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{{short description|United States Army general}}
{{more footnotes needed|date=January 2019}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2019}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2015}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2015}}
{{Infobox person
{{Infobox person
| name = Holger Toftoy
| name = Holger Toftoy
| image = Holger N Toftoy nov56 01.jpg
| image = Holger N Toftoy nov56 01.jpg
| image_size =
| caption =
| caption =
| birth_name = Holger Nelson Toftoy
| birth_name = Holger Nelson Toftoy
| birth_date = October 31, 1902
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1902|10|31|df=yes}}
| birth_place = [[Marseilles, Illinois]], U.S.
| birth_place = [[Marseilles, Illinois]], U.S.
| death_date = April 19, 1967
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1967|04|19|1902|10|31|df=yes}}
| death_place = [[Huntsville, Alabama]], U.S.
| death_place = [[Huntsville, Alabama]], U.S.
| death_cause =
| death_cause =
| resting_place = [[Arlington National Cemetery]]
| resting_place = [[Arlington National Cemetery]]
| resting_place_coordinates =
| resting_place_coordinates =
| residence =
| nationality =
| nationality =
| other_names =
| other_names =
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| occupation = Military officer
| occupation = Military officer
| title =
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| module = {{Infobox military person | embed=yes
| box_width =
|nickname=
|allegiance= {{flag|United States}}
|branch= {{army|United States}}
|serviceyears= 1922–1960
|rank=[[Major general (United States)|Major general]]
|battles=[[World War II]]
|awards=
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|signature = }}
}}
}}
Major General '''Holger Nelson Toftoy''' (October 31, 1902 – April 19, 1967) was a [[United States Army]] officer linked to early [[rocket]]ry such as the [[Redstone (rocket)|Redstone]] missile.
Major General '''Holger Nelson Toftoy''' (31 October 1902 – 19 April 1967) was a [[United States Army]] career officer instrumental to the development of the United States' early [[rocket]]ry after World War II, such as the [[Redstone (rocket)|Redstone]] missile. He persuaded senior officers to bring German scientists to the US after the war, to make use of their expertise, and supervised the relocation of more than 119 scientists.

In 1952 he was appointed to direct the Ordnance Missile Laboratories at [[Redstone Arsenal]] near Huntsville, Alabama. By 1958 he was deputy commanding general of the [[Army Ordnance Missile Command]], Redstone Arsenal. Later that year he was reassigned as commanding general of [[Aberdeen Proving Ground]], Maryland. Two years later he retired because of health issues, and moved to Florida.


==Early life and military career==
==Early life and military career==
[[File:Holger Nelson Toftoy (1902–1967) at West Point in 1926.png|thumb|right|150px|At West Point in 1926]]
⚫
Holger Nelson Toftoy was born on October 31, 1902 in [[Marseilles, Illinois|Marseilles]], [[Illinois]]. He studied at the [[University of Wisconsin–Madison]] as an [[Reserve Officers' Training Corps|ROTC]] cadet, then transferred to the [[United States Military Academy]], graduating in 1926. After taking basic flight training, he was transferred to the Coast Artillery and served three years in Hawaii as a battery commander before returning to [[United States Military Academy|West Point]] as an instructor.


Toftoy was born on 31 October 1902, in [[Marseilles, Illinois]]. He attended local schools before college.
⚫
In the 1930s he was sent to the [[Panama Canal]] to command the mine defenses of the Pacific approaches. In 1938 he was transferred to the Submarine Mine Depot in [[Fort Monroe]] where he served six years as Chief of the Industrial and the Research and Development divisions.

⚫
He studied at the [[University of Wisconsin–Madison]] as an [[Reserve Officers' Training Corps|ROTC]] cadet before transferring to the [[United States Military Academy]] at West Point, where he graduated in 1926. After taking basic flight training, he was transferred to the Coast Artillery and served three years in Hawaii as a battery commander before returning to West Point as an instructor.

⚫
In the 1930s Toftoy was assigned to the [[Panama Canal]] to command the mine defenses of the Pacific approaches. In 1938 he was transferred to the Submarine Mine Depot in [[Fort Monroe]], where he served six years as chief of the Industrial and the Research and Development divisions.


