Clare Hibbs Armstrong
Clare Hibbs Armstrong | |
---|---|
Born | Albert Lea, Minnesota, United States | January 23, 1894
Died | July 12, 1969 Hampton, Virginia, United States | (aged 75)
Allegiance | United States |
Service/ | United States Army |
Years of service | 1917–1953 |
Rank | Brigadier General |
Service number | 0-5318 |
Unit | Infantry Branch Coast Artillery Corps |
Commands held | 50th Anti-Aircraft Artillery Brigade |
Battles/wars | |
Awards | Army Commendation Medal |
Clare Hibbs Armstrong (January 23, 1894 – July 12, 1969) was a highly decorated officer in the
After the war, Armstrong remained in the army and served as military attaché for
Early career
Armstrong was born on January 23, 1894, in Albert Lea, Minnesota, the son of bank president and city councilman DeWitt Clinton Armstrong and Anna Hibbs. After high school, Armstrong received an appointment to the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York.[3][4][1][5]
Armstrong's West Point class produced more than 55 future general officers, including two
Armstrong graduated on April 20, 1917, with Bachelor of Science degree, shortly after the United States entered World War I, and was commissioned second lieutenant in the Infantry Branch. He was subsequently ordered to Fort McPherson, Georgia and attached to the 17th Infantry Regiment. He was promoted to first lieutenant on May 5, 1917, and to temporary captain on August 5, and assumed command of his regiment's rifle company. As his regiment was preparing for combat deployment in France, the Spanish flu hit it and half his company died. He was also struck with the disease, but was nursed back to the health with his wife's help.[1][5]
After recovering, Armstrong rejoined his regiment and served with it at
Armstrong spent almost a year in that capacity, departing in January 1921, when he was ordered to the Panama Canal Zone. He was assigned to the 42nd Infantry Regiment, consisting of Puerto Rican recruits. He was rifle company commander at Camp Gaillard and became interested in the still-developing anti-aircraft defense. Armstrong was so taken with this weapon that he requested transfer to the Coast Artillery Corps in November 1921. His first coast artillery assignment was with the 4th Company of Coast Artillery Regiment at Fort Amador, Panama Canal Zone and he remained in that capacity until December 1923, when he was ordered back to the United States.[6] Armstrong transferred to the Coast Artillery in 1930.[7][1][5]
Armstrong returned to the United States and served with coastal defense at Fort Hancock, New Jersey until July 1924, when he was ordered to the United States Military Academy at West Point for duty as an assistant instructor of tactics. He spent five years there and commanded Company of Cadets during his final year. Armstrong entered the Army Coast Artillery School at Fort Monroe, Virginia in August 1929.[1][5]
Upon graduation a year later, Armstrong took a brief course at the Chemical Warfare School at
Following his return stateside in March 1932, Armstrong was attached to the
Two months later, he was ordered to Medford, Oregon, where he activated and commanded a local Civilian Conservation Corps District. During his one-year tenure, within the ongoing Great Depression, thousands of unemployed men attached to his command constructed bridges, firebreaks and cabins.[1][5]
Armstrong served in Medford until August 1935, when he was ordered to the Army Command and General Staff School at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. There he completed advanced courses in June 1936. He was subsequently ordered to Washington, D.C., and appointed Chief of the Personnel Section in the Office of the Chief of Coast Artillery under Major general Archibald H. Sunderland. His wife, Mary, died of cancer in August 1938.[1][5]
In September 1938, Armstrong was ordered back to the United States Military Academy at West Point as Post Inspector and War Plans officer. He assumed command of West Point Service Detachment in May 1939 and was promoted to lieutenant colonel on July 1, 1940.[1][5][2]
World War II
Armstrong was temporarily promoted to colonel on December 11, 1941, four days after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, and departed West in May 1942. He was subsequently ordered to Camp Haan, California and assumed command of the 86th Coast Artillery Regiment. His outfit was redesignated the 109th Coast Artillery Group in January 1943 and Armstrong was temporarily promoted to brigadier general on March 16, 1943.[1][5][2]
For his new billet, Armstrong was ordered to
