Franklin D'Olier | |
|---|---|
.jpg) D'Olier in 1920 | |
| Born | (1877-04-28)April 28, 1877 Burlington, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Died | December 10, 1953(1953-12-10) (aged 76) Morristown, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Resting place | St. Mary's Episcopal Church, Burlington, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Education | Princeton University (BA) |
| Occupation | Businessman |
| Title | 1st National Commander ofThe American Legion |
| Term | 1919 – 1920 |
| Predecessor | Henry D. Lindsley(as Chairman of The American Legion) |
| Successor | Frederick W. Galbraith Jr. |
| Spouse | |
| Relatives |
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| Awards | Medal for Merit |
| Military service | |
| Branch | United States Army |
| Years of service | 1917–1919 |
| Rank | Lieutenant Colonel |
| Commands | American Salvage Depot atSaint Pierre des Corps |
| Battles | |
| Awards | |
Franklin D'Olier (April 28, 1877 – December 10, 1953) was an American businessman who served as the first national commander ofThe American Legion from 1919 to 1920. He was also the grandfather of academic writer and poetF. D. Reeve, and the great-grandfather of actorChristopher Reeve.[1]
Franklin D'Olier was born April 28, 1877, inBurlington, New Jersey, the son of Annie Kay (Woolman) and William D'Olier.[2] He attended local school and prepared forPrinceton University. He was graduated from Princeton in 1898, and immediately entered business with his father of William D'Olier & Company, commission merchants incotton and cottonyarns, inPhiladelphia. Upon his father's retirement from business, the firm name was changed to Franklin D'Olier & Company.[3]
D'Olier entered the military service of the United States in April, 1917, as acaptain in theQuartermaster Corps. After a few weeks' service at thePhiladelphia depot and several months atBoston, he was ordered toFrance in August, 1917. Owing to the great scarcity of tonnage at that time and the necessity for salvaging material on a large scale, D'Olier was assigned to the newly organized salvage service, and in January, 1918, took command of the first salvage depot that was operated by theAmerican Army.[3]
Within six months the work had grown so rapidly that the personnel increased from 12 to 6,000 and this depot was salvaging for about 750,000 men and was larger than any depot operated by either theBritish orFrench armies. This depot was atSaint Pierre des Corps, nearTours, France, the headquarters of the Service of Supply.[3]
In July, 1918, Captain D'Olier was ordered toLyon, France, to organize the second large depot, which at the time of the armistice had a capacity of taking care of salvaging for upward of a million and a half men. He was promoted to the rank of major and then lieutenant colonel and assigned to the General Staff, and after two years' service in the army, twenty months of which was in theA. E. F., wasdischarged from the service in April, 1919.[3]
D'Olier was one of the original 20 men who initiated The American Legion in France, February 15, 1919, and attended the Paris caucus of The American Legion on March 15, 1919. After his discharge from the service, D'Olier joinedTheodore Roosevelt Jr., who was at that time—early in 1919—perfecting the preliminary organization of The American Legion in theUnited States preparatory to theSt. Louis caucus, May 8, 9 and 10. He was chairman of thePennsylvania delegation at the St. Louis Caucus and a member of the National Executive Committee from Pennsylvania.[3]
After the St. Louis caucus he was placed in charge of the State Organization Division at national headquarters, 19 West 44th Street,Manhattan, New York City, and gave his entire time without any remuneration whatsoever to American Legion work in preparation for theMinneapolis convention. He was elected National Commander of The American Legion at the national convention in Minneapolis November 12, 1919.[3]
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In 1926 D'Olier joined thePrudential Insurance Company as vice president and became president of the company in 1938. Under his direction the company was converted from astock corporation to amutual company owned entirely by its policyholders.[4]
In 1944 in answer to a request bySecretary of WarStimson, D'Olier organized and directed theUnited States Strategic Bombing Survey. This group of observers and technicians worked in both theEuropean andPacifictheaters of war gathering data on the effectiveness ofair bombardment "upon the will and capacity of the enemy to resist." Among the recommendations made in the report of the mission were those asking for a separateAir Force and creation of aDepartment of Defense.[4]
In 1946 D'Olier became chairman of the board of directors of Prudential and continued to serve actively as a director of the company until his death. He was also a director of the Howard Savings Institution of Newark, New Jersey;National Biscuit Company;Pennsylvania Railroad; General Refractories Company;American Enka Corporation and the Morristown Trust Company.[4]
At various times he had been called upon to serve as chairman of the New Jersey committee of theU. S. Treasury War Finance Committee; state chairman of theUSO;Civilian Defense director of the 2dCorps area and as a member of the New Jersey State Economic Commission. He was a life trustee of Princeton university.[4]
He died on December 10, 1953, inMorristown, New Jersey, a year after the birth of his great-grandsonChristopher Reeve.
D'Olier was the recipient of the following military awards:[3][5]
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| Distinguished Service Medal | |||||||||||
| Medal for Merit | World War I Victory Medal withbronze campaign star | Commander of theLegion of Honor (France) | |||||||||
| Non-profit organization positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded byas Chairman of The American Legion | National Commander ofThe American Legion 1919–1920 | Succeeded by |
National commanders ofThe American Legion | |
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