John L. DeWitt
| John Lesesne DeWitt | |
|---|---|
LTG John L. DeWitt
|
|
| Born |
January 9, 1880 Fort Sidney, Nebraska |
| Died | June 20, 1962 (aged 82) Washington, D.C. |
| Place of burial | Arlington National Cemetery |
| Allegiance |
 United States
|
| Service/branch |
 United States Army
|
| Years of service | 1898–1947 |
| Rank |
 General
|
| Commands held | Quartermaster General of the U.S. Army; Commandant of the Army War College; Fourth U.S. Army, Commanding General; Western Defense Command, Commanding General; Commandant of the Army and Navy Staff College |
| Battles/wars | World War I, World War II |
| Awards | Distinguished Service Medal |
John Lesesne DeWitt (January 9, 1880 – June 20, 1962) was a general in the United States Army, best known for his vocal support of the internment of Japanese-Americans and his role supervising the combat operations in the Aleutian Islands, some of which had been invaded by Japanese forces during World War II.
General DeWitt believed that Japanese and Japanese Americans in California, Oregon, and Washington could be conspiring against the American war effort, and recommended they be removed from areas with sensitive military installations. President Franklin D. Roosevelt agreed, and issued Executive Order 9066, which authorized local military commanders to place militarily important areas off limits, and to provide for those subject to the order. Dewitt used the authority granted to him to issue military proclamations to place most of the west coast off limits to Japanese Americans, incarcerating 110,000 Japanese men, women and children, 62% of whom were American-born citizens.
DeWitt was born at Fort Sidney, Nebraska, on January 9, 1880. On October 10, 1898, he was appointed as a second lieutenant with the U.S. Army Infantry. He would ultimately serve nearly fifty years, from 1898 to 1947, in the Army.
His early assignments included service during the Philippine Insurrection and in Mexican Punitive Expedition.
In 1918, DeWitt shipped out with the 42nd Division to the battlefields of France as a quartermaster in the division headquarters. Other noteworthy members of the division included Douglas MacArthur and William J. Donovan. In July 1918, DeWitt was promoted to full colonel, and continued quartermaster duties for the First Army. He received the Distinguished Service Medal at the end of World War I.
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