Leonard Townsend Gerow | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Nickname | "Gee" |
| Born | (1888-07-13)13 July 1888 Petersburg, Virginia, United States |
| Died | 12 October 1972(1972-10-12) (aged 84) Fort Lee, Virginia, United States |
| Buried | Arlington National Cemetery, Virginia, United States |
| Allegiance | United States |
| Branch | United States Army |
| Years of service | 1911–1950 |
| Rank | General |
| Service number | 0-3151 |
| Unit | Infantry Branch |
| Commands | |
| Battles / wars | |
| Awards | |
| Relations | Lee S. Gerow (brother) |
Leonard Townsend Gerow (13 July 1888 – 12 October 1972) was ageneral in theUnited States Army who served with distinction in bothWorld War I andWorld War II.
A 1911 graduate of theVirginia Military Institute (VMI), Gerow served with theUnited States occupation of Veracruz and on theSignal Corps staff on theWestern Front during World War I. After the war he attended theInfantry School, theCommand and General Staff School, and theArmy War College.
During World War II, he was the Chief of War Plans Division of theWar Department General Staff. He would later be reprimanded for his actions in the lead up to the Japaneseattack on Pearl Harbor. He commanded the29th Infantry Division and then theV Corps. As such, Gerow played a major part in the planning ofOperation Overlord, the invasion of continental Europe. He was the first corps commander ashore onD-Day, 6 June 1944, and continued in command through theBattle of Normandy, which saw his divisions sustain heavy casualties. He became the first American major general to enter Paris afterits liberation. In January 1945, he assumed command of theFifteenth Army.
Leonard Townsend Gerow was born inPetersburg, Virginia, on 13 July 1888,[1] the son of Leonard Rogers Gerow, a railroad conductor,[2] and Annie Eloise Saunders.[3] The name Gerow was derived from the French name "Giraud". He had three brothers and a sister.[2]
Gerow attended high school in Petersburg and then attended theVirginia Military Institute (VMI). from which he graduated with aBachelor of Science degree in 1911. He was three times elected class president, and was the recipient of the "Honor Appointment" which, at the time, permitted one man in each VMI graduating class to become aRegular Armysecond lieutenant without further examination. He wascommissioned as a second lieutenant in theInfantry Branch of theUnited States Army on 29 September 1911. His brotherLee S. Gerow graduated from the VMI in 1913,[2] and eventually rose to the rank of brigadier general.[4]
Prior toWorld War I, Gerow served in a series of assignments as a company grade officer in theInfantry. In 1915 he won commendation for his work in the1915 Galveston Hurricane. He also participated in theUnited States occupation of Veracruz. He was promoted tofirst lieutenant on 1 July 1916 and later tocaptain on 15 May 1917, shortly after theAmerican entry into World War I on 6 April 1917.[2]
From 16 January 1918 to 30 June 1920 Gerow served on theSignal Corps staff on theWestern Front.[2] He participated in theSecond Battle of the Marne,Battle of Saint-Mihiel and theMeuse–Argonne offensive.[5] He was promoted to the temporary rank oflieutenant colonel, in charge of purchasing all the radio equipment for theAmerican Expeditionary Forces (AEF) in Belgium and France. For his services during the war he was awarded theArmy Distinguished Service Medal and the FrenchLegion of Honour.[2] The citation for his Army DSM reads:
The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, July 9, 1918, takes pleasure in presenting the Army Distinguished Service Medal to Lieutenant Colonel (Signal Corps) Leonard Townsend Gerow, United States Army, for exceptionally meritorious and distinguished services to the Government of the United States, in a duty of great responsibility during World War I. as Officer in Charge of the Sales and Disbursing Division of the Signal Corps. With unusual ability and skill, Lieutenant Colonel Gerow conducted the financial affairs of the Signal Corps and handled the negotiations with such tact and energy that Signal Corps property urgently needed was secured, inspected, and delivered to depots with the minimum of delay. Later, in the negotiations connected with the disposal of Signal Corps plants and stocks, he again performed his exacting duties in a highly meritorious manner, thereby rendering services of great value to the American Expeditionary Forces in a position of great responsibility.[6]
