LOS ANGELES -- President Reagan Thursday nominated Army Gen. John W. Vessey Jr., a 59-year-old combat veteran of Vietnam and World War II, to succeed retiring Air Force Gen. David Jones as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
The president called Vessey, who received a battlefield commission in the Anzio, Italy, in World War II, 'a soldier's soldier.'
Vessey is now Army vice chief of staff and is to assume his new duties July 1, when the 60-year-old Jones' term expires.
The Senate must confirm the presidential nomination, announced by Reagan as he boarded a helicopter to fly to his ranch near Santa Barbara, Calif., to celebrate his 30th wedding anniversary.
Vessey, whose term as chairman will run two years renewable to four, was in Atlanta and may not return to Washington until the weekend, defense sources said.
Army Chief of Staff Gen. Edward Meyer issued a statement saying he was 'very happy' to learn of Vessey's nomination. Meyer reportedly was not interested in the position of chairman.
'I can't think of a finer leader who can articulate the security needs of our country,' Meyer said. 'General Vessey is a true patriot, a professional soldier and selfless individual. He has the support of every soldier and civilian in the Army.'
The Joint Chiefs of Staff is made up of the chiefs of staff of the Army and Air Force, the chief of naval operations and the commandant of the Marine Corps. The chairman oversees their activities and the position rotates among the services.
The Joint Chiefs advises the president and the defense secretary.
A native of Minneapolis, Vessey rose from the ranks to the nation's highest military post.
He enlisted in the Minnesota National Guard in 1939 and was called up to duty in February of 1941. He became a first sergeant before receiving his battlefield promotion to second lieutenant of the field artillery in May 1944.
Much of his service was with the 31st Infantry Division in North Africa and Italy and with the 4th infantry division and 3rd armored division in Germany. He also served with the 4th infantry division in Vietnam and later commanded that division at Ft. Carson, Colo.
Vessey was promoted to four star rank in 1976 and assigned to Korea as commander in chief of the United Nations Command, commander of U.S. Forces in Korea and commanding general of the U.S. Eighth Army.
Jones has been with the Joint Chiefs of Staff for eight years - four as Air Force chief of staff and then as chairman.
Last month, he called for a reorganization of the Joint Chiefs, saying that inter-service rivalry and fights over turf could undermine America's defense capabilities.
'We need to spend more time on our war-fighting capabilities and less on an intramural scramble for resources,' he wrote in an article in the magazine Directors and Boards, published by the Hay Associates management consulting firm.
Jones, who rose in the ranks from a flying cadet in 1943, said the role of the the chairman of the Joint Chiefs needs to be strengthened and he should be given a deputy to help relieve the work load.
Vessey would be the tenth chairmen of the Joint Chiefs. Gen. Omar Bradley became the first in 1949. Vessey is the only one to have received a battlefield commission, even though two other chairmen were enlisted men.
