Platte Center in Platte County, Nebraska — The American Midwest (Upper Plains)
Alfred Maximilian Gruenther
1899-1983
Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, August 23, 2022
1. Alfred Maximilian Gruenther Marker
Alfred Maximilian Gruenther, four-star general in the U.S. Army, was born in Platte Center, Nebraska, on March 3, 1899, to Christian and Mary Shea Gruenther. He graduated fourth in his class from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in 1918. Between 1941 and 1953 Gruenther served as chief of staff of the Third Army, Fifth Army, Fifteenth Army Group, and Supreme Headquarters, Allied Powers in Europe. A protégé of General Dwight D. Eisenhower during World War II, Gruenther was principal American planner of the allied invasions of North Africa in 1942 and Italy in 1943. He received many high military honors from the United States and other countries.
After World War II Gruenther became deputy commander of U.S. forces in Austria in 1945, and was appointed supreme allied commander in Europe/commander-in-chief of the U.S. European Command in 1953. In retirement he was president of the American Red Cross from 1957 to 1964 and served on four corporate boards and three presidential commissions. Gruenther died in Washington, D.C. on May 30, 1983, and is buried at Arlington National Cemetery.
Erected by Platte Center Sign Committee/Village of Platte Center; and Nebraska State Historical Society. (Marker Number 431.)
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Location. 41° 32.246′ N, 97° 29.25′ W. Marker is in Platte Center, Nebraska, in Platte County. Marker is on 4th Street just east of D Street, on the right when traveling east. Marker is located beside the sidewalk on the east side of the City Auditorium. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 315 4th Street, Platte Center NE 68653, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 10 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies. Camp Platte (approx. 7.3 miles away); Frank Zybach (approx. 9.4 miles away); Columbus Powerhouse (approx. 9.7 miles away); Granville Cemetery (approx. 9.8 miles away); Columbus Area Business Hall of Fame (approx. 10 miles away); a different marker also named
Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, August 23, 2022
2. Alfred Maximilian Gruenther Marker
Also see . . .
1. General Alfred Maximilian Gruenther.
After being commissioned towards the end of World War I, he served in the army throughout the interwar period and into World War II, where he was primarily a staff officer. Several years later, at the age of fifty-two, he became the second youngest four-star general in the history of the United States Army after Douglas MacArthur. Gruenther was an adviser and planner to top generals in World War II. He possessed a strong power of analytical reasoning with capacity both to detail and overall perspective for which his colleagues called him the Brain.(Submitted on September 30, 2022, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)Gruenther was considered the best bridge player in the U.S. Army, and was Dwight D. Eisenhower's favorite partner. Eisenhower was playing bridge when, in 1948, President Truman telephoned him to ask him to take the post of head of NATO, in Paris. On returning to the table, he was asked who he would appoint as his second-in-command. "Well, I ought to take Bedell Smith,
but I think I'll take Gruenther because he's the better bridge player".Photographed By Cosmos Mariner, August 23, 20223. Alfred Maximilian Gruenther Marker(looking southwest • Platte Center City Auditorium on right)
2. General Alfred Maximilian Gruenther (Find A Grave).
In July 1953 be was appointed Commander-in-Chief US European Command and Supreme Allied Commander Europe, and he retired in that position in November 1956 with 37 years of continuous military service. Among his military and foreign decorations and awards include the Army Distinguished Service Medal (with two oak leaf clusters), the Legion of Merit, the Bronze Star, the World War I Victory Medal, the American Defense Service Medal, the American Campaign Medal, the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal (with seven service stars and arrowhead device), the World War II Victory Medal, the Army of Occupation Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Belgian Order of Leopold (knight) and Belgian Cross of War (with palm), the Brazilian Order of Military Merit, the British Order of the Bath, the Czechoslovakian War Cross (1939-1945), the French Legion of Honor, Medaille Militaire, and Croix de Guerre (with palm), the Italian Order of the Crown, Military Order, and Medal of Valor, the Moroccan Order of Ouissam Alaouite (grand officer), the Polish Vistuti Militari, and the Order of Malta.(Submitted on September 30, 2022, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)
Credits. This page was last revised on September 30, 2022. It was originally submitted on September 30, 2022, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. This page has been viewed 76 times since then and 14 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on September 30, 2022, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.
