"The Class the Stars Fell On" is an expression used to describe the United States Military Academy Class of 1915.[1] In the U.S. Army, the insignia reserved for generals is one or more stars. Of the 164 graduates that year, 59 (36%) attained the rank of general, the most of any class in the history of the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York, hence the expression.[2] Two reached the rank of five-star General of the Army, second only to General of the Armies. There were also two four-star generals, seven three-star lieutenant generals, 24 two-star major generals and 24 one-star brigadier generals.[3] Additionally, Dwight D. Eisenhower, one of the five-star generals, went on to become the 34th President of the United States.
Generals of the class[]
General of the Army Omar N. Bradley
General Joseph T. McNarney
Lieutenant General Hubert R. Harmon
Lieutenant General Henry S. Aurand
Lieutenant General Stafford LeRoy Irwin
Major General Vernon Prichard
Major General Henry B. Sayler
| Rank | Name | Rank in class | Notes | References |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Omar N. Bradley | 44 | Commanded 82nd Infantry Division (1942), 28th Infantry Division (1942), II Corps (1943), First Army (1944), Twelfth Army Group (1944–1945) Chief of Staff of the United States Army (1948–1949), Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (1949–1953) | [1][4] | |
| Dwight D. Eisenhower | 61 | Chief of Staff of the United States Army (1945–1948), Supreme Allied Commander Europe (1942, 1943–1945, 1949–1952), Supreme Allied Commander, North African Theater of Operations (1942–1943), President of the United States (1953–1961) | [1][5] | |
| Joseph T. McNarney | 41 | Deputy Chief of Staff, U.S. Army (1942–1944), Supreme Allied Commander, Mediterranean Theater of Operations (1944–1945), Commanded U.S. Forces in Europe (1945–1947) | [4][6] | |
| James Van Fleet | 92 | Commanded 4th Infantry Division, 90th Infantry Division, III Corps in World War II; U.S. Eighth Army in the Korean War (1951–1953) | [7][8] | |
| Henry Aurand | 20 | Commanded 6th Service Command (1942–1944), Deputy Chief Ordnance Officer, European Theater of Operations (1944), Commanded Services of Supply China Theater (1944–1945), U.S. Army Pacific (1949) | [9][10] | |
| Hubert R. Harmon | 103 | Commanded Sixth Air Force (1942–1943, 1946–1947), Thirteenth Air Force (1943–1944), Superintendent of the United States Air Force Academy (1954–1956) | [12][13] | |
| Stafford LeRoy Irwin | 40 | Commanded 5th Infantry Division, XII Corps, V Corps, U.S. Forces Austria (1950–1952) | [4][14] | |
| Thomas B. Larkin | 21 | Chief of Staff, Services of Supply, U.S. Army Forces, British Isles (1942–1943); Commanded Services of Supply, North African Theater of Operations (1943), Communications Zone, North African Theater of Operations (1943–1944), Southern Line of Communications, Communications Zone, European Theater of Operations (1944–1945), 2nd Service Command (1945); Quartermaster General of the U.S. Army (1946–1949), Deputy Chief of Staff for Logistics (1949–1952) | [10][15] | |
| John W. Leonard | 84 | Commanded 9th Armored Division (1942–1945), U.S. Army Armor School (1946–1948), V Corps and XVIII Airborne Corps (1951–1953) | [16][17] | |
| George E. Stratemeyer | 147 | Commanded Army air Forces China-Burma-India Theater of Operations (1943–1946), Air Defense Command (1946–1948), Continental Air Command (1948–1949), Far East Air Forces (1949–1952) | [18][19] | |
| Joseph M. Swing | 38 | Commanded 11th Airborne Division (1943–1947), I Corps (1948–1949), Sixth Army (1951–1954) | [20][21] | |
| John Stewart Bragdon | 5 | Assistant Chief of Military Construction (1945–1949); Deputy Chief of Engineers (1950–1951) | [22][23] | |
| Ralph P. Cousins | 129 | Commanded Army Air Force Western Flying Training Command (1942–1946) | [24][25] | |
| William E. R. Covell | 1 | Director of Fuels and Lubricants, Office of Quartermaster General (1943–1944); Commanded Services of Supply China-Burma-India Theater (1944–1945) | [23][26] | |
| Luis R. Esteves | 97 | Adjutant General of Puerto Rico (1939–1957) | [8][27] | |
