Dewitt, John Lesesne

(1880-1962)

   Born in Nebraska, John DeWitt entered the U.S. infantry in 1898. He served in France during World War I and was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal. After the war, he served in the War Department with the General Staff as quartermaster general, and he served briefly in the Philippines. DeWitt was attached to the U.S. Army War College from 1937 to 1938 and in 1939 was made head of the West Defense Command. Following the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, DeWitt strongly advocated the relocation of Japanese Americans on the grounds that they posed a threat of subversion and sabotage. He argued that the fact that no such acts had been carried out only indicated that they were likely in the future. After President Franklin D. Roosevelt had approved the relocation in 1942, DeWitt had charge of the exclusion of Japanese Americans from West Coast areas and their removal to relocation camps. He became commandant of the Army and Navy College in 1943 and remained there until he retired in 1947. In 1954, Congress made DeWitt a general.