Garrison H. Davidson

Garrison Holt Davidson (April 24, 1904 – December 25, 1992) was a

Davidson was born in

In February 1942, Davidson transferred to Washington, D.C. as assistant chief, Construction Division, Office of Chief Engineer working for Colonel Leslie Groves on the construction of The Pentagon.

By October 1942, Davidson was a colonel and assistant chief engineer for the Western Task Force of

Korean War

After World War II, in 1946, Davidson was assigned to

As the North Korean invasion was repelled, Davidson was assigned to the 24th Infantry Division as its assistant commander. Davidson reprised his effort at fortifying a more defensible perimeter around Pusan with the second North Korean invasion. He then headed "Task Force Davidson" as it broke out of the perimeter to hook up with the forces invading south from Inchon. Afterwards, he constructed fortifications north of Seoul. He concluded his tour of duty as acting commander of the Korean Military Assistance Group.

Military educator and Cold War warrior

Returning from Korea, from 1951 to 1954 Davidson was the senior ground forces advisor in the Weapons System Evaluation Group at the Pentagon and while there was promoted to major general in 1952. During the next six years, Davidson played a significant role in training officers serving in the post-war and atomic eras. Starting in 1954 he was commander of the United States Army's

After West Point, Davidson returned to Seventh United States Army as its commanding general, posted in West Germany as a forward deployed force during the Cold War. During the Berlin Wall crisis in the summer of 1961, Davidson would have commanded any American military response or intervention.

In 1962, Davidson's final command was of

Davidson moved to California and served as a vice president at University of California, Berkeley. He resumed his connection with West Point from 1983 to 1985, when he was appointed by President Ronald Reagan for a two-year term to the United States Military Academy Board of Visitors.

Davidson died in Oakland, California, on December 25, 1992, and was buried at the

Personal

Davidson was the son of Henry Fletcher Davidson (1877–1961) and Frances Aubrey (Holt) Davidson (1883–1913).^[1][2][3] His younger brother Marshall Bowman Davidson became a writer of non-fiction works on history and American culture. Their uncle was motion picture actor Jack Holt.^[4][5] After their mother's death, their father married Helen Gladys Scannevin in 1915.^[6]

Davidson married Verone Gruenther on June 21, 1934 in Omaha, Nebraska.^[7] At the time of his death, Garrison was survived by three sons, Garrison Holt Jr., of Los Angeles, Thomas M., of Darien, Conn., and Alan R., of Sarasota, Fla.; three daughters, Linda L. Hurst, of San Luis Obispo, California, Bonnie Elaine Bardellini and Gail Marie Davidson, both of Martinez, California; 14 grandchildren, and 2 great-grandchildren.

Head coaching record

Garrison H. Davidson

Playing career
1924–1926	Army
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1927–1932	Army (assistant)
1933–1937	Army
Head coaching record
Overall	35–11–1

References

• Ray, Max (1980), The History of the First United States Army From 1918 to 1980, Fort Meade MD: First United States Army, pp. 120, 124
• Appleman, Roy (1992), "Chapter XXI August Build-up and September Portents", United States Army In The Korean War: South To The Naktong, North To The Yalu, June–November 1950., Washington, D.C.: United States Army Center of Military History, pp. 319–392, archived from the original on February 7, 2014, retrieved July 2, 2010
• "Meeting The Challenges of The Cold War: 1950–1970" in West Point Bicentennial: A Pictorial History of the First Two Hundred Years of the United States Military Academy. Available from World Wide Web at http://www.usma.edu/bicentennial/history/1950.asp Archived 2018-11-18 at the Wayback Machine
• John T. Woolley and Gerhard Peters, The American Presidency Project [online]. Santa Barbara, CA: University of California (hosted), Gerhard Peters (database). Available from World Wide Web: at http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/ws/index.php?pid=42159
• McFadden, Robert D. (December 27, 1992), "Lieut. Gen. G. H. Davidson, 88, Strategist in Wars.", New York Times
• Fowle, Barry W.; Lonngquest, John C. (2004), Remembering the Forgotten War: U.S. Army Engineer Officers in Korea, Alexandria, Virginia: U.S. Army, Headquarters, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Office of History, archived from the original on July 20, 2011, retrieved April 2, 2011
• "Football", Time, October 24, 1932, archived from the original on October 27, 2010. Retrieved on December 13, 2007.