| Vernon Evans | 55 | Deputy Chief of Staff and Chief of Staff China-Burma-India Theater (1944–1945) | [28][29] | |
| Thomas J. Hanley Jr. | 124 | Commanded Air Service Command, Army Air Forces China-Burma-India Theater (1944–1945), Eleventh Air Force (1946–1948) | [25][30] | |
| Thomas G. Hearn | 106 | Chief of Staff China-Burma-India Theater (1944); Commanded Infantry Replacement Training Center (1944–1945) | [13][31] | |
| Leland S. Hobbs | 46 | Commanded 30th Infantry Division (1942–1945), 2nd Armored Division (1946–1947), IX Corps (1949–1950) | [32][33][34] | |
| James A. Lester | 23 | Commanded 24th Division Artillery, XIV Corps Artillery, 24th Infantry Division | [10][35] | |
| Edwin B. Lyon | 48 | Commanded VI Bomber Command (1941–1943), Antilles Air Command (1943); Deputy Commander, Army Air Force Flying Training Command (1944–1945); Commanded Air Forces Mid Pacific (1945–1946) | [33][36] | |
| Henry J. F. Miller | 110 | Commanded Air Material Command European Theater of Operations (1943–1944). Retired as a colonel in May 1944 as a result of a security breach. | [37][38] | |
| Paul J. Mueller | 45 | Commanded 81st Infantry Division (1942–1946) | [33][39] | |
| Vernon Prichard | 134 | Commanded 14th Armored Division (1942–1944), 1st Armored Division (1944–1945) | [40][41] | |
| George J. Richards | 6 | War Department General Staff (1943–1947) | [23][42] | |
| Charles W. Ryder | 39 | Commanded 34th Infantry Division (1942–1946), IX Corps (1944–1948) | [21][43] | |
| Henry B. Sayler | 37 | Chief Ordnance Officer, European Theater of Operations (1942–1945) | [21][44][45] | |
| William F. Tompkins | 16 | War Department General Staff (1943–1945) | [46][47] | |
| Albert W. Waldron | 32 | Field Artillery Representative, Army Ground Forces (1943–1946) | [48][49] | |
| Leo A. Walton | 128 | Air Inspector Army Air Force China Theater (1945–1946); Commanded Fourteenth Air Force (1946–1948) | [25][50] | |
| Leroy H. Watson | 151 | Commanded 3rd Armored Division (1943–1944), 29th Infantry Division (1944–1945) | [19][51] | |
| Douglas L. Weart | 10 | Chief of Staff, Caribbean Defense Command (1943–1944); Deputy commander China Theater (1945) | [47][52] | |
| Arthur A. White | 158 | Chief of Staff, U.S. Seventh Army (1944–1945); Commanded 75th Infantry Division and 71st Infantry Division (1945–1946) | [53][54] | |
| John B. Wogan | 75 | Commanded 13th Armored Division (1942–1945) | [55][56] | |
| Roscoe B. Woodruff | 56 | Commanded 77th Infantry Division (1942–1943), VII Corps (1943–1944), 24th Infantry Division (1944–1945), I Corps (1945–1948), XV Corps (1951–1953) | [29][57] | |
| Error creating thumbnail: | Carl C. Bank | 53 | Artillery Officer Allied Forces Headquarters, North African Theater of Operations (1942–44); Commanded 13th Field Artillery Brigade (1944–1945) | [29][58] |
| Error creating thumbnail: | Frederic W. Boye | 150 | Served in China (1944–1945) | [19][59] |
| Error creating thumbnail: | Charles M. Busbee | 31 | Commanded 102nd Division Artillery (1942–1946) | [49][60] |
| Error creating thumbnail: | John F. Conklin | 13 | Engineer with Third Army (1942–1945) | [47][61] |
| Error creating thumbnail: | John F. Davis | 99 | Chief of Staff 6th Service Command (1942–1944); Director of Information and Education, War Department (1944–1945) | [62][63] |
| Error creating thumbnail: | Michael F. Davis | 96 | Commanded 78th Flying Training Wing (1944–1945), Army Air Force Central Flying Training Command (1945–1946) | [8][64] |
| Error creating thumbnail: | Donald A. Davison | 19 | Aviation Engineers (1942–1944). Died Bangalore, India 6 May 1944. Davison Army Airfield is named after him. | [10][65] |
| Error creating thumbnail: | Benjamin G. Ferris | 104 | Deputy Chief of Staff, China-Burma-India Theater (1943–1944) | [13][66] |
| Error creating thumbnail: | Adlai H. Gilkeson | 137 | Commanded Air Defenses, Panama Canal Zone (1942), III Fighter Command (1944), 312th Fighter Wing (1944–1945) | [41][67] |
| Error creating thumbnail: | Walter W. Hess | 95 | Commanded 1st Antiaircraft Command (1941–1942), 45th Coast Artillery Brigade (1942), Commanding Officer Artillery, 36th Infantry Division (1943–1945), Anti-aircraft Replacement Training Center (1944–1945) | [8][68] |
