Willis D. Crittenberger

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Willis D. Crittenberger
Croix de Guerre (France)
Order of Abdon Calderón (Ecuador)
Orden de Merito Militar
(Peru)

Lieutenant General Willis Dale Crittenberger (December 2, 1890 – August 4, 1980) was a senior officer of the United States Army. He was a career soldier who served with distinction during the Italian campaign of World War II

Early life and military career

At West Point in 1913

Crittenberger was born in

Fort Hood, Texas.[3] Among his classmates were Geoffrey Keyes, Henry Balding Lewis, Paul Newgarden, Richard U. Nicholas, Charles H. Corlett, William A. McCullogh, Douglass T. Greene, Robert M. Perkins, Louis A. Craig, Carlos Brewer, William R. Schmidt, Alexander Patch, Robert L. Spragins, Francis K. Newcomer, Henry B. Cheadle, Lunsford E. Oliver and William L. Roberts -- all of whom became general officers
.

Between the wars

Unable to see service overseas in

Washington Barracks in Washington, D.C., in 1930.[1] After assignments to Fort Knox, Kentucky, the 1st Cavalry Regiment (Mechanized)'s new home in 1934, he served on staff positions to the Chief of Cavalry in Washington and, towards the end of the interwar period, realizing that the cavalry's role in any future conflict would be limited (as World War I and trench warfare had proved), becoming increasingly interested in armored warfare, and became chief of staff for the 1st Armored Division.[1] On August 1, 1935, he was promoted to lieutenant colonel and, on June 17, 1941, to the temporary rank of colonel.[6]

World War II

With the onset of the United States entry into

Camp Polk, Louisiana. Redesignated as XIX Corps in October 1943, Crittenberger brought XIX Corps to England in January 1944.[1]

Fort Benning, Georgia
, June 1942

In early 1944, General

North African Theater of Operations, United States Army (NATOUSA), was seeking a corps commander for the U.S. Fifth Army's IV Corps for the Italian campaign and Crittenberger was chosen.[7] Devers had in fact requested Crittenberger's services and thought highly of him, writing, "I consider Crittenberger to be one of my best commanders."[8]

Crittenberger relinquished command of XIX Corps, briefly, to Major General Woodruff, who soon handed over to Major General

Mediterranean Theater of Operations (MTO), assuming command of IV Corps from Major General Alexander Patch, another West Point classmate, in Italy on March 20, 1944. Held in reserve during the early stages of the Italian campaign, IV Corps replaced the VI Corps, under Major General Lucian Truscott, in the front line after the liberation of the Italian capital of Rome in early June. Crittenberger's corps, coming under command of Lieutenant General Mark W. Clark's American Fifth Army (which, together with the British Eighth Army, formed part of the Allied Armies in Italy/AAI, later redesignated as the 15th Army Group, commanded by British General Sir Harold Alexander) later fought on through the Gothic Line
, in some of the toughest and most difficult fighting of the Italian campaign.

Chaplain Paul J. Maddox conducting Easter sunrise services for men of IV Corps, Castelluccia, Italy, April 1, 1945. In front is the commander of IV Corps, Major General Willis D. Crittenberger.

Having the

6th South African Armoured Divisions in its ranks, in addition to the United States 1st Armored, the 92nd Infantry and the 10th Mountain Divisions, Crittenberger's IV Corps were in combat for over 390 days, 326 of them engaged in continuous combat. Crittenberger commanded IV Corps, still part of the Fifth Army, now commanded by Lieutenant General Lucian Truscott (like Crittenberger, a cavalryman whom Crittenberger had taught while he was an instructor at the U.S. Army Cavalry School), after Lieutenant General Clark was promoted to the command of 15th Army Group, as the western arm of the Allied thrust through northern Italy (codenamed Operation Grapeshot) to the Po River, capturing large numbers of German troops, and which ultimately ended with the surrender of the remaining German forces in Italy on May 2, 1945.[2] The end of World War II in Europe came soon after, as did a promotion for Crittenberger to the temporary rank of lieutenant general on June 3,[6] This was followed by the surrender of Japan
on September 2, 1945, almost exactly six years since the war had begun.

During the campaign in Italy Crittenberger, who Eisenhower initially had doubts over, gained the respect of his superiors, such as Clark, Devers, and Truscott, the latter of whom wrote, "He [Crittenberger] has been outstanding during my entire time with the Fifth Army. He is in my opinion a better corps commander and a better battlefield leader than Geoff [Geoffrey Keyes, a West Point classmate and the commander of II Corps throughout the campaign]."[9]

Postwar career

Army commanders in the United States and certain overseas commanders meet with Secretary of the Army Frank Pace and General J. Lawton Collins, Army Chief of Staff, in the Pentagon in routine sessions, June 5, 1952. Lieutenant General Willis D. Crittenberger is sat third from the left, between Lieutenant General Edward H. Brooks (left) and General Collins.