==Operation Paperclip==
==Operation Paperclip==
While working at the submarine Mine Depot, Toftoy oversaw the development and design of a new system of controlled [[Naval mine|submarine mines]] that was widely using during [[World War II]]. Toftoy acquired great expertise in mines and explosives who helped clear harbors in [[France]] during the war.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Piszkiewicz |first1=Dennis |title=The Nazi Rocketeers: Dreams of Space and Crimes of War |date=2006 |publisher=Stackpole Books|pages=216–218}}</ref>
While working at the Submarine Mine Depot, Toftoy oversaw the development and design of a new system of controlled [[Naval mine|submarine mines]] that was widely using during [[World War II]]. Toftoy acquired great expertise in mines and explosives; he helped clear harbors in [[France]] during the war.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Piszkiewicz |first1=Dennis |title=The Nazi Rocketeers: Dreams of Space and Crimes of War |date=2006 |publisher=[[Stackpole Books]]|pages=216–218}}</ref>


In 1944, he became Chief of the Army Ordnance Technical Intelligence teams assigned to Europe to seek out and evaluate captured enemy ordnance weapons and equipment. During this time, Toftoy received a request from Colonel Gervais Trichel, chief of the rocket branch in the Ordnance Department at [[the Pentagon]], to acquire and ship 100 operational [[V-2 rocket]]s to the [[White Sands Missile Range]] in [[New Mexico]] for testing.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Neufeld|first1=Michael|title=Von Braun: Dreamer of Space, Engineer of War|date=2008|publisher=Vintage Books|pages=208–210}}</ref> Soon after the capture of the area around [[Nordhausen]] and the [[Mittelwerk]], Toftoy set up Special Mission V-2 to do the job. He assigned Major William Bromley in command of the special mission, and he reported back to Toftoy through Major James P. Hammill, who was responsible for shipping the weapons from Nordhausen to [[Antwerp]], and from there to [[New Orleans]]. Bromley and Hamill went to central Germany to salvage as many missiles as they could, under pressure because of the unwelcome news that U.S. forces would be withdrawing soon. Although there were by no means a hundred complete V-2's available, Toftoy organized U.S soldiers and camp workers to put partially completed rockets and major components into hastily requisitioned rail cars. From 22 to 31 May, several freight trains left Nordhausen for Antwerp loaded with missile and missile parts; thus successfully completing the mission.
In 1944, Toftoy became chief of the Army Ordnance Technical Intelligence teams assigned to Europe to seek and evaluate captured enemy ordnance weapons and equipment. During this time, Toftoy received a request from Colonel Gervais Trichel, chief of the rocket branch in the Ordnance Department at [[the Pentagon]], to acquire and ship 100 operational [[V-2 rocket]]s to the [[White Sands Missile Range]] in [[New Mexico]] for testing.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Neufeld|first1=Michael|title=Von Braun: Dreamer of Space, Engineer of War|date=2008|publisher=[[Vintage Books]]|pages=208–210}}</ref> Soon after the Allied capture of the areas around [[Nordhausen, Thuringia|Nordhausen]] and the [[Mittelwerk]], Toftoy set up Special Mission V-2 to do the job.


He assigned Major William Bromley in command of the special mission, who reported to Toftoy through Major James P. Hamill. The latter was responsible for shipping the weapons from Nordhausen to [[Antwerp]], and from there to [[New Orleans]], for transportation to White Sands. Bromley and Hamill went to central Germany to salvage as many missiles as they could, under pressure because of the unwelcome news that U.S. forces would soon be withdrawing, as Nordhausen was in the planned Soviet Zone of Occupation, later [[East Germany]]. Although one hundred complete V-2s were not available, Toftoy organized U.S. soldiers and camp workers to put partially completed rockets and major components into hastily requisitioned rail cars. From 22 to 31 May, several freight trains left Nordhausen for Antwerp loaded with missile and missile parts, thus successfully completing the mission.
⚫
Toftoy knew the [[U.S. Army]] was planning to add guided missiles to its weapons program. He first cabled, then went personally to Washington to recommend that the German scientists be brought to the U.S. for interrogation and possible employment. The mission became known as [[Operation Paperclip]]. By September 1945, the first group of scientists, including Von Braun, had arrived in the United States. In its first year, no less than 119 German scientists came to the United States under Toftoy's leadership.<ref name="moniquegerman26">{{cite book |last=Laney |first=Monique |date=2015 |title=German Rocketeers in the Heart of Dixie: Making Sense of the Nazi Past During the Civil Rights Era |location=New Haven and London |publisher=Yale University Press |pages=26 |isbn=978-0-300-19803-4}}</ref> Toftoy was then transferred back to Washington and assigned responsibility for direction of the Army guided missile program.

