Robert M. Danford

Add links
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Robert M. Danford
Danford as West Point's Commandant of Cadets. From the 1920 edition of The Howitzer, the West Point yearbook.
Born(1879-07-07)July 7, 1879
New Boston, Illinois, United States
DiedSeptember 12, 1974(1974-09-12) (aged 95)
Stamford, Connecticut, United States
Buried
West Point Cemetery, West Point, New York, United States
Allegiance United States
Service/branch United States Army
Years of service1904–1942
Rank Major General
Service number0-1913
UnitField Artillery Branch
Commands held
Battles/wars
U.S. Army Distinguished Service Medal
Order of the Crown (Belgium)
Order of the British Empire (Commander)
Spouse(s)Katherine V. Hyde (1888–1963) (m. 1909)
Children1
Other workCommander, City Patrol Corps, New York City Police Department
President, West Point Association of Graduates
Secretary and treasurer, executive director, West Point Alumni Foundation

Robert M. Danford (July 7, 1879 – September 12, 1974) was an American military leader. A career officer in the

Commandants of Cadets at the United States Military Academy and Chief of Field Artillery
.

Born in

Border War that took place at the time of the Mexican Revolution. During World War I, Danford commanded several units and trained National Guard and regular Army artillery soldiers for service in France, and received promotion to temporary brigadier general
.

After World War I, Danford continued to serve in high profile assignments, including

Commandant of Cadets at West Point. In addition, he graduated from the United States Army Command and General Staff College and the United States Army War College. He commanded the 13th Field Artillery Regiment from 1935 to 1937, and was Chief of Field Artillery as a major general during World War II
, serving from 1938 until retiring in 1942.

After retiring from the Army, Danford commanded the wartime civilian auxiliary of the New York City Police Department until the end of World War II in 1945, and was active in West Point alumni affairs. He died in Stamford, Connecticut in 1974, and was buried at West Point Cemetery.

Early life

Robert Melville Danford was born in

16th Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment.[2][3]

Danford was educated in New Boston,

second lieutenant in the Field Artillery.[1][7]

Start of career

Danford left, photographed by Bain New Service with Captains Waldo C. Potter and Onorio Moretti, who served with him on the Yale University faculty

Danford's initial posting was to the

first lieutenant in 1907.[1] While serving in the Philippines in 1908, Danford assisted Edmund L. Gruber in authoring the lyrics to "The Caisson Song", which was later adapted into the "U.S. Field Artillery March" and then "The Army Goes Rolling Along".[8] In 1910, Danford was assigned as aide-de-camp to Brigadier General Frederick K. Ward, the commander of Fort Riley and commandant of the Mounted Service School.[1][7]

In 1911, Danford was assigned to the Army's

Connecticut National Guard.[1][7] During this assignment, Danford was promoted to major, lieutenant colonel, and colonel in the National Guard and assigned to command Connecticut's 10th Field Artillery Regiment.[1] He was promoted to captain in the Army in 1916.[1]

World War I

In 1916, the 10th Field Artillery was activated for federal service in World War I, and Danford commanded the regiment during its initial training at Tobyhanna Army Depot.[1] From February to July 1917, Danford was assigned as assistant professor of military science at Yale University,[7] and served as the mustering officer for members of the Connecticut National Guard as they entered federal service.[1] While at Yale, Danford co-authored Notes on Training Field Artillery Details, a practical manual for teaching field artillery tactics and techniques.[9] It quickly became the Army's standard reference work for training field artillery soldiers, and went through numerous printings during and after World War I.[10] In July 1917, Danford served as mustering officer for members of the Pennsylvania National Guard, after which he traveled to Fort Sill, where he served as an artillery instructor.[1] Originally slated to join the 42nd Division, in August, he was instead assigned to the 302nd Field Artillery, a unit of the 76th Division.[1] He trained with the regiment at Camp Devens, Massachusetts, after which he was assigned to Plattsburgh Barracks, New York as senior instructor of field artillery for the Army's second wartime Officers' Training Camp.[1][7] He was promoted to major in August, and temporary lieutenant colonel on the same day.[1]

Danford returned to Fort Sill in December 1917, this time to assume command of the

Missouri National Guard unit which he led through its initial organization and training after it was federalized for the war.[1][7] Among the regiment's soldiers was Harry S. Truman,[11] who later said he learned more practical, useful information from Danford in six weeks than from six months of formal Army instruction.[11] When Truman later served as an artillery instructor, he consciously patterned his approach on Danford's.[11]

In April, 1918, Danford was assigned to

Replacement Depot, which provided new artillery soldiers to fill vacancies in units as they were organized, and to bring depleted front line units back up to full strength.[1][7] He commanded the depot until December, and was promoted to temporary colonel in July 1918, and temporary brigadier general the following month.[1]

From December 1918 to May 1919, Danford served on the staff of the Chief of Field Artillery.[1][7] In May, he went to France where he carried out an observation and inspection tour as a member of the American Expeditionary Forces staff.[1]

Post-World War I

After the war, Danford returned to his permanent rank of captain (March 1919); in August, 1919 he was promoted to permanent major.

