Richard K. Sutherland
Richard K. Sutherland | |
---|---|
Birth name | Richard Kerens Sutherland |
Born | Hancock, Maryland, U.S. | 27 November 1893
Died | 25 June 1966 Washington, D.C., U.S. | (aged 72)
Buried | |
Allegiance | United States of America |
Service/ | United States Army |
Years of service | 1916–1946 |
Rank | Lieutenant general |
Service number | 0-4623) |
Unit | Field Artillery Branch Infantry Branch |
Battles/wars | Pancho Villa Expedition World War I World War II |
Awards | Distinguished Service Cross (2) Army Distinguished Service Medal (2) Silver Star (2) |
Relations | Howard Sutherland (father) |
Lieutenant General Richard Kerens Sutherland (27 November 1893 – 25 June 1966) was a United States Army officer during World War II. He served as General of the Army Douglas MacArthur's Chief of Staff in the South West Pacific Area during the war.
Early life and education
Sutherland was born in Hancock, Maryland, on 27 November 1893, the only son among the six children of Howard Sutherland, who later became a US Senator from West Virginia, and Effie Harris Sutherland. Sutherland was raised and spent his adolescence and early adulthood in Elkins, West Virginia.[1]
Sutherland was educated at
While at Yale, Sutherland joined
Career
First World War
Later that year, the National Guard was federalized and Sutherland served on the Mexican border during the
He served with the 2nd Division on the Western Front during World War I. Sutherland was a student at a tank school in England.[3]
Between the wars
Returning to the United States, Sutherland married Josephine Whiteside in 1920. They had one child, a daughter named Natalie.[2]
Sutherland was an instructor at the
In 1937, Sutherland went to
World War II
As tensions with Japan rose, Sutherland rose rapidly in rank, receiving a promotion to full colonel, then to brigadier general in July 1941 and to major general, just a few months later, in December 1941, the same month of America's entry into World War II.[4]
Following the fall of Manila, MacArthur's headquarters moved to the island fortress of Corregidor, where it was the target of numerous Japanese air raids, forcing the headquarters to move into the Malinta Tunnel. Sutherland was a frequent visitor to the front on Bataan. He was given a cash payment of $75,000 by President Quezon. In March 1942, MacArthur was ordered by President Franklin D. Roosevelt to relocate to Australia. Sutherland selected the group of advisers and subordinate military commanders that would accompany MacArthur and escape from the Philippines in four PT boats. Sutherland would remain MacArthur's chief of staff for the entire war.[5]
Sutherland attracted antagonism from subordinate American and Australian officers because of perceptions that he was high-handed and overprotective of MacArthur. Sutherland was often given the role of "hatchet man". Bad news invariably came through Sutherland rather than from MacArthur himself.
According to some sources he contributed to a rift between MacArthur and the first SWPA air forces commander,
Sutherland had been taught to fly in 1940 by
In 1943 Sutherland and Kenney took part in an effort to promote General MacArthur's candidacy for the Presidency, working with Senator
It was Sutherland who represented MacArthur before the Joint Chiefs of Staff on this and other occasions. Sutherland opened, read, and frequently answered all communications with MacArthur, including those addressed to him personally or "eyes only". Some decisions often attributed to MacArthur were actually taken by Sutherland. For example, the decision to bypass Mindanao and move on directly to Leyte was taken by Sutherland on MacArthur's behalf, while MacArthur was traveling under radio silence.[citation needed]
Sutherland's conduct in Washington enraged
When MacArthur discovered that Eisenhower had promoted his chief of staff, Walter Bedell Smith, to the rank of lieutenant general in January 1944, he immediately arranged for Sutherland to be promoted to the same rank.
Affair with Elaine Clark
During the time while MacArthur's GHQ SWPA was located in
When GHQ began planning to move forward to New Guinea, Sutherland requested personnel from the Women's Army Corps to replace civilian employees of GHQ who, by agreement between MacArthur and the Prime Minister of Australia, John Curtin, could not be sent outside Australia. Sutherland further asked for direct commissions for Clark, Mowat and Stevenson. This exploited a loophole whereby enlistments in the Women's Army Corps were restricted to American citizens, but officer commissions were not. Major General Miller G. White, the U. S. Army Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel, and Colonel Oveta Culp Hobby, the commanding officer of the Women's Army Corps, were strongly opposed; but they were overruled by Deputy Chief of Staff Joseph T. McNarney, on his being informed that the commissions were personally desired by MacArthur as essential to the operation of his headquarters and the prosecution of the war. Clark was commissioned as a captain, while the other two women, as well as General Eisenhower's driver, Kay Summersby, were commissioned as first lieutenants.[13]
Although her rank was more a reflection of Sutherland's status rather than her own, Clark became an assistant to the headquarters commandant, with duties commensurate with her rank, and moved with Advance GHQ to Hollandia. However, her presence there, in contravention of MacArthur's agreement with Curtin, brought down the displeasure of MacArthur, who ordered her to be returned to Australia, first from Hollandia, and later from the Philippines. That Sutherland defied MacArthur on this matter caused a rift between the two.[9]
Japanese surrender
At the Japanese surrender in
Later life and death
Sutherland retired from the U.S. Army shortly after the Japanese surrender.
