Earl Wheeler was born in Washington, DC, and later attended the US Military Academy at West Point. During World War II, he served with the 63rd Division during campaigns in Europe. After the war, Wheeler also held high-ranking staff positions in Europe with the American and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) forces. Attaining the rank of general, he was appointed Chief of Staff for the US Army in 1962. In 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson appointed him Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. One of Johnson's major advisors on American policy in Vietnam, Wheeler stated his belief that the US needed to "make an unambiguous stance in Vietnam or get out." Wheeler served as Joint Chiefs Chairman until 1970.