⚫
Toftoy knew the [[U.S. Army]] was planning to add guided missiles to its weapons program. He cabled the Pentagon, then personally went to Washington to recommend to senior officers that German scientists be brought to the U.S. for interrogation and possible employment. The mission became known as [[Operation Paperclip]]. By September 1945, the first group of scientists, including [[Wernher von Braun]], had arrived in the United States. In the first year of this program, some 119 German scientists were brought to the United States under Toftoy's leadership.<ref name="moniquegerman26">{{cite book |last=Laney |first=Monique |date=2015 |title=German Rocketeers in the Heart of Dixie: Making Sense of the Nazi Past During the Civil Rights Era |location=New Haven and London |publisher=[[Yale University Press]] |pages=26 |isbn=978-0-300-19803-4}}</ref> Toftoy was transferred to Washington and assigned responsibility for direction of the Army guided missile program.


==After the war==
==After the war==
[[File:Medaris vonBraun and Toftoy 01.jpg|thumb|right|RSA commander Maj. Gen. [[John Medaris]], [[Wernher von Braun]], and RSA deputy commander Brig. Gen. Holger Toftoy (l−r:) in the 1950s]]
⚫
In 1952, Toftoy was assigned to [[Redstone Arsenal]], Alabama, as Director of the Ordnance Missile Laboratories, which was responsible for planning, technical control and supervision of what had become the nationwide Army guided missile and rocket development program. During this time the arsenal became responsible for the research, development, procurement, production, storage and maintenance of the entire Army family of missiles and rockets; some of the products of that program became widely used in the U.S Military program such as the [[PGM-19 Jupiter]], the [[MGR-1 Honest John]], the [[LIM-49 Nike Zeus]], the [[SS-20 Saber]] and the [[MIM-3 Nike Ajax]], amongst others. In 1958, Toftoy became Deputy Commanding General of the Army Ordnance Missile Command, Redstone Arsenal. He remained at RSA until July 1958, when he was named the Commanding General of [[Aberdeen Proving Ground]], Maryland (August 1958).<ref>{{cite web|title=U.S Army Aviation and Missile Command|url=http://history.redstone.army.mil/bio-toftoy.html}}</ref>


⚫
In 1952, Toftoy was assigned to [[Redstone Arsenal]], Alabama, as director of the Ordnance Missile Laboratories. This was responsible for planning, technical control, and supervision of what had become the nationwide Army guided missile and rocket development program. During this time the arsenal became responsible for the research, development, procurement, production, storage and maintenance of the entire Army family of missiles and rockets; some of the products of that program became widely used in the U.S. Military program. They included the [[PGM-19 Jupiter]], the [[MGR-1 Honest John]], the [[LIM-49 Nike Zeus]] and the [[MIM-3 Nike Ajax]], among others. In 1958, Toftoy became deputy commanding general of the [[Army Ordnance Missile Command]], Redstone Arsenal. He served as commander at RSA until July 1958, when he was named the commanding general of [[Aberdeen Proving Ground]], Maryland (August 1958).<ref>{{cite web|title=U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command|url=http://history.redstone.army.mil/bio-toftoy.html}}</ref>
⚫
Toftoy retired from the Army due to health reasons in 1960 and moved to [[Treasure Island, Florida]], where he had a private boat landing and access to the [[Gulf of Mexico]] for indulging in his passion for fishing. Retirement, however, did not mean the end of Toftoy's contributions to the field in which he had been so dominant a figure. Among other activities, he was retained as a consultant by the [[Northrop Corporation]] and by the Brown Engineering Company. Involvement in civic affairs, which had been so meaningful at [[Huntsville, Alabama]], continued after his retirement, and was climaxed when he was elected President of the Isle of Capri Civic Association in 1962.


⚫
In 1960 Toftoy retired from the army for health reasons, and moved to [[Treasure Island, Florida]]. There he had a private boat landing and access to the [[Gulf of Mexico]] for indulging in his passion for fishing. He continued to be active in his field, retained as a consultant by the [[Northrop Corporation]] and by the Brown Engineering Company. He also became involved in local civic affairs; he was elected in 1962 as President of the Isle of Capri Civic Association.
⚫
==Death==

⚫
Recurrence of an old ailment during a Christmas visit to his daughter at Huntsville in 1966 led to evacuation to [[Walter Reed Army Medical Center]] where he underwent four major operations in the following months. Exhausted by his ordeal, Toftoy died on April 19, 1967. Burial was in [[Arlington National Cemetery]] with [[full military honors]]. In 1958, a commemorative plaque was placed in Big Spring Park in Huntsville, Alabama, who gave him the nickname of "Mr. Missile". He was a member of Helion Lodge #1 Free & Accepted Masons in Huntsville.
⚫
==Death and honors==
⚫
After recurrence of an old ailment during a Christmas visit to his daughter at Huntsville in 1966, Toftoy was transported to [[Walter Reed Army Medical Center]]. He underwent four major operations in the following months. Toftoy died on 19 April 1967. Burial was in [[Arlington National Cemetery]] with [[full military honors]].