Commandant of Cadets at West Point.[1] From 1923 to 1924 he was a student at the United States Army Command and General Staff College, after which he served again on the staff of the Chief of Field Artillery.[1]

Danford attended the

Corps Area.[1]

World War II

Danford (right) congratulates John Knowles Herr, who became the Chief of Cavalry on the same day Danford became Chief of Field Artillery

In 1938, Danford was selected to serve as Chief of Field Artillery and promoted to major general.[1] As the United States increased preparation for involvement in World War II and then entered the war, Danford's tenure was largely concerned with equipping, manning, and training artillery units as they were organized and fielded for wartime service.[1] Though Danford had been seen as an opponent of technological advances, such as advocating for the use of horse-drawn artillery instead of mechanization,[12] after firsthand observation of how effective light aircraft were for artillery observation he became a strong proponent, and helped ensure that the Army used airplanes for identifying targets, observing the impact of indirect fire, and assessing its effectiveness.[13]

Danford retired in 1942,[1] when the Army eliminated the branch chief positions in favor of consolidating their functions under the commander of the Army Ground Forces.[14]

Awards

For his service in World War I, Danford received the

U.S. Army Distinguished Service Medal, Belgian Order of the Crown, and honorary Order of the British Empire (Commander).[1]
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 Brigadier General Robert Melville Danford, 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. While on duty in the Office of the Chief of Field Artillery, General Danford displayed marked ability in planning the organization of field artillery replacement depots. He then proceeded to Camp Jackson, South Carolina, established this depot, and administered it during the remainder of the war with rare ability and judgment.[15]

In addition, in 1917 he received the honorary degree of Master of Arts from Yale University.[1][16] In 1975, the museum board at Fort Sill designated one of the post's residence buildings as Danford House, and installed a plaque commemorating Danford's career.[17] Built in the 1870s, the limestone house has traditionally been the quarters of Fort Sill's chief of staff.[18][19]

Later career

After retiring from the military, Danford organized and commanded the City Patrol Corps, a civilian auxiliary of the New York City Police Department, which provided wartime security for power plants, water filtration plants, and other sensitive facilities.[1]

In August 1951, Time reported that 90 of West Point's 2,500 cadets were facing dismissal for mass violations of the Cadet Honor Code.[20] The Army arranged for an investigation by a panel which included famed jurist Learned Hand and retired generals Troy H. Middleton, then president of Louisiana State University, and Danford.[20] The board found that some of the accused cadets, most of whom were on the football team, had been receiving the answers to exams ahead of time through upper class students who were assisting them as tutors.[20] Others were accused of knowing about the cheating, but failing to report it.[20] The panel recommended dismissal of all 90 suspected violators; they were eventually allowed to resign, and many transferred to other schools.[20]

Danford also served as president of the West Point Association of Graduates, secretary and treasurer and executive director of the West Point Alumni Foundation, and editor of the Register of Graduates and Former Cadets of the United States Military Academy.[1] Danford also authored a genealogical work, 1967's The Nobles and the Raders: Being a Compilation of Members and Descendants of the Noble and Rader Families Who Were Amongst the Earliest Pioneer Settlers of Mercer County, Illinois.[21]

Death and burial

Danford died in Stamford, Connecticut on September 12, 1974.[7][22] He was buried at West Point Cemetery, Section II, Row A, Site 17.[1][5]

Family

In 1909, Danford married Katherine V. Hyde (1888-1963) in Oakland, California.[2][23][24] Katherine Hyde was the daughter of Alice Evelyn Van de Carr Hyde (1855-1916) and Marcus Darius Hyde (1849-1930).[24][25] Marcus Hyde was a graduate of the United States Naval Academy, an attorney, and a member of the California State Assembly.[26] Robert and Katherine Danford were the parents of one child, Janet (1915-1972), the wife of Colonel James B. Wells (1909-1996).[27]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am "Biographical Register".
  2. ^ a b Who's Who in America, p. 490.
  3. ^ "Obituary, M. C. Danford", p. 6.
  4. ^ "Biographical Sketch, Robert M. Danford", p. 258.
  5. ^ a b "Maj. Gen. Danford dies in Connecticut".
  6. ^ a b Official Army Register, p. 207.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "Generals in Khaki, Henry B. Davis", pp. 94–95.
  8. ^ "The Army Goes Rolling Along", p. 1.
  9. ^ Notes on Training Field Artillery Details, p. 1.
  10. ^ The Soldier from Independence, p. 57.
  11. ^ a b c Another Such Victory, p. 6.
  12. ^ General Jacob Devers: World War II's Forgotten Four Star, p. 55.
  13. ^ Eyes of Artillery, pp. 58–61.
  14. ^ The Organizational History of Field Artillery 1775-2003, p. 159.
  15. ^ "Valor awards for Robert Melville Danford". Military Times.
  16. ^ Catalogue of the Officers and Graduates of Yale University.
  17. ^ "New Designation", p. 1.
  18. ^ "Largest Museum in the Army Hosts Variety of Events", p. 7H.
  19. ^ "Fort Sill's Historic Homes Pack Tales Of Haunts".
  20. ^ a b c d e Duty, Honor, Country: A History of West Point, p. 318.
  21. ^ The Nobles and the Raders, p. title.
  22. ^ "Robert M. Danford, Retired General, 95", p. 32.
  23. ^ "California Marriage Records".
  24. ^ a b "News of Society Across the Bay", p. 9.
  25. ^ The Nobles and the Raders, p. 140.
  26. ^ "Biography, Marcus D. Hyde", p. 11.
  27. ^ "Memorial, James B. Wells 1934".

Sources

Internet

Books

Newspapers

Magazines

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Robert M. Danford.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Robert_M._Danford&oldid=1211650633"