[Asia Economy Reporter Park So-yeon] John Singlelove, former UN Command Chief of Staff (Retired Major General), who was forcibly retired after opposing then-President Jimmy Carter's plan to withdraw US troops from South Korea in 1977, has passed away due to old age. He was 100 years old.
The US military-related specialized site 'Sandbox' reported on the 30th (local time) that John Singlelove, a retired major general and 'legendary special forces soldier,' peacefully passed away at 7 a.m. on the 29th at his home in Tennessee, USA, surrounded by his wife Joanne and children.
After graduating from the University of California in Los Angeles in 1943, he immediately enlisted as a second lieutenant and served in the OSS (Office of Strategic Services), the predecessor of the Army Special Forces known as the 'Green Berets,' and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).
He formed a connection with Korea while working at the CIA Seoul branch established in 1949 and also participated in the Korean War as the battalion commander of the Kimhwa District Combat Unit.
While serving as the UN Command Chief of Staff in May 1977, he criticized President Carter's plan to withdraw US troops from South Korea within five years as a misjudgment leading to the path of war in an interview with the Washington Post (WP). Afterward, he was recalled to his home country and left the military against his will.
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