2) Purple Heart |
John Kirk Singlaub (July 10, 1921 – January 29, 2022) was an American OSS officer. He was a founding member of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), and a major general in the United States Army.
Singlaub was born in Independence, California. He studied at the University of California, Los Angeles. He served in the United States Army during World War II and parachuted into Occupied France to fight with the French Resistance.
In 1977, Singlaub was relieved from his position as Chief of Staff of US forces in South Korea after he had criticized President Jimmy Carter's decision to withdraw US troops from the Korean Peninsula in an interview with the Washington Post.[1][2] Less than a year later, Singlaub was forced to retire after he had publicly questioned Carter's national security policies.[3]
In 1979 Singlaub founded the Western Goals Foundation, a private intelligence network that was found to have supplied weapons to the contras during the Iran-Contra affair during the Ronald Reagan administration. Singlaub contributed to several books and wrote an autobiography.
Singlaub served as a leading figure in US national security and defense matters under both Democratic and Republican Presidents from Franklin Roosevelt, Harry Truman, John F. Kennedy, and Lyndon Johnson to Dwight D. Eisenhower and Richard Nixon.
Singlaub turned 100 in July 2021, and died on January 29, 2022 in Franklin, Tennessee.[4][5]