John Shalikashvili John Malchase David Shalikashvili ( , ; June 27 , 1936 – July 23 , 2011 ) was a United States Army General who served as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Supreme Allied Commander from 1993 to 1997 . He was born in Warsaw , Poland to Georgian parents . Shalikashvili was the first foreign - born soldier to become Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff . He served in every level of unit command from platoon to division . Shalikashvili died of a stroke in 2011 . Early life and family . John Shalikashvili was a scion of the medieval Georgian noble house of Shalikashvili . His father , Prince Dimitri Shalikashvili ( 1896 – 1978 ) , born in Gurjaani served in the army of Imperial Russia ; Dimitri was a grandson of Russian general Dmitry Staroselsky . John Shalikashvili ' s mother was countess Maria Rüdiger - Beliaev . After the Bolshevik Revolution , Dimitri became a lieutenant - colonel in the army of the Democratic Republic of Georgia . When the Soviet Union invaded and occupied Georgia in 1921 , Dimitri was on diplomatic service in Turkey . Dimitri then joined other Georgian exiles in Poland , where he met and married John ' s mother , Maria ; she was Polish and of part German ancestry , and the daughter of Count Rudiger - Bielajew , a former Tsarist general . They had three children : Othar , John and Gale . Dimitri served in the Polish Army ( along with other Georgian exiles ) as a contract officer . In 1939 , he fought against the German invasion of Poland . After the Polish defeat , Dimitri was demobilized . In 1941 , he enlisted in the Georgian Legion , a force of ethnic Georgians recruited by Germany to fight against the Soviet Union . The unit was later incorporated into the SS - Waffengruppe Georgien and transferred to Normandy . Dimitri surrendered to British forces and was a prisoner of war until after the war . A collection of Dimitri Shalikashvili ' s writings are on deposit at the Hoover Institution . Meanwhile , Maria , John and his two brothers lived through the destruction of Warsaw . As the Red Army approached Warsaw in 1944 , the family fled to Pappenheim , Germany , being reunited with Dimitri along the way . It was in Pappenheim in the closing days of World War II that John first laid eyes on American soldiers . His family stayed with relatives there in Pappenheim for eight years . In 1952 , when John was 16 , the family emigrated to Peoria , Illinois . They were sponsored by Winifred Luthy , the wife of a local banker , who 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 Ameren , 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 went to Peoria High School , where he was a long distance runner . He attended Bradley University in Peoria , and received a bachelor ' s degree in mechanical engineering in 1958 . He is a member of Theta Chi Fraternity . He later received a master ' s degree in International Affairs from the Elliott School of International Affairs at The George Washington University . In May 1958 , Shalikashvili and his family became American citizens . It was the first citizenship he ever held . He had previously 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 Army as a private , enjoyed it , and applied to Officer Candidate School . He was commissioned as a second lieutenant in 1959 . Shalikashvili served in various Field Artillery and Air Defense Artillery positions as a platoon leader , forward observer , instructor , and student , in various staff positions , and as a battery commander . He served in Vietnam in Quang Tri Province with Advisory Team 4 ( redesignated Team 19 in September , 1968 ) , Military Assistance Command , Vietnam ( MACV ) , as a senior district advisor from 1968 to 1969 . He was awarded a Bronze Star with " V " for heroism during his Vietnam tour . Immediately after his Vietnam service , he attended the Naval War College in Newport , Rhode Island . In 1970 , he became executive officer of 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 U . S . Army War College and served as the Commander of Division Artillery ( DIVARTY ) for the 1st Armored Division in Germany . He later became the assistant division commander . In 1987 , Shalikashvili commanded the 9th Infantry Division at Fort Lewis . There he oversaw a “ high technology test bed ” tasked to integrate three brigades — one heavy armor , one light infantry , and one “ experimental mechanized ” — into a new type of fighting force . Shalikashvili achieved real distinction with his considerable success as the commander of Operation " Provide Comfort " , the peacekeeping and humanitarian activity in northern Iraq after the Gulf War . This assignment involved intense and complex negotiations with the Turkish government , and tough face - to - face meetings with the Iraqi military . Another important achievement was the establishment of the Joint Vision 2010 program , which would transfer the United States military into one great and effective digitalized military force . Shalikashvili was appointed Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in 1993 by President Clinton , effective October 25 . He retired from the Army in September 1997 , after serving for 38 years . Post - military career and death . Shalikashvili was an advisor to John Kerry ' s 2004 Presidential campaign . He was a visiting professor at the Center for International Security and Cooperation at Stanford University . He served as a director of Russell Investments , L - 3 Communications , Inc . , Plug Power Inc . , United Defense , Inc . , the Initiative for Global Development , and the National Bureau of Asian Research . Shalikashvili was married and had one son , Brant , a graduate of Washington State University . John also had a daughter Debra . Shalikashvili suffered a severe stroke on August 7 , 2004 . In 2006 the National Bureau of Asian Research ( NBR ) launched the John M . Shalikashvili Chair in National Security Studies to recognize Shalikashvili for his years of military service and for his leadership on NBR ’ s Board of Directors . In 2007 , Shalikashvili penned an op - ed in the New York Times calling for a reversal of Don ' t ask , don ' t tell . A similar op - ed by him appeared in the June 19 , 2009 , issue of Washington Post . The policy was reversed July 22 , 2011 , the day before his death . Shalikashvili died at the age of 75 on July 23 , 2011 , at the Madigan Army Medical Center in Joint Base Lewis - McChord , Washington , from a stroke . He is buried at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia . Awards and decorations . In 1996 , he was the first recipient of the Naval War College Distinguished Graduate Leadership Award .