In the postwar years Crittenberger, whose permanent rank was advanced from colonel to brigadier general on June 23, 1946,

First Army, at Fort Jay, Governors Island, New York, Crittenberger concluded his active duty military career in December 1952, leaving New York City with a ticker tape parade up Broadway.[3][6][10]

Civilian career

In retirement, Crittenberger advised President Dwight D. Eisenhower on national security matters. Crittenberger served as president of the United States Military Academy Association of Graduates from 1955 to 1958 and president of the Greater New York Fund.[2]

Crittenberger was Chairman of the Free Europe Committee for three years, from 1956 to 1959.[11][12]

Family

The grave of Lieutenant General Willis Dale Crittenberger at Arlington National Cemetery

Crittenberger married Josephine Frost Woodhull (1894–1978) on June 23, 1918. Two of his three sons served in the United States Armed Forces and died in combat. Corporal Townsend Woodhull Crittenberger (born May 13, 1925) was killed in action during the Rhine River crossing on March 25, 1945, during the final days of World War II, aged just 19.[2][8] Colonel Dale Jackson Crittenberger (USMA 1950) (born May 27, 1927) commanding the 3rd Brigade of the 9th Infantry Division during the Vietnam War was killed in a mid-air collision on September 17, 1969, while directing combat operations, aged 42. Dale served as a White House military aide to President Eisenhower in 1959 and as a newly promoted major received his new badge of rank from his father's old friend, the President.[2]

A third son, Willis D. Crittenberger, Jr. (USMA 1942) also served in the United States Army in World War II with the 10th Armored Division, rising from lieutenant to lieutenant colonel during the war, retiring as a major general. He later was a spokesman for the Daughters of the American Revolution.[2]

Lieutenant General Willis Dale Crittenberger died in Chevy Chase, Maryland, on August 4, 1980, at the age of 89.[10] He was buried at Arlington National Cemetery, Virginia with his wife and sons, Townsend and Dale.[2]

Decorations

Bronze oak leaf cluster
Army Distinguished Service Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster
Bronze oak leaf cluster
Bronze oak leaf cluster
 Bronze Star Medal with two Oak Leaf Clusters
Mexican Border Service Medal
World War I Victory Medal
American Defense Service Medal
American Campaign Medal
Bronze star
Bronze star
Bronze star
Bronze star
 European–African–Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with four Service Stars
World War II Victory Medal
National Defense Service Medal
Officer of the Legion of Honor (France)
Croix de Guerre (France)
Order of Abdon Calderón (Ecuador)
Orden de Merito Militar (Peru)

Books

  • The final campaign across Italy; 1952 – His memoirs as commander of US Army IV Corps
    ISBN 85-7011-219-X
  • Some thoughts on civil defense; 1954 4pgs Essay
  • Debrief report; 1967 Dept. of the Army – Headquarters, II Field Force Vietnam Artillery 21pgs report

References

  1. ^ a b c d Taaffe 2013, p. 123.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g "Obituary: General Willis D. Crittenberger; A Leader of Allied Forces in Italy", The New York Times, New York, p. M11, August 7, 1980, retrieved March 9, 2008
  3. ^ a b "People (Crittenberger retirement)", Time, New York, December 29, 1952, archived from the original on October 23, 2012, retrieved March 9, 2008
  4. ^ "VOLUME_7_Cullum 986".
  5. ^ "VOLUME_7_Cullum 986".
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h "Biography of Lieutenant General Willis Dale Crittenberger (1890−1980), USA". generals.dk.
  7. ISBN 978-0-8050-5686-0
    , retrieved October 3, 2007
  8. ^ a b Taaffe 2013, p. 124.
  9. ^ Taaffe 2013, p. 131.
  10. ^ a b Taaffe 2013, p. 334.
  11. ^ Johanna Granville, "Caught With Jam on Our Fingers”: Radio Free Europe and the Hungarian Revolution in 1956,” Diplomatic History, vol. 29, no. 5 (2005): pp. 811–839.
  12. ISBN 1-58544-298-4

Further reading

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Willis D. Crittenberger.
Military offices
Preceded by Commanding General 2nd Armored Division
February–July 1942 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
Newly activated organization
 Commanding General III Armored Corps
1942–1944 		Post redesignated XIX Corps
Preceded by
Newly activated organization
 Commanding General XIX Corps
1942–1944 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Commanding General IV Corps
1944–1945 		Post deactivated
Preceded by
Commanding General First Army

1950–1952 		Succeeded by
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