Raymond Albert Wheeler
Raymond Albert Wheeler (born July 31, 1885 in Peoria , Illinois , † February 8, 1974 in Washington, DC ) was an American lieutenant general in the US Army , who last served as chief engineer of the US Army between 1945 and 1949 ( Chief of the US Army Corps of Engineers ) was.
Life
Wheeler, the eldest of six children of Stephen Andrew Wheeler and his wife Margaret Maple Wheeler, began officer training in 1907 at the US Military Academy (USMA) in West Point , which he completed in 1911. He took part in the occupation of Veracruz in 1914 and, after the United States entered the First World War, in 1917 as commander of the 4th Engineer Regiment of the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) in the fighting at Aisne and Marne , for which he participated was awarded a Silver Star . In 1920 he was first awarded the Army Distinguished Service Medal . After various posts as an officer and staff officer, he was a Rock Island District Engineer from September 22, 1933 to October 3, 1935, and then from October 4, 1935 to May 22, 1936 during the New Deal, Chief Regional Engineer of the WPA ( Works Progress Administration ) in Chicago before being a delegate to the Permanent International Association of Congresses for Navigation in Europe between May 27 and August 4, 1936 .
While Wheeler graduated from the US Army War College in Carlisle between August 15, 1936 and June 23, 1936 , he was a resident member of the Board of Engineers for Rivers from February 1, 1937 to July 1940 & Harbors) and as such was promoted to colonel on February 1, 1940 . He then worked between July 1940 and July 1941 as maintenance engineer in the administration for the Panama Canal and from July to November 1941 as Assistant Chief of Staff of the US Army (G 4) in the War Department and was promoted to brigadier general on September 29, 1941 . From November 1941 to February 1942 he was head of the US military mission in Iraq , Iran and India and between February 28, 1942 and April 10, 1943, he was the commander of the supply services for the theater of war China , Burma and India. March 1943 promoted to major general. In 1942 he was awarded the Legion of Merit .
In the course of World War II, Wheeler was from 18 February to 6 April 1943 Commander ( Commanding Officer ) of the combat units on the Ledo Road in Burma and between April 10 and June 8, 1943 commander of the Rear Services (Army Service Forces) and at the same time from April 24 to June 8, 1943 in personal union commanding general for the theater of war China, Burma and India. He then acted again between June 4, 1943 and November 15, 1943 as commander of the supply services for the theater of war China, Myanmar and India, and from November 16, 1943 to November 12, 1944 as the first administrative officer of the SEAC ( South East Asia Command ) and as such was promoted to Lieutenant General on February 21, 1944 . For his services there he was again awarded the Army Distinguished Service Medal. From November 12, 1944 to October 4, 1945, he was Deputy Allied Commander-in-Chief of the Southeast Asia Command and, in personal union, from June 23 to June 28, 1945 both Commanding General for the theater of war China, Burma and India and Commanding General of the SEAC belonging to the Northern Combat Area Command ( NCAC ) in Burma. For these uses he was honored with the Army Distinguished Service Medal.
Last sparked Lieutenant General Wheeler on October 1, 1945, General Lieutenant Eugene Reybold as chief engineer of the US Army ( Chief of the US Army Corps of Engineers ) , and held this position until his retirement on 28 February 1949 after which Lt. Gen. Lewis A. .Pick succeeded him. Between December 1956 and April 1957, after the Suez Crisis, he was entrusted with the liquidation of the Suez Canal Society ( Compagnie universelle du canal maritime de Suez ) and received the Army Distinguished Service Medal for the fourth time for his services there.
His 1912 marriage to Olive May Keithley Wheeler resulted in his daughter Margaret Irene "Peggy" Wheeler Wilkinson, who was married to Colonel William C. Wilkinson, Jr. After his death he was buried in Arlington National Cemetery.
Awards
He was also Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE) and Knight Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire (KCIE).
Web links
- Raymond Albert Wheeler in the database of Find a Grave (English)
- Entry on the homepage of Arlington National Cemetery
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Wheeler, Raymond Albert |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American Lieutenant General in the US Army |
| DATE OF BIRTH | July 31, 1885 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Peoria , Illinois |
| DATE OF DEATH | February 8, 1974 |
| Place of death | Washington, DC |