Dean, William Frische (1899-1981), was an American major general who won fame in the early days of the Korean War (1950-1953). North Korean soldiers captured him while he was fighting in the front lines. They held him for more than three years as a prisoner of war. He refused to reveal military secrets despite torture. Dean retired from the Army in 1955. He was born in Carlyle, Illinois, and graduated from the University of California in 1922.