*Toftoy Hall was dedicated at Redstone Arsenal on November 3, 1967; it provides basic electronics training for soldiers. It now houses the Education Center.
*The Ordnance School at Fort Lee has a Toftoy Hall for the Armament and Electronic Maintenance Training Department.
*In 1968, a commemorative plaque was placed in [[Big Spring Park (Huntsville, Alabama)|Big Spring Park]] in Huntsville, Alabama. Townspeople had nicknamed him as "Mr. Missile". He was a member of Helion Lodge #1 Free & Accepted Masons in Huntsville.

==Dates of rank==
{|class="wikitable" style="background:white"
! Insignia !! Rank !! Component !! Date
|-
|align="center" |No insignia || Cadet || [[United States Military Academy]] || 1 July 1922<ref name="1948_Register"/>
|-
|align="center" |[[File:US-O1 insignia.svg|13px]] || [[Second lieutenant#United States|Second lieutenant]] || [[U.S. Army Air Service]] || 12 June 1926<ref name="1948_Register"/> (transferred to [[United States Army Coast Artillery Corps]] 9 March 1927)
|-
|align="center" |[[File:US-O2 insignia.svg|13px]] || [[First lieutenant#United States|First lieutenant]] || Regular Army || 25 November 1931<ref name="1948_Register"/>
|-
|align="center" |[[File:US-O3 insignia.svg|33px]] || [[Captain (United States O-3)|Captain]] || Regular Army || 12 June 1936<ref name="1948_Register"/>
|-
|align="center" |[[File:US-O4 insignia.svg|40px]] || Major || [[Army of the United States]] || 31 January 1941 (accepted 5 February 1941)<ref name="1948_Register"/>
|-
|align="center" |[[File:US-O5 insignia.svg|40px]] || Lieutenant colonel || Army of the United States || 1 February 1942<ref name="1948_Register"/>
|-
|align="center" |[[File:US-O6 insignia.svg|55px]] || [[Colonel]] || Army of the United States || 17 March 1943<ref name="1948_Register"/>
|-
|align="center" |[[File:US-O4 insignia.svg|40px]] || Major || Regular Army || 12 June 1943<ref name="1948_Register"/>
|-
|align="center" |[[File:US-O6 insignia.svg|55px]] || Colonel || Regular Army || 15 May 1950<ref name="1948_Register"/>
|-
|align="center" |[[File:US-O7 insignia.svg|35px]] || [[Brigadier general (United States)|Brigadier general]] || Army of the United States || 1 November 1952 (backdated to 1 January 1952)<ref name="1955_Register"/><ref name="1957_Register"/>
|-
|align="center" |[[File:US-O8 insignia.svg|70px]] || [[Major general (United States)|Major general]] || Army of the United States || 1 January 1952<ref name="1957_Register"/>
|-
|align="center" |[[File:US-O7 insignia.svg|35px]] || Brigadier general || Regular Army || 31 March 1955 (backdated)<ref name="1957_Register"/>
|-
|align="center" |[[File:US-O8 insignia.svg|70px]] || Major general || Regular Army || 31 March 1955<ref name="1960_Register"/>
|-
|}
<ref name="1948_Register">{{cite book |date=1948 |title=Official Army and Air Force Register (Volume II: R-end) |location=Washington, D.C. |publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office |url=https://archive.org/details/officialarmyregi48unit/page/1830 }}</ref><ref name="1955_Register">{{cite book |date=1955 |title=Official Army Register, Volume I |location=Washington, D.C. |publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office |url=https://archive.org/details/officialarmyregi19551unit/page/810 }}</ref><ref name="1957_Register">{{cite book |date=1957 |title=Official Army Register, Volume I |location=Washington, D.C. |publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office |url=https://archive.org/details/officialarmyregi19571unit/page/862 }}</ref><ref name="1960_Register">{{cite book |date=1960 |title=Official Army Register, Volume I |location=Washington, D.C. |publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office |url=https://archive.org/details/officialarmyregi19601unit/page/1080 }}</ref>


