William N. Haskell
William Nafew Haskell Jr. (born August 13, 1878 in Albany , New York , † August 14, 1952 in Greenwich , Connecticut ) was an American officer and employee of the American Relief Administration .
Life
Training for an army career
Haskell attended the United States Military Academy at West Point from 1897 to 1901 and then married Winifred Farrell (1879–1964), also born in Albany, with whom he had three sons and a daughter.
He was a member of the 29th Infantry Division of the US Army and served - ultimately with the rank of "Captain" - for six years in the Philippines during and after the Philippine-American War . Haskell graduated from the Army School of Line and Army Staff College at Fort Leavenworth . He experienced the “ Mexican Expedition ” in 1916 and 1917 as commander of the 69th Infantry Regiment, called “Fighting 69th”, whose reputation as the best-organized unit on the border was undisputedly linked to his person. General Pershing promoted Haskell to lieutenant colonel and the latter moved from Camp Upton to the European theater of war , where he took over as commander of his old unit, which was now called "165th United States Infantry". In France he was appointed “Chief of Staff” of the “American Second Army” and from this position he was appointed High Commissioner of the Allies in the Middle East. Haskell was appointed High Commissioner in Armenia by the Allies on July 5, 1919.
Becoming familiar with aid organizations
He had just returned from Romania, where the task was to distribute aid to the population, and besides being responsible for all economic questions in general, this was also the most important aspect of his work in Armenia. The British Lord Mayor's Fund later criticized Haskell for having sold certain relief supplies for the country elsewhere, thereby promoting Azerbaijan's war effort against Armenia . Otherwise, Haskell's mission was accomplished in a remarkable manner and he was posted to Washington , where he worked at the Department of War for the office of Assistant Secretary of War J. Mayhew Wainwright .
When the American Relief Administration was challenged again in 1921 because of a catastrophic famine in Russia , Herbert Hoover Haskell appeared as the most suitable person to lead the operation. Haskell left for Moscow in August 1921 and, relieved of his military duties, directed the “ ARA Russian Unit ”. For the Congress to move to an award of a grant, the considerable number of his supporters in was National Guard of use, and its influence on the Roman Catholic upper class, which had then indifferent, if not faced hostile to the work of the ARA dis.
Tried and tested ARA staff, who had had the experience of the Belgian aid organization, saw an organization that was now too militarily emerging. In fact, the familiar, rather informal structure under the forces brought by Haskell was replaced by a staff line organization , which led to such problems that Haskell's “executive officer” had to be replaced. Despite the initially strong reservations of the Soviet government - it was feared that counterrevolutionary activities would be favored - Haskell managed to get nine million people who would otherwise have starved to receive food from the USA. He interrupted his stay on July 11, 1922 to travel to New York, where at the end of the month the decision was made to continue the relief operation until the next harvest. On July 20, 1923, he dissolved the headquarters of the "Russian Division". Haskell had developed into a proponent of a resumption of economic relations with Russia. Hoover, however, refused to ask the Secretary of War to extend Haskell's leave of absence in such a way that he could have accepted a position with the Russian-American Chamber of Commerce. As early as December 1922, Haskell had been appointed High Commissioner for Greece by the American Red Cross , where he was supposed to deal with the refugee problem that had arisen from the Greco-Turkish War .
Long-term commander in the New York National Guard
In 1926, Haskell gave up his army post to become major general in command of the New York National Guard at the request of Governor Alfred E. Smith .
As a "Major General", Haskell commanded the "27th Infantry Division" from October 1940 to October 1941. He ended his career with the rank of "Lieutenant General". He was then in Washington "executive director" of the newly founded Army Emergency Relief .
New challenges after retirement
On July 17, 1943, Thomas W. Wallace died in his office as Lieutenant Governor of New York . Initially acted Joe R. Hanley as acting lieutenant governor and also appeared in the subsequent by-election ( special election ) to the office of Lieutenant Governor. Haskell was run as an opposing candidate by the Democrats , but was defeated on November 2, 1943.
Once again in a leading position, Lieutenant General Haskell finally headed the organization that after the Second World War also alleviated hardship by distributing CARE packages in Germany.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e f Haskell to direct relief in Russia , The New York Times, August 22, 1921
- ↑ a b Haskell Family Database on "haskellfamilyhistory.com" ( Memento from March 6, 2014 in the Internet Archive )
- ^ A b Haskell in old command , The New York Times, April 29, 1918
- ^ A b Haskell's Armenian post , The New York Times, July 6, 1919
- ↑ Suzanne E. Moranian: The Armenian Genocide and American missionary relief efforts . In: Jay Winter (Ed.): America and the Armenian Genocide of 1915 , Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 2003, p. 199
- ^ Bertrand M. Patenaude: The Big Show in Bololand. The American Relief Expedition to Soviet Russia in the Famine of 1921 , Stanford University Press, Stanford 2002, p. 142
- ^ Benjamin M. Weissman: Herbert Hoover and Famine Relief to Soviet Russia. 1921-1923 , Hoover Institution Press, Stanford 1974, pp. 84 f.
- ↑ 9,000,000 are fed in Russian relief , The New York Times, July 12, 1922
- ^ BM Weissman: Herbert Hoover and Famine Relief to Soviet Russia. Stanford 1974, p. 134
- ^ BM Weissman: Herbert Hoover and Famine Relief to Soviet Russia. Stanford 1974, p. 181
- ^ Bertrand M. Patenaude: The Big Show in Bololand . Stanford 2002, p. 192
- ^ A b Hanley and Haskell , Salamanca Republican Press, August 26, 1943
- ↑ World War II Divisional Combat Chronicles - 27th Infantry Division on "history.army.mil"
- ↑ NY Lt. Governor Special , website "www.ourcampaigns.com"
- ↑ Manfred Sack : It began as a "small experiment" , Die Zeit, July 8, 1960
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Haskell, William N. |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Haskell, William Nafew |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American officer, American Relief Administration employee |
| DATE OF BIRTH | August 13, 1878 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Albany , New York |
| DATE OF DEATH | August 14, 1952 |
| Place of death | Greenwich , Connecticut |