In October 1944, Armstrong was tasked with executing the Antwerp X Operation, which sought to protect the port of Antwerp and its residents against flying-bomb attacks. He formed a special defense anti-aircraft force, which included his own brigade, another U.S. anti-aircraft brigade, a British brigade and a Polish regiment—a total of 22,000 men designated for the defense of Antwerp. The port served as important operating logistical center, where most of the supplies from the United States were redistributed for Allied forces on the Continent.[8][9][1][5]
Armstrong and his troops were deployed in
During the later phase of World War II, Armstrong and part of his brigade supported Lieutenant General
For his service during the defense of Antwerp, Patton awarded Armstrong the
The citation for Armstrong's DSM readsThe 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 Brigadier General Clare Hibbs Armstrong (ASN: 0-5318), United States Army, for exceptionally meritorious and distinguished services to the Government of the United States, in a duty of great responsibility, from November 1944 to April 1945, while Commanding the anti-aircraft artillery defense of Antwerp against Germany flying-bomb attacks. By the skillful tactical disposition of his forces and never ending relocation of units to meet threats from changing directions, General Armstrong threw about the vital Belgian port a cordon which at the end of the campaign was destroying 97 per cent of all V-1 robot bombs aimed at the docking facilities which supplied the 12th and ** Army Groups. In this operation he integrated the efforts of American, British, and Polish anti-aircraft artillery comprised of three brigades totally more than 22,000 men, molding a team which frustrated the German's all-out effort and made possible uninterrupted supply of Allied forces in their drive from the Roer to the Elbe. His great accomplishment was an outstanding contribution to the successful termination of the war in Europe.[12]
The Allies decorated Armstrong with the
Postwar service
Following Nazi Germany's surrender in May 1945, Armstrong joined the headquarters of the
Armstrong returned to Belgium in December 1946 and assumed duty as military attaché for Belgium and Luxembourg. He was made a Freeman of Antwerp, a distinction shared only with
After the
Retirement
Armstrong remained in that capacity until March 31, 1953, when he retired from active duty after almost 36 years of service. He then worked as consultant for U.S. and Belgian weapons manufacturer companies and later settled in Mallorca, in the Balearic Islands of Spain. While there he met Catherine Hays Taylor, a widow from Ligonier, Pennsylvania, and they were married in 1955.[14][5]
They settled in
Decorations
Here is Armstrong's ribbon bar:[8]
1st Row | Army Distinguished Service Medal
|
Oak Leaf Cluster
| ||||||||||||||
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2nd Row | Army Commendation Medal
|
World War I Victory Medal | American Defense Service Medal | American Campaign Medal | ||||||||||||
3rd Row | European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal
with four 3/16 inch service stars |
World War II Victory Medal
|
Army of Occupation Medal | National Defense Service Medal | ||||||||||||
4th Row | Order of Leopold, rank Commander (Belgium) | Belgian Croix de Guerre with Palm | Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire | Knight of the Legion of Honor (France) | ||||||||||||
5th Row | French Croix de guerre 1939-1945 with Palm
|
Order of Orange-Nassau, rank Commander (Netherlands) | Order of the Oak Crown, rank Commander (Luxembourg) | Luxembourg War Cross |
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s "Clare H. Armstrong Papers – C.I.A. Websites" (PDF). Central Intelligence Agency. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 23, 2017. Retrieved October 29, 2017.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Biography of Brigadier-General Clare Hibbs Armstrong (1894 - 1969), USA". generals.dk. generals.dk Websites. Retrieved 12 April 2017.
- ISBN 0313295468.
- ^ United States Military Academy. (1913). Official Register of the Officers and Cadets. United States Military Academy Printing Office. p. 35. Retrieved 20 May 2019.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w "Clare H. Armstrong 1917 - West Point Association of Graduates".
- ISBN 0306812924. Retrieved 20 May 2019.
- ^ a b c "Valor awards for Clare H. Armstrong". valor.militarytimes.com. Militarytimes Websites. Retrieved 12 April 2017.
- ISBN 978-1612002774. Retrieved 11 June 2019.
- ^ "The commendation for the defense of Antwerp". diplomacy.state.gov. diplomacy.state.gov Websites. Archived from the original on 7 May 2019. Retrieved 12 April 2017.
- ISBN 0-313-29546-8.
- ^ "Valor awards for Clare Hiibs Armstrong".
- ^ "Catalogue description Recommendation for Award for Armstrong, Clare Hibbs, Rank: Brigadier General..." – via National Archive of the UK.
- OCLC 657162692
- ^ United States Military Academy. Association of Graduates (1999). "Clare H. Armstrong Jr. '44". Assembly. 57 (4–6): 177. Retrieved 20 May 2019.