==See also==
==See also==
Line 63: Line 117:


==References==
==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{Reflist|30em}}


{{Authority control}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Toftoy, Holger}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Toftoy, Holger}}
[[Category:1902 births]]
[[Category:1902 births]]
[[Category:1967 deaths]]
[[Category:1967 deaths]]
⚫
[[Category:United States Army personnel of World War II]]
[[Category:United States Military Academy faculty]]
[[Category:People from Marseilles, Illinois]]
[[Category:People from Marseilles, Illinois]]
[[Category:United States Military Academy alumni]]
[[Category:United States Military Academy alumni]]
[[Category:University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni]]
[[Category:University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni]]
⚫
[[Category:United States Distinguished Marksman]]
[[Category:Burials at Arlington National Cemetery]]
[[Category:Burials at Arlington National Cemetery]]
[[Category:United States Army generals]]
[[Category:United States Army generals]]
[[Category:Operation Paperclip]]
[[Category:Operation Paperclip]]
[[Category:People from Treasure Island, Florida]]
[[Category:Military personnel from Illinois]]

Latest revision as of 19:29, 6 June 2024

Holger Toftoy
Born
Holger Nelson Toftoy

(1902-10-31)31 October 1902
Marseilles, Illinois, U.S.
Died19 April 1967(1967-04-19) (aged 64)
Huntsville, Alabama, U.S.
Resting placeArlington National Cemetery
Alma materUnited States Military Academy
OccupationMilitary officer
Military career
Allegiance United States
Service / branch United States Army
Years of service1922–1960
RankMajor general
Battles / warsWorld War II

Major General Holger Nelson Toftoy (31 October 1902 – 19 April 1967) was a United States Army career officer instrumental to the development of the United States' early rocketry after World War II, such as the Redstone missile. He persuaded senior officers to bring German scientists to the US after the war, to make use of their expertise, and supervised the relocation of more than 119 scientists.

In 1952 he was appointed to direct the Ordnance Missile Laboratories at Redstone Arsenal near Huntsville, Alabama. By 1958 he was deputy commanding general of the Army Ordnance Missile Command, Redstone Arsenal. Later that year he was reassigned as commanding general of Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland. Two years later he retired because of health issues, and moved to Florida.

Early life and military career

[edit]
At West Point in 1926

Toftoy was born on 31 October 1902, in Marseilles, Illinois. He attended local schools before college.

He studied at the University of Wisconsin–Madison as an ROTC cadet before transferring to the United States Military Academy at West Point, where he graduated in 1926. After taking basic flight training, he was transferred to the Coast Artillery and served three years in Hawaii as a battery commander before returning to West Point as an instructor.

In the 1930s Toftoy was assigned to the Panama Canal to command the mine defenses of the Pacific approaches. In 1938 he was transferred to the Submarine Mine Depot in Fort Monroe, where he served six years as chief of the Industrial and the Research and Development divisions.

Operation Paperclip

[edit]

While working at the Submarine Mine Depot, Toftoy oversaw the development and design of a new system of controlled submarine mines that was widely using during World War II. Toftoy acquired great expertise in mines and explosives; he helped clear harbors in France during the war.[1]

In 1944, Toftoy became chief of the Army Ordnance Technical Intelligence teams assigned to Europe to seek and evaluate captured enemy ordnance weapons and equipment. During this time, Toftoy received a request from Colonel Gervais Trichel, chief of the rocket branch in the Ordnance Department at the Pentagon, to acquire and ship 100 operational V-2 rockets to the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico for testing.[2] Soon after the Allied capture of the areas around Nordhausen and the Mittelwerk, Toftoy set up Special Mission V-2 to do the job.

He assigned Major William Bromley in command of the special mission, who reported to Toftoy through Major James P. Hamill. The latter was responsible for shipping the weapons from Nordhausen to Antwerp, and from there to New Orleans, for transportation to White Sands. Bromley and Hamill went to central Germany to salvage as many missiles as they could, under pressure because of the unwelcome news that U.S. forces would soon be withdrawing, as Nordhausen was in the planned Soviet Zone of Occupation, later East Germany. Although one hundred complete V-2s were not available, Toftoy organized U.S. soldiers and camp workers to put partially completed rockets and major components into hastily requisitioned rail cars. From 22 to 31 May, several freight trains left Nordhausen for Antwerp loaded with missile and missile parts, thus successfully completing the mission.

