James Lee Dozier (born 10 April 1931) was a Major-General of the US Army and the Deputy Chief-of-Staff of NATO's Southern European land forces. From December 1981 to January 1982, he was held hostage by the Red Brigades in Italy, and he retired in 1985 after his release.
Biography[]
James Lee Dozier was born on 10 April 1931 in Fort Myers, Florida, and he graduated from West Point in 1956. From 1968 to 1969, Dozier served in the Vietnam War with the US 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment and was awarded the Silver Star for his bravery. Dozier rose to the rank of Brigadier-General and led the Southern European forces of NATO from Italy during the Cold War. On 17 December 1981, he was kidnapped from his Verona apartment by the communist Red Brigades, and he was subjected to the never-extinguished glare of an electric bulb while chained to a steel cot by his right wrist and left ankle in addition to being forced to loud music with earphones. He was freed on 28 January 1982 when Italian police special forces captured the entire terrorist cell, and Dozier retired in 1985 with the rank of Major-General.