After returning to the United States, he was promoted to the permanent rank ofmajor on 1 July 1920.[2] He attended the advanced course at theInfantry School at Fort Benning (present-dayFort Moore),Georgia, in the fall of 1924.[2] He graduated first in the class in 1925 from the Advanced Course at the Infantry School.Omar Bradley graduated second.[7] Gerow attended theCommand and General Staff School,[2] whereDwight D. Eisenhower was his study partner.[8] In 1931 he completed the Field Officer's Course in Chemical Warfare and Tanks, and took a course atArmy War College.[2] His first wife, Kathryn Getchell, died on 17 June 1933. He then married to Mary Louise Kennedy, who died on 29 October 1970. He had no children.[9]
Gerow served in China in 1932 in theShanghai sector during theShanghai Incident. On 1 August 1935 he was promoted to the permanent rank oflieutenant colonel. On 1 September 1940, prior to the American entry intoWorld War II, he became a colonel in the permanent grade and a month later, on 1 October 1940, he became a temporarybrigadier general.[2]
At the time of theattack on Pearl Harbor and the entry of the United States intoWorld War II in December 1941, Gerow was Chief of War Plans Division of thewar Department General Staff. He was promoted to temporarymajor general on 14 February 1942.[2] On handing over the position of the Chief of War Plans Division to Dwight Eisenhower, Gerow told him: "Well, I got Pearl Harbor on the book; lost the PI [Philippine Islands], Sumatra and all the NEI [Netherlands East Indies] north of the barrier. Let's see what you can do."[10]
In October 1942, Gerow becameCommanding General (CG) of the29th Infantry Division, anArmy National Guard formation recruiting largely from Virginia and Maryland,[2] although theChief of Staff of the United States Army,GeneralGeorge C. Marshall, had doubts about Gerow's ability.[11] He received theLegion of Merit on 27 September 1943 for his work as a division commander and as Chief of Staff of the War Plans Division.[6]
Lieutenant GeneralJacob L. Devers, the commander of theEuropean Theater of Operations, United States Army (ETOUSA) selected Gerow to replace Major GeneralRussell P. Hartle as commander ofV Corps on 17 July 1943.[12] At the time this was the largest unit of troops in ETOUSA.[2] As such, Gerow played a major part in the planning ofOperation Overlord, the invasion of continental Europe. When Eisenhower replaced Devers as theater commander, he and Bradley removed three other corps commanders,Willis D. Crittenberger,Emil F. Reinhardt andRoscoe B. Woodruff, and replaced them with three generals with combat experience in the war as division commanders, but they retained Gerow.[13][14][15] He was awarded anoak leaf cluster to his Distinguished Service Medal on 8 August 1944, for his contributions to the planning phase of Operation Overlord.[12][6]
-_D-day_6_June_1944_B15726.jpg)
Gerow was the first corps commander ashore onD-Day, 6 June 1944, and continued in command through theBattle of Normandy, which saw his divisions sustain heavy casualties. V Corps was initially composed of two infantry divisions: the veteran1st underClarence R. Huebner and the green 29th, his old division, now commanded byCharles H. Gerhardt.[12] He was the first American officer of the rank of major general to enter Paris afterits liberation by theFrench 2nd Armored Division and theU.S. 4th Infantry Division. For his part in this campaign he was awarded theSilver Star.[2][6] His citation read:
For gallantry in action against the enemy on 25 August 1944 in France. While fighting was still raging in and around Paris, Major General Gerow, displaying marked valor, courageously drove through intense 20 mm machine gun and sniper fire to reach the city. Although many intersections were blocked with barricades manned by German troops, he proceeded unhesitatingly through the dangerous streets to effect an important conference with the Commanding General of the French forces within the city. Major General Gerow's gallant action was an inspiration to the members of his command and reflects great credit upon himself and the military service.[12]
Gerow commanded V Corps from 17 July 1943 to 17 September 1944 and again from 5 October 1944 to 14 January 1945.[12] In the gap between the two periods of command he returned to the United States to appear before the Army Board's Pearl Harbor Investigation. The resultingClausen Report found fault with Gerow's performance, citing his failure to keep Lieutenant GeneralWalter Short fully informed and to give him clear guidance.[16]
