Thomas W. Gentlemen
Thomas Wade Men (* 9. August 1895 in Daleville , Alabama , † 4. June 1985 in Washington, DC ) was an American lieutenant general of the US Army , the July-October 1945 commander of the 70th Infantry Division ( 70th Infantry Division ) and most recently between 1954 and 1957 Commanding General of the First US Army ( First US Army ) .
Life
Officer training, World War I and the 1920s
Thomas Wade Herren, son of Woodson S. Herren, began studying at the University of Alabama after attending Tallapoosa Country High School in 1914 , which he finished in 1917. After a subsequent brief career as a teacher at the High School in Gadsden he began entry of the United States into World War II on 6 April 1917 May 1917 as a cadet officer training at Fort McPherson and was on 15 August 1917 at the temporary rank of Lieutenant in the regular army and transferred to the 78th Field Artillery Regiment in Fort Bliss . After attending a course at the US Army Field Artillery School , he was relocated with his regiment to France , where he was initially deputy chief ( executive officer ) and finally chief of a battery until the end of the First World War .
After the end of World War II Men was first commander of the A Squadron of the 3rd Cavalry Regiment ( 3rd Cavalry Regiment ) and subsequently in Boston recruiting officer for the area of the I Corps ( I Corps ) in New England . After the Army Cavalry School from 1926 to 1927 ( US Army Cavalry School ) had visited, he was appointed as commander of a squadron and regimental adjutant 8th Cavalry Regiment (8th Cavalry Regiment) transferred to Fort Bliss. There he was also the captain of the horse show team and a member of the polo team. For took part in maneuvers in what is now Big Bend National Park , trained recruits for the cavalry and assisted in the aid and care of the thousands of Mexicans whose homes were destroyed by the flooding of the Rio Grande in 1927. Subsequently, he was from 1930 to 1935 commander of the F-squadron and regimental adjutant stationed in Fort Oglethorpe 6th Cavalry Regiment ( 6th Cavalry Regiment ) and was there captain of the horse show team and the polo teams. At the same time he took the Army Infantry School with his squadron in the annual maneuvers ( US Army Infantry School ) in Fort Benning part.
Period from the Great Depression to World War II
During the Great Depression in the wake of the global economic crisis made the US Army logistical support as part of the US government launched job creation scheme Emergency Conservation Work , later Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). During this time, Herren was transferred to Gatlinburg, from where he organized and supervised the construction, supply and work of 17 CCC camps in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park . The local employees, the so-called "local experienced men" (LEM), were used to fell the dead chestnut wood, bring it to the mountains and saw it into lumber to open the camps for young male volunteers from urban areas erect. After the camps were built and occupied, he returned to Fort Oglethorpe to become CCC District Supervisor for Tennessee and North Carolina . During this time he took various courses in chemical warfare, hygiene, food supply, public relations and other topics important to the military. In 1935 he was promoted to major and graduated from Command and General Staff College (CGSC) at Fort Leavenworth . After graduating in 1936, he was transferred to the US Army Cavalry School in Fort Riley , where he was a tactical instructor until 1938 . It was at this time that "mechanization" was introduced into the curriculum and the tactics and techniques developed by the Herren division were later used by General George S. Patton and his armored forces during World War II .
In the summer of 1938, Herren was transferred as a cavalry instructor to the US Army Infantry School at Fort Benning, where he was also chairman of the Animal Management and Transportation Committee. He held this position for four years until 1942, during which time he was promoted to lieutenant colonel on August 18, 1940 . As a result, he was responsible for all school activities relating to the use of horses and reconnaissance vehicles as well as the development and demonstration of tactics for scout vehicles and light reconnaissance vehicles of all kinds. He worked with the local infantry instructors on the use of light tanks, armored cars and to develop other mechanized devices. The use of anti-tank battalions was first introduced at this time. The infantry school had a stable with horses that were used for tactical rides and mobility in difficult terrain, and its horse show and polo teams offered recreational opportunities for students and employees of the regular garrison.
Second World War
After the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 and the entry of the United States into World War II on December 8, 1941, Herren was promoted to colonel and in early 1942 to commander of the 106th Cavalry Regiment of the Illinois National Guard (106th Cavalry Regiment) , who was stationed at Camp Livingston for training. This regiment was one of the first with mechanized equipment and was prepared for deployment abroad in a crash course. Each individual had to be retrained, new subjects taught and tactics and techniques developed and perfected. As a commander, he prepared the regiment for combat operations through intensive training, including participation in two Louisiana maneuvers . When the regiment was dispatched to Europe in December 1943, he took over the post of commandant of the US Army Cavalry School at Fort Riley and held it until October 1944. Promoted to Brigadier General on September 4, 1944 .
