Ridgely Gaither Ridgely Gaither was a United States Army lieutenant general prominent as commander of the 40th Infantry Division during the Korean War , and commander of the XVIII Airborne Corps , U . S . Army Caribbean Command and Second United States Army . Early life . Gaither was born in Baltimore , Maryland on February 23 , 1903 to a family which has included Army officers since the American Revolution and is the namesake of Gaithersburg , Maryland . Gaither graduated from St . John ' s College in Annapolis and received his commission as a second lieutenant of Infantry in 1924 . Early career . Gaither served in positions of increasing responsibility and rank , including assignments in the continental United States , Alaska , Hawaii and China . He graduated from the Infantry Officer Course in 1933 and the Command and General Staff College in 1939 . World War II . An early advocate of using paratroopers in offensive military operations , from 1943 to 1944 Gaither commanded the Army Parachute School , receiving promotion to brigadier general . At the parachute school Gaither was instrumental in forming the 555th Parachute Infantry Company , a segregated unit which was the U . S . Army ' s first African - American paratrooper unit . In 1945 Gaither went to Europe to take part in fighting against Nazi Germany , including a combat parachute jump with the 17th Airborne Division . He landed east of the Rhine River , almost on top of a German anti - aircraft battery . The Americans took the position , and Gaither said later that one group of Germans might have been taken prisoner sooner if he had not shot down their white flag of surrender , which was so dirty he didn ’ t immediately recognize it . Later in 1945 General Gaither was assigned as assistant division commander of the 86th Infantry Division in the Philippines , where he served until the end of the war and immediately afterwards . Post World War II . From 1946 until 1949 Gaither served as assistant division commander of the 88th Infantry Division with duty on the border between Italy and Yugoslavia . He also served as a member of the Allied commission that established the border , military governor of Trieste , and as president of the War Crimes Court in Florence , Italy . Gaither commanded the 82nd Airborne Division from July to October , 1949 . From 1949 to 1951 Gaither served in the Operations Division of the Office of the Army ' s Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations . Gaither commanded the 11th Airborne Division from 1951 to 1953 . Korean War . General Gaither was commander of the 40th Infantry Division from 1953 to 1954 , including combat during Battle of Heartbreak Ridge . Post Korean War . In 1955 Gaither was assigned as commander of the XVIII Airborne Corps . From 1955 to 1956 Gaither served as the U . S . Army ' s assistant chief of staff for Intelligence , G - 2 . Gaither was deputy commander of the Continental Army Command from 1957 to 1958 , with duty as commander of Army Reserve Forces . From 1958 to 1960 Gaither was commander of the U . S . Army Caribbean Command . Gaither was assigned as commander of the Second United States Army in 1960 , where he remained until 1962 . Retirement and awards . General Gaither retired in 1962 . His awards included two Distinguished Service Medals , two Silver Stars , the Legion of Merit and the Bronze Star . Civilian career . Gaither lived in Annapolis , where he was commissioner of police from 1966 to 1973 . Death and Interment . General Gaither died of congestive heart failure Oct . 26 , 1992 at the Fairfield Nursing Center in Annapolis . Services were conducted at St . Anne ' s Episcopal Church , in Annapolis , followed by burial at Arlington National Cemetery . He is interred at Section 2 , Site 4888 - 1 . External resources . Boys ' Latin School of Maryland biography , Ridgely Gaither , accessed January 23 , 2011 Ridgely Gaither page , Arlington Cemetery web site , accessed January 23 , 2011 Ridgely Gaither page , Find A Grave web site , accessed January 23 , 2011