Toftoy knew the U.S. Army was planning to add guided missiles to its weapons program. He cabled the Pentagon, then personally went to Washington to recommend to senior officers that German scientists be brought to the U.S. for interrogation and possible employment. The mission became known as Operation Paperclip. By September 1945, the first group of scientists, including Wernher von Braun, had arrived in the United States. In the first year of this program, some 119 German scientists were brought to the United States under Toftoy's leadership.[3] Toftoy was transferred to Washington and assigned responsibility for direction of the Army guided missile program.

After the war

[edit]
RSA commander Maj. Gen. John Medaris, Wernher von Braun, and RSA deputy commander Brig. Gen. Holger Toftoy (l−r:) in the 1950s

In 1952, Toftoy was assigned to Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, as director of the Ordnance Missile Laboratories. This was responsible for planning, technical control, and supervision of what had become the nationwide Army guided missile and rocket development program. During this time the arsenal became responsible for the research, development, procurement, production, storage and maintenance of the entire Army family of missiles and rockets; some of the products of that program became widely used in the U.S. Military program. They included the PGM-19 Jupiter, the MGR-1 Honest John, the LIM-49 Nike Zeus and the MIM-3 Nike Ajax, among others. In 1958, Toftoy became deputy commanding general of the Army Ordnance Missile Command, Redstone Arsenal. He served as commander at RSA until July 1958, when he was named the commanding general of Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland (August 1958).[4]

In 1960 Toftoy retired from the army for health reasons, and moved to Treasure Island, Florida. There he had a private boat landing and access to the Gulf of Mexico for indulging in his passion for fishing. He continued to be active in his field, retained as a consultant by the Northrop Corporation and by the Brown Engineering Company. He also became involved in local civic affairs; he was elected in 1962 as President of the Isle of Capri Civic Association.

Death and honors

[edit]

After recurrence of an old ailment during a Christmas visit to his daughter at Huntsville in 1966, Toftoy was transported to Walter Reed Army Medical Center. He underwent four major operations in the following months. Toftoy died on 19 April 1967. Burial was in Arlington National Cemetery with full military honors.

  • Toftoy Hall was dedicated at Redstone Arsenal on November 3, 1967; it provides basic electronics training for soldiers. It now houses the Education Center.
  • The Ordnance School at Fort Lee has a Toftoy Hall for the Armament and Electronic Maintenance Training Department.
  • In 1968, a commemorative plaque was placed in Big Spring Park in Huntsville, Alabama. Townspeople had nicknamed him as "Mr. Missile". He was a member of Helion Lodge #1 Free & Accepted Masons in Huntsville.

Dates of rank

[edit]
Insignia Rank Component Date
No insignia Cadet United States Military Academy 1 July 1922[5]
Second lieutenant U.S. Army Air Service 12 June 1926[5] (transferred to United States Army Coast Artillery Corps 9 March 1927)
First lieutenant Regular Army 25 November 1931[5]
Captain Regular Army 12 June 1936[5]
Major Army of the United States 31 January 1941 (accepted 5 February 1941)[5]
Lieutenant colonel Army of the United States 1 February 1942[5]
Colonel Army of the United States 17 March 1943[5]
Major Regular Army 12 June 1943[5]
Colonel Regular Army 15 May 1950[5]
Brigadier general Army of the United States 1 November 1952 (backdated to 1 January 1952)[6][7]
Major general Army of the United States 1 January 1952[7]
Brigadier general Regular Army 31 March 1955 (backdated)[7]
Major general Regular Army 31 March 1955[8]

[5][6][7][8]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Piszkiewicz, Dennis (2006). The Nazi Rocketeers: Dreams of Space and Crimes of War. Stackpole Books. pp. 216–218.
  2. ^ Neufeld, Michael (2008). Von Braun: Dreamer of Space, Engineer of War. Vintage Books. pp. 208–210.
  3. ^ Laney, Monique (2015). German Rocketeers in the Heart of Dixie: Making Sense of the Nazi Past During the Civil Rights Era. New Haven and London: Yale University Press. p. 26. ISBN 978-0-300-19803-4.
  4. ^ "U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command".
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Official Army and Air Force Register (Volume II: R-end). Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office. 1948.
  6. ^ a b Official Army Register, Volume I. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office. 1955.
  7. ^ a b c d Official Army Register, Volume I. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office. 1957.
  8. ^ a b Official Army Register, Volume I. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office. 1960.
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