In October 1944, Brigadier General Thomas W. Herren as representative of Major General was Allison J. Barnett of assistive commander of the 70th Infantry Division ( 70th Infantry Division ) , resulting in Fort Leonard Wood on their use in North Western Europe prepared. In December 1944, the incomplete Division with the infantry regiments 274, 275 and 276 without special troops was Marseilles shipped and took as starting Men (Task Force men) within the Seventh US Army ( Seventh US Army ) combat missions in northwestern France , especially in the Alsace and Lorraine region . The task force men took part in numerous battles against Operation Nordwind (December 31, 1944 to January 25, 1945) of the German Wehrmacht and along the Rhine until the missing division troops arrived . In July 1945, he succeeded Major General Allison J. Barnett as the commander of the 70th Infantry Division and remained in that position until the division was dissolved on October 11, 1945.
post war period
After his return to the US men in 1945 deputy chief of staff for planning (Deputy Chief of Staff, G-3) of the Fourth US Army ( Fourth US Army ] in Fort Sam Houston and planned and monitored in this capacity until 1946, the training programs in the area of the Fourth army. in the summer of 1946 he was sent to Korea staggered where he chief of staff of the XXIV. Corps ( XXIV Corps ) under the command of major General John R. Hodge . in a subsequent use as Deputy Commanding General of civil Affairs the Eighth US army ( Eighth US army ) , as well as commanding general of the Korean Communications zone he planned the introduction of economic rehabilitation and restoration of the civilian government of Korea. he organized accommodation for members of the army staff, taught school for children and introduced English courses one at Korean schools He also oversaw and took care of the organization of military and civil government r that Korean officials have been trained in government positions. Herren oversaw the 1949 elections that led to the government of the Republic of Korea . In addition, the Korean Communications Zone organized and oversaw conferences between the Soviet Union and the United States to discuss unification after the partition of Korea , and provided guidance to the United Nations Committee on Korea. At the end of 1948 he became the commander of the 2nd Brigade of the 1st Cavalry Division ( 1st Cavalry Division ) stationed in Tokyo .
After his return to the United States, Herren was promoted to major general and took over the post of Chief of Special Services Division in the Army Department on the staff of the US Secretary of Defense from August 1, 1949 to February 28, 1950 . In this position, he directed and oversaw all US Army training programs for the US Armed Forces and overseas training. In addition, he was responsible for the army's sports and recreation program in the USA and abroad, which also included preparing for the participation of members of the US Army in the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki . After his post as Chief of Special Services was taken over from the Office of the US Army Adjutant General's Corps , he was again on March 1, 1950 Commanding General of the US Army Military District of Washington , DC with headquarters at Fort Lesley J. McNair and held this position until May 15, 1952.
Korean War and Commanding General of the First US Army
Following Major General Thomas was W. men on May 15, 1952 during the Korean War again deputy commanding general of the Eighth US Army (Eighth US Army) and held this position until September 1953. At the same time he was again commanding general of the Korean Communications Zone and economic adviser the Government of the Republic of Korea. This was an important command that was responsible for the activities of the US Army in the southern two-thirds of South Korea. He oversaw the handling of prisoners of war and refugees as well as the logistical support and supply of the combat units of the Eighth US Army. He received the returned US prisoners of war and facilitated their return to the United States. Conversely, his responsibilities included the imprisonment and later the return of communist prisoners of war to North Korea .
After the end of the Korean War, Major General Herren became Commanding General of the North Command NORCOM (Northern Area Command) of the US Army in Europe ( US Army Europe ) with headquarters in Frankfurt am Main and remained there until November 1954. He again commanded logistical support and supplying the armed forces and service members of the US Army in over two dozen locations, sub-posts and training areas in northern Germany. NORCOM consisted of the former military posts in Frankfurt am Main and Würzburg as well as the Bamberg sub- post of the Nuremberg military post , the Rhein-Main Air Base and Wiesbaden Air Base . His close cooperation with the authorities of the Federal Republic of Germany enabled the construction and rental of apartments, the acquisition of school buildings, the organization of a school system for American children, the provision of teachers and the supervision of educational programs. During his tenure were there about 6,000 homes and facilities for over a billion dollars US built.
Recently Thomas Wade Men was on December 1, 1954 Lieutenant General transported and released Lieutenant General Withers A. Burress as Commanding General of the First US Army ( First US Army ) . He held this post of commander until his retirement on July 31, 1957, after which he was succeeded by Lieutenant General Blackshear M. Bryan . At the same time he was site commander of Fort Jay on Governors Island in Upper New York Bay between 1954 and 1957 . His responsibilities included all U.S. Army operations, including training and supplies. He oversaw the operation of Reserve Officer Training Corps ( ROTC ) programs in 50 schools, colleges and four military institutes. He also represented the United States on the United Nations Military Committee. On July 31, 1957 he retired from active military service after forty years of service.
He then worked in the private sector until 1967. His wife Lillian Hague Corcoran, daughter of a cavalry officer, died five years later on August 28, 1990 at the age of 87. From this marriage in the 1930s, the sons Thomas W. Herren Jr. and John D. Herren emerged, both of whom were graduates of the US Military Academy at West Point . Herren and his wife were buried in Arlington National Cemetery after their death .
Awards
Selection of decorations, sorted based on the Order of Precedence of Military Awards :
Web links
- Entry in Generals of WWII
- Entry into Military Hall of Honor
- Entry in The Hall of Valor Project
- Thomas W. Herren in the database of Find a Grave (English)
- Entry on the homepage of Arlington National Cemetery
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Herren, Thomas W. |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Herren, Thomas Wade (full name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American Lieutenant General (US Army) |
| DATE OF BIRTH | August 9, 1895 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Daleville , Alabama |
| DATE OF DEATH | June 4th 1985 |
| Place of death | Washington, DC |