| Error creating thumbnail: | Clinton W. Howard | 30 | Chief of Staff Third Air Force (1941–1942), Army Air Force Technical Training Command (1942–1943), Sacramento Air Service Command (1943–1945) | [49][69] |
| Error creating thumbnail: | Reese M. Howell | 109 | Commanded 4th, 17th, and 13th Field Artillery Brigades (1940–1944); Assistant Division Commander 82nd Airborne Division (1944); Commanded 9th Infantry Division Artillery (1944–1946) | [38][70] |
| Error creating thumbnail: | John Keliher | 159 | Deputy Chief of Staff (G-3) U.S. Army Forces Mid Pacific (1942–1944); Deputy Chief of Staff (G-5) U.S. Army Forces Mid Pacific (1944–1945) | [54][71] |
| Error creating thumbnail: | Pearson Menoher | 42 | Chief of Staff XV Corps and Seventh Army (1943–1945); Commanded 24th Infantry Division in the Korean War (1949–1950) | [4][72] |
| Error creating thumbnail: | Lehman W. Miller | 9 | Chief of Military Mission to Brazil (1940–1942); Commanded Engineer Replacement Training Center, Fort Belvoir (1942–1944) | [47][73] |
| Error creating thumbnail: | Earl L. Naiden | 68 | Chief of Staff, Ferry Command, China-Burma-India Theater of Operations (1942); Chief of Staff Tenth Air Force (1942) | [74][75] |
| Error creating thumbnail: | Hume Peabody | 63 | Commandant Army Air Forces School of Applied Tactics (1942–1944); Commanded III Tactical Air Command (1942–1944) | [76][77] |
| Error creating thumbnail: | Norman Randolph | 145 | Chief of Staff Second Army (1942–1943); Chief of Staff 3rd Service Command (1943–1944); Commanded 3rd Service Command (1944–1945) | [19][78] |
| Error creating thumbnail: | John N. Robinson | 120 | Commanded Fort Richardson (1943–1944); Assistant Division Commander 89th Infantry Division (1944–1945) | [38][79] |
| Error creating thumbnail: | Robert W. Strong | 73 | Chief of Staff, U.S. Army Forces in Africa (1942–1943); Commanded Cavalry Replacement Training Center (1943–1945); Chief of U.S. Army Mission to Peru (1945–1946) | [56][80] |
| Error creating thumbnail: | Victor V. Taylor | 122 | War Department General Staff (1941–1943); Munitions Assignment Board (1943–1944) | [25][81] |
| Error creating thumbnail: | Cleson H. Tenney | 77 | Harbor Defense Commander, Central Pacific Area (1942–1943); Commanded 55th Coast Artillery Regiment (1944); 70th Antiaircraft Artillery Brigade (1945) | [56][81] |
| Error creating thumbnail: | Edward C. Wallington | 82 | Chemical Officer, Third Army (1942–1945); Deputy Chief Chemical Officer (1949–1951) | [82][83] |
| Error creating thumbnail: | Edwin A. Zundel | 29 | Artillery Officer, II Corps (1942), XI Corps (1943–1944), Sixth Army (1944–1945), 41st Infantry Division (1945–1946), Fourth Army (1946–1947) | [49][84] |
Notes[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "The Class the Stars Fell On". National Museum of American History. http://americanhistory.si.edu/westpoint/history_6b.html. Retrieved 23 December 2007.
- ↑ "West Point Fact Sheet". United States Military Academy. http://www.usma.edu/publicaffairs/press_kit_files/SelectedNoteworthyGrads.htm. Retrieved 19 December 2010.
- ↑ "Did You Know?". United States Military Academy. http://www.usma.edu/notablegrads.asp. Retrieved 23 December 2007.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Cullum 1950, p. 193
- ↑ Cullum 1950, p. 196
- ↑ Ancell & Miller 1996, p. 424
- ↑ Ancell & Miller 1996, p. 330
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 Cullum 1950, p. 200
- ↑ Ancell & Miller 1996, p. 10
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 Cullum 1950, p. 190
- ↑ "Papers of Henry S. Aurand". Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library. http://eisenhower.archives.gov/Research/Finding_Aids/A.html. Retrieved March 28, 2010.
- ↑ Ancell & Miller 1996, p. 400
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 Cullum 1950, p. 201
- ↑ Ancell & Miller 1996, pp. 163–164
- ↑ "Papers of Thomas B. Larkin". Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library. http://eisenhower.archives.gov/Research/Finding_Aids/L.html. Retrieved March 28, 2010.
