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'John Malchase David Shalikashvili' () (born June 27, 1936) is a retired general of the United States Army who served as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from 1993 to 1997. He was born in Warsaw, Poland to Georgian parents. His father, Dimitri, was a lieutenant-colonel in the army of the Democratic Republic of Georgia in 1918-1921. Both of his parents fled to Poland after the occupation of Georgia by Russian SFSR in 1921. They met in Warsaw and had three children, Othar, John and Gale. Dimitri then served in the Polish Army as a contract officer.
General Shalikashvili became the only immigrant in United States history to become a general of the United States Army and rose in rank through every unit command from battalion to division.^[1] Shalikashvili helped Bill Clinton to make one of the most important decisions in terms of global security and impressed the administration by high standard of his military professionalism. ^[2]

Contents

Early Life and Family

Army Career

Decorations and Badges

Current Activities

References

See also

External links

Early Life and Family

Shalikashvili last name traces its ancestry in Kakheti, one of the largest wine-making regions of Georgia, which is credited as the birthplace of wine. After visiting Georgia, General Shalikashvili was impressed with famous Georgian wine. His father, Dimitri Shalikashvili was a contemporary of Kakutsa Cholokashvili and served in the army of Democratic Republic of Georgia, which was invaded by the Red Army in 1921 and after the the siege of Georgia Dimitri fled to Europe through Turkey looking for help to protect the sovereignty of democratic Georgia.
Dmitri Shalikashvili served in the Polish army as an officer before WWII and in 1941 enlisted in the newly created Georgische Legion (whose members were ethnic Georgian volunteers), after the start of the world war. [1][2] The unit was later incorporated into the SS-Waffengruppe Georgien and transferred to Normandy. Dimitri was eventually captured by the British and held in a prisoner of war camp until after the war. A collection of Dimitri Shalikashvili’s writings are on deposit at the Hoover Institution.
Meanwhile, John, his mother and two siblings lived through the destruction of Warsaw. As the Russian Army approached Warsaw in 1945, the family fled to Pappenheim, Germany where they were eventually reunited with Dimitri, and stayed with relatives for eight years.
In 1952, when John was 16, the family immigrated to Peoria, Illinois. They were sponsored by Winifred Luthy, the wife of a local banker. She was previously married to Dimitri's cousin. The Luthys and the Episcopal Church helped the Shalikashvili family get started, finding jobs and a home for them. Dimitri worked for Central Illinois Light Company, and Maria was a file clerk at Commercial National Bank.

When John arrived in Peoria he spoke little English. He has recalled it this way:
Shalikashvili graduated from Peoria High School, where he was a long distance runner. He attended the local university, Bradley University, and earned a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering in June 1958. He is a member of Theta Chi Fraternity.
In May 1958, Shalikashvili and his family were sworn in as American citizens. It was the first citizenship he ever held. He had previously been a refugee who had only been classified as "stateless", since he had been born to parents who had been refugees.

Army Career

After graduation he had planned to work for Hyster Lift Truck, but received a draft notice in July 1958. He entered the US Army as a private, enjoyed it and applied to Officer Candidate School, and received his commission as a second lieutenant in the United States Army in 1959.
Early in his commissioned career, Shalikashvili served in various Field Artillery and Air Defense Artillery positions as a platoon leader, forward observer, instructor, student and various staff positions and company commander before being sent to Vietnam where he served as a senior district advisor for Advisory Team 19, U.S. Military Assistance Command Vietnam (MACV), from 1968 to 1969. Immediately following Vietnam, he attended the Naval Command and Staff College in Newport, Rhode Island.
In 1970, he became the executive officer to the 2nd Battalion, 18th Field Artillery at Fort Lewis, Washington. Later in 1975, he commanded 1st Battalion, 84th Field Artillery, 9th Infantry Division at Fort Lewis. In 1977, he attended the United States Army War College and later served as the Commander of Division Artillery (DIVARTY) for the 1st Armored Division in Germany and eventually would become the assistant division commander. In 1987, Shalikashvili would command the 9th Infantry Division at Fort Lewis.
Shalikashvili achieved real distinction with his considerable success as the commander of "Operation Provide Comfort" in Northern Iraq. This mission involved intense and complex negotiations with the Turkish government, as well as tough face-to-face meetings with the Iraqi military.^[3]
Shalikashvili would later rise to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He was appointed to that position by President Bill Clinton, effective October 25, 1993. He retired from the Army in September 1997, after serving for 38 years.

Decorations and Badges

★ Presidential Medal of Freedom

★ Defense Distinguished Service Medal (with 3 Oak Leaf Clusters)

★ Distinguished Service Medal, Army

★ Legion of Merit (with 2 Oak Leaf Clusters)

★ Bronze Star Medal (with "V" Device)

★ Meritorious Service Medal (with 3 Oak Leaf Clusters)

★ Air Medal

★ Joint Service Commendation Medal

★ Army Commendation Medal

★ National Defense Service Medal with bronze service star in lieu of two campaigns

★ Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal

★ Vietnam Service Medal with silver service star in lieu of five campaigns

★ Southwest Asia Service Medal

★ Humanitarian Service Medal

★ Overseas Service Ribbon with numeral 5 device

★ Inter-American Defense Board Medal

★ Combat Infantryman Badge

★ Parachutist Badge

★ Joint Chiefs of Staff Identification Badge

★ Army Staff Identification Badge

★ Vietnam - Vietnam Gallantry Cross with two silver stars (Division citation) and one bronze star (Regiment citation)

★ Vietnam - Vietnam Armed Forces Honor Medal (First Class)

★ Vietnam - Vietnam Campaign Medal with 1960 bar

★ Canada - Meritorious Service Cross (Military Division), M.S.C. [3]

★ Germany - Bund Naturschutz Medal [4]

Current Activities

He is now a visiting professor at the Center for International Security and Cooperation at Stanford University. He is married and has one son, Brant, a graduate of Washington State University. He was an advisor to John Kerry's campaign for president in 2004. He also serves as a director of Russell Investment Group, L-3 Communications Holdings, Inc., Plug Power Inc., United Defense Industries, Inc, and the National Bureau of Asian Research.
General Shalikashvili suffered a severe stroke on August 7, 2004.

References

1. Luttwak, " Why Clinton Called Upon Shalikashvili," Sacramento Bee, 22 August 1993
2. Charles Fenyvesi, "Washington Whispers: Clinton Encouraged on Haiti by Shalikashvili's Can-do Attitude," U.S. News and World Report, 26 September 1994, 40.
3. GOLDSTEIN, LYLE J. (Spring 2000)General John Shalikashvili and the Civil-Military Relations of Peacekeeping. In Armed Forces & Society: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 26, p387.

See also

★ Georgian emigration in Poland

★ Timeline of Chinagate controversy

External links

★ Retired General Changes Mind on 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell'

★ Shalikashvili calls for rethinking ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’