United States Army General. He is probably best remembered for his single word reply of "NUTS!" in response to a German surrender ultimatum while serving as the acting division commander of the 101st Airborne Division troops defending Bastogne, Belgium, during World War II's Battle of the Bulge. A combat veteran of World War II, he rose in rank to become the Commander-in-Chief of U.S. Army Europe. After attending West Virginia University at Morgantown, West Virginia, from 1916 until 1917, he received an appointment to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York, graduating in November 1918, with a commission as a 2nd Lieutenant as part of an accelerated program after the end of World War I. After visiting Europe for a short while, he was assigned to the Field Artillery and graduated from the Field Artillery School at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, in 1920. He served in various assignments for the next 16 years and, by 1935, he had been promoted to the rank of Captain. Shortly before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, in December 1941, he was promoted to the temporary rank of Lieutenant Colonel with the Supply Division of the War Department General Staff in Washington, D.C. While in this position, he supervised the development of such new technology as the bazooka and the jeep. In 1943, he was sent to the European Theater of Operations and served as Commander of Division Artillery of the 101st Airborne Division when he parachuted into Normandy, France, on D-Day (June 6, 1944) and when he landed by glider in the Netherlands during Operation Market Garden. He became Assistant Division Commander as a Major General of the 101st Airborne following the death of Brigadier General Don Pratt. The following December, when the German Army launched the surprise attack known as the Battle of the Bulge, the 101st Airborne Division commander, Major General Maxwell D. Taylor, was away attending a staff conference in the U.S. In Taylor's absence, he became the acting commander of the 101st. At Bastogne, the 101st was besieged by a far larger and superior force of Germans under the command of General Heinrich Freiherr von Lüttwitz. When asked to surrender or face total annihilation with heavy artillery fire on December 22, he gave in famous "NUTS!" response. The threat of artillery never materialized, and the 101st was able to hold off the Germans until the 4th Armored Division provided reinforcement four days later. Immediately after Bastogne, he assumed command of the 103rd Infantry Division in January 1945, his first divisional command assignment, which he retained until July 1945. Following World War II, he held a number of positions, including Chief Chemical Officer of the Army Chemical Corps, and G-1, Head of Army Personnel in Washington D.C. In 1953, he returned to Europe as Commander of the Seventh Army, and, two years later, he was promoted to the rank of General and became the Commander-in-Chief of the United States Army Europe in 1955. He retired in that position in 1956, with 38 years of continuous military service. Among his military decorations and awards include the Distinguished Service Cross, the Army Distinguished Service Medal (with one oak leaf cluster), the Silver Star, the Legion of Merit, the Bronze Star (with one oak leaf cluster), the World War II Victory Medal, the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal, the American Campaign Medal, and the National Defense Service Medal. After his military retirement, he worked for American Cyanamid Corporation from 1956 to 1963 as Vice President for Personnel and also served as Chairman of the New York State Civil Defense Commission from 1960 to 1963. After retiring from American Cyanamid Corporation, he moved to Chevy Chase, Maryland, and died of cancer at the age of 77. The headquarters building for the 101st Airborne Division which opened in 2009 at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, is named McAuliffe Hall in his honor. The central square of Bastogne, Belgium, is named Place Général McAuliffe.