Returning home, he confessed his affair to Josephine and was ultimately reconciled with her. Letters from Clark were intercepted and destroyed by Natalie.[9]
After the death of Josephine on 30 December 1957, he married Virginia Shaw Root in 1962.
Sutherland died at Walter Reed Army Medical Center on 25 June 1966. His funeral was held at the Fort Myer, Virginia chapel on 29 June 1966 and he is buried at Arlington National Cemetery along with other family members.[15]
Decorations and medals
Distinguished Service Cross with oak leaf cluster | |
Army Distinguished Service Medal with oak leaf cluster | |
Silver Star with oak leaf cluster | |
Mexican Border Service Medal | |
World War I Victory Medal with two campaign clasps | |
American Defense Service Medal with "Foreign Service" clasp | |
Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with four campaign stars
| |
World War II Victory Medal | |
Army of Occupation Medal with "Japan" clasp | |
Companion of the Order of the Bath (United Kingdom) | |
Distinguished Service Star (Philippines) | |
Philippine Defense Medal with star | |
Philippine Liberation Medal with two stars | |
Philippine Independence Medal | |
Army General Staff Identification Badge
|
Dates of rank
Insignia | Rank | Component | Date |
---|---|---|---|
No insignia in 1916 | Private | Connecticut National Guard |
10 July 1916 |
No pin insignia in 1916 | Second Lieutenant |
Connecticut National Guard | 30 August 1916 |
No pin insignia in 1916 | Second Lieutenant |
Regular Army | 28 November 1916 |
First Lieutenant |
Regular Army | 5 December 1916
(Date of rank 28 November 1916) | |
Captain |
Regular Army | 21 July 1917 | |
Major | Regular Army | 24 March 1928 | |
Lieutenant Colonel | Regular Army | 1 July 1938 | |
Brigadier General | Army of the United States | 19 August 1941 | |
Major General | Army of the United States | 24 December 1941 | |
Lieutenant General | Army of the United States | 20 February 1944 | |
Colonel | Regular Army | 1 October 1945 | |
Brigadier General | Regular Army | 18 August 1944
(Retroactive promotion in 1946.) | |
Lieutenant General | Regular Army, Retired | 30 November 1946 |
References
- NewspaperArchive.com.
- ^ ISBN 0-275-92918-3.
- ^ "Man Behind MacArthur". Time. 7 December 1942. Archived from the original on 14 October 2010.
- ^ ISBN 0-313-29546-8.
- ^ Rogers, The Good Years, pp. 120–21, 128–30, 165, 189
- ^ Wolk, Herman S. (April 2002). "The Genius of George Kenney". Air Force Magazine Online. 85 (4).
- ISBN 0-7006-0909-1.
- ^ Heinrichs, Waldo; Gallicchio, Marc (1 May 2017). Implacable Foes: War in the Pacific, 1944–1945. 997: Oxford University Press.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location (link) - ^ ISBN 0-275-92919-1.
- ^ "Mrs Bessemer Clarke Captain in American WAC [Women's Army Corps]". The Argus (Melbourne). No. 30, 446. Victoria, Australia. 27 March 1944. p. 6. Retrieved 17 June 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ Martin, David (June 2014). "Three generals, two secretaries in World War II". The General's Journal (3): 4–5. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
- ^ Martin, David (June 2014). "Three generals, two secretaries in World War II". The General's Journal (4): 7–8. Retrieved 17 June 2016.
- ^ Treadwell, Mattie E. (1991) [1954]. United States Army in World War II: Special Studies: The Women's Army Corps. Washington, D.C.: United States Army Center of Military History. pp. 393, 413–14. CMH Pub 11-8. Archived from the original on 2 March 2021. Retrieved 8 July 2010.
- ^ "... Peace Be Now Restored". Time. 10 September 1945. Archived from the original on 9 February 2006.
- ^ Burial Detail: Sutherland, Richard K. (Section 30, Grave 694-1-2) – ANC Explorer