Edward Almond
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| Edward Mallory Almond | |
|---|---|
| December 12, 1892 – June 11, 1979 (aged 86) | |
 MajGen Edward Almond, commanding the 92nd Infantry Division. |
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| Place of birth | Luray, Virginia |
| Allegiance |  United States of America |
| Service/branch | United States Army |
| Years of service | 1916-1953 |
| Rank | Lieutenant General |
| Commands held | 92nd Infantry Division X Corps Army War College |
| Battles/wars | World War I World War II Korean War |
| Awards | Distinguished Service Cross Distinguished Service Medal Silver Star Purple Heart |
Edward Mallory Almond (December 12, 1892 – June 11, 1979) was a United States Army general best known as the commander of the Army's X Corps during the Korean War.
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[edit] Early Biography
Born in Luray, Virginia, Almond graduated from the Virginia Military Institute (VMI) in 1915 and became an infantry officer in 1916, serving in France with the 4th Infantry Division during the final months of World War I.He graduated from the Command & General Staff School, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, 1930. After a tour of duty in Philippines he attended the Army War College in 1934. From 1934 to 1938 he was attached to intelligence Division of the General Staff. Promoted to Lieutenant Colonel in September 1938, he completed the course at US Navy War College in 1940 and in January 1941 was assigned staff duty at VI Corps HQ, Providence, Rhode Island. Promoted to the temporary ranks of Colonel October 1941, Brigadier General March 1942, when was named assistant commander of the 93rd Infantry Division located in Arizona. [1]
[edit] World War II and Post War
Almond was for a time highly regarded by George Marshall, also a VMI graduate, who was Army Chief of Staff during World War II. This was a major part of Almond's promotion to Major General and subsequent command of the 92nd Infantry Division, made of almost exclusively African-American soldiers, a position he held from its formation in October 1942 until August 1945. He led the division in combat in the Italian campaign of 1944-1945. Chosen by George Marshall for this assignment because Marshall believed Almond would excel at this difficult assignment Almond performed poorly and went on to blame his poor performance on the fact that the division was made up of largely African-American troops as the source of his failure and went on to advise the Army against ever again using African-Americans as combat troops.[2] While his peers progressed, Almond was denied his third star because of his poor performance. He was severely criticized by some officers for racist attitudes against black soldiers; he maintained his virulent racism until his death.
In 1946 Almond was transferred to Tokyo and became Deputy Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army Forces Far East under Douglas MacArthur, who took a personal liking to Almond. There, he prospered amidst an extremely weak staff of MacArthur supplicants, and sublimated his own beliefs and will to that of MacArthur in order to progress in his career, which had been stalled due to poor performance in previous commands. As MacArthur's Deputy Chief of Staff, he was obsequious to MacArthur, insolent to all others, and used the assumption that he spoke for MacArthur for his own personal gain.
[edit] Korean War and X Corps
In 1950 MacArthur split X Corps from 8th Army then placed Almond, who had no experience with amphibious operations, in command of the main landing force just prior the amphibious invasions of Inchon and Wonsan largely to enable Almond to obtain his third star. During this invasion Almond again performed poorly, failing to capture most of the opposition army as they retreated from the 38th parallel to defensive positions above Seoul