- ↑ Ancell & Miller 1996, p. 188
- ↑ Cullum 1950, p. 199
- ↑ Ancell & Miller 1996, p. 446
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 19.2 19.3 Cullum 1950, p. 205
- ↑ Ancell & Miller 1996, p. 315
- ↑ 21.0 21.1 21.2 Cullum 1950, p. 192
- ↑ Ancell & Miller 1996, p. 31
- ↑ 23.0 23.1 23.2 Cullum 1950, p. 188
- ↑ Ancell & Miller 1996, p. 378
- ↑ 25.0 25.1 25.2 25.3 Cullum 1950, p. 203
- ↑ Ancell & Miller 1996, p. 66
- ↑ Ancell & Miller 1996, p. 469
- ↑ Ancell & Miller 1996, p. 99
- ↑ 29.0 29.1 29.2 Cullum 1950, p. 195
- ↑ Ancell & Miller 1996, p. 399
- ↑ Ancell & Miller 1996, pp. 141–142
- ↑ Ancell & Miller 1996, pp. 151–152
- ↑ 33.0 33.1 33.2 Cullum 1950, p. 194
- ↑ "Papers of Leyland S. Hobbs". Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library. http://eisenhower.archives.gov/Research/Finding_Aids/H.html. Retrieved March 28, 2010.
- ↑ Ancell & Miller 1996, pp. 188–189
- ↑ Ancell & Miller 1996, pp. 418–419
- ↑ Ancell & Miller 1996, p. 425
- ↑ 38.0 38.1 38.2 Cullum 1950, p. 202
- ↑ Ancell & Miller 1996, p. 235
- ↑ Ancell & Miller 1996, p. 263
- ↑ 41.0 41.1 Cullum 1950, p. 204
- ↑ Ancell & Miller 1996, p. 271
- ↑ Ancell & Miller 1996, p. 286
- ↑ Ancell & Miller 1996, p. 287
- ↑ "Papers of Henry B. Sayler". Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library. http://eisenhower.archives.gov/Research/Finding_Aids/S.html. Retrieved March 28, 2010.
- ↑ Ancell & Miller 1996, p. 324
- ↑ 47.0 47.1 47.2 47.3 Cullum 1950, p. 189
- ↑ Ancell & Miller 1996, p. 333
- ↑ 49.0 49.1 49.2 49.3 Cullum 1950, p. 191
- ↑ Ancell & Miller 1996, p. 454
- ↑ Ancell & Miller 1996, p. 337
- ↑ Ancell & Miller 1996, p. 338
- ↑ Ancell & Miller 1996, p. 342
- ↑ 54.0 54.1 Cullum 1950, p. 206
- ↑ Ancell & Miller 1996, p. 351
- ↑ 56.0 56.1 56.2 Cullum 1950, p. 198
- ↑ Ancell & Miller 1996, p. 353
- ↑ Ancell & Miller 1996, p. 13
- ↑ Ancell & Miller 1996, p. 29
- ↑ Ancell & Miller 1996, p. 42
- ↑ Ancell & Miller 1996, p. 62
- ↑ Ancell & Miller 1996, pp. 79–80
- ↑ Cullum 1950, pp. 200–201
- ↑ Ancell & Miller 1996, pp. 381–382
- ↑ Ancell & Miller 1996, p. 80
- ↑ Ancell & Miller 1996, pp. 102–103
- ↑ Ancell & Miller 1996, pp. 394–395
- ↑ Ancell & Miller 1996, p. 146
- ↑ Ancell & Miller 1996, p. 405
- ↑ Ancell & Miller 1996, p. 159
- ↑ Ancell & Miller 1996, p. 171
- ↑ Ancell & Miller 1996, p. 222
- ↑ Ancell & Miller 1996, p. 227
- ↑ Ancell & Miller 1996, pp. 427–428
- ↑ Cullum 1950, p. 197
- ↑ Ancell & Miller 1996, p. 432
- ↑ Cullum 1950, pp. 196–197
- ↑ Ancell & Miller 1996, p. 266
- ↑ Ancell & Miller 1996, p. 276
- ↑ Ancell & Miller 1996, p. 310
- ↑ 81.0 81.1 Ancell & Miller 1996, p. 318
- ↑ Cullum 1950, pp. 198–199
- ↑ "Edward Wallington, Ex-Brigadier General". April 27, 1976. http://brianviki.com/blog/v/Genealogy/Wallingtons/Edward_C_Wallington_Washing.gif.html. Retrieved March 29, 2010.
- ↑ Ancell & Miller 1996, p. 357
References[]
- Ancell, R. Manning; Miller, Christine (1996). The Biographical Dictionary of World War II Generals and Flag Officers: The US Armed Forces. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press. ISBN 0-313-29546-8.
- Cullum, George W. (1950). Biographical Register of the Officers and Graduates of the US Military Academy at West Point New York since its Establishment in 1802: Supplement Volume IX 1940–1950. Chicago, Illinois: R. R. Donnelly and Sons, The Lakeside Press. http://digital-library.usma.edu/libmedia/archives/cullum/VOLUME_9_cullum.pdf. Retrieved 13 February 2010.
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The original article can be found at The class the stars fell on and the edit history here.