Eisenhower and Bradley held Gerow in high regard and ranked him as one of the top American field commanders of World War II. In a February 1945 memo General Eisenhower listed the principal American commanders in order of merit based on the value of their service during the war. Gerow was listed 8th of 32.[17] In a letter to Marshall on 26 April 1945, regarding commanders who might go on to serve in thePacific, Eisenhower commended Bradley most highly and then said: "In Europe there are other men who have been thoroughly tested as high combat commanders, includingSimpson,Patch,Patton, Gerow,Collins,Truscott and others. Any one of these can successfully lead anarmy in combat in the toughest kind of conditions."[18]
Gerow was given command of the newly formedFifteenth Army on 15 January 1945. He was promoted tolieutenant general on 6 February 1945, with the promotion being effective 1 January 1945.[9]
After the war Gerow was appointedCommandant of the Command and General Staff College. He was placed in charge of a board which studied and proposed how army colleges ought to be organized, post war. In February 1946 the Gerow Board recommended five separate colleges. In January 1948, he was appointed Commanding General of theSecond Army.[9] This was his last post; he retired from the army, after almost 40 years service, on 31 July 1950.[4] He was promoted to the rank of fullgeneral on 19 July 1954 by a specialAct of Congress (Public Law 83-508).[3]
Gerow died atKenner Army Hospital atFort Lee, Virginia, on 12 October 1972, and was buried inArlington National Cemetery.[4] His papers are in the Virginia Military Institute archives.[3]
  | Army Distinguished Service Medal with twooak leaf clusters |
 | Silver Star with two oak leaf clusters |
 | Legion of Merit with oak leaf cluster |
 | Bronze Star with oak leaf cluster |
 | Air Medal |
 | Mexican Border Service Medal |
 | World War I Victory Medal |
 | American Defense Service Medal |
 | American Campaign Medal |
  | European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with fourcampaign stars |
 | World War II Victory Medal |
 | Army of Occupation Medal with "Germany" clasp |
 | Order of the Bath, Companion (Great Britain) |
 | Order of Suvorov Second Class (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics)[19] |
 | Legion of Honour, Commander (France) |
 | Croix de guerre with palm (France) |
  | Order of Leopold II, Grand Officer with Palm (Belgium) |
_-_ribbon_bar.png) | Croix de guerre with palm (Belgium) |
 | Order of the Oak Crown, Grand Officer (Luxembourg) |
 | Order of Military Merit (Chile), First Class |
_-_ribbon_bar.png) | Order of the Ayacucho, Grand Official (Peru) |
 | Order of Military Merit, Grand Officer (Brazil) |
 | Order of Aeronautical Merit, Grand Officer (Brazil) |
| Insignia | Rank | Component | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| No insignia in 1911 | Second lieutenant | Regular Army | 29 September 1911 |
 | First lieutenant | Regular Army | 1 July 1916 |
 | Captain | Regular Army | 15 May 1917 |
 | Major | National Army | 7 June 1918 |
 | Lieutenant colonel | Temporary | 22 October 1918 |
| Major | Regular Army | 1 July 1920 |
| Lieutenant colonel | Regular Army | 1 August 1935 |
 | Colonel | Regular Army | 1 September 1940 |
 | Brigadier general | Army of the United States | 1 October 1940 |
 | Major general | Army of the United States | 14 February 1942 |
| Brigadier general | Regular Army | 2 June 1944 |
 | Lieutenant general | Army of the United States | 1 January 1945 |
| Major general | Regular Army | 1 January 1947 |
| Lieutenant general | Retired List | 31 July 1950 |
 | General | Retired List | 19 July 1954 |
| Military offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Commanding General 29th Infantry Division 1942–1943 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Commanding General V Corps 1943–1944 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Commanding General Fifteenth Army January 1945 – October 1945 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Commandant of the Command and General Staff College 1945–1948 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Commanding General Second Army 1948–1950 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
