Significant partly-printed DS as president, one page, 15.5 x 11.5, July 3, 1964. President Johnson appoints "General Earle G. Wheeler, United States Army" as “Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff.” Signed boldly at the conclusion by Lyndon B. Johnson and countersigned by Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara. The original bright silver Department of Defense seal remains affixed to the lower left. In very good condition, with light staining along the left edge from mounting residue on the back, and heavy dampstaining to the right side affecting appearance, but not the bold signature.
President Lyndon B. Johnson appointed General Wheeler as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to succeed General Maxwell Taylor, a promotion deemed controversial by some, including Air Force Chief of Staff, General Curtis LeMay, who believed that Wheeler was given preferential treatment over the heads of officers with more combat experience. Wheeler's tenure as the nation's top military officer spanned the height of America's involvement in the Vietnam War, and he remains the longest-serving Chairman of the Joint Chiefs to date, serving six years. Upon his retirement, he was awarded the Defense Distinguished Service Medal and was the first recipient of that decoration. A substantial wartime appointment signed by two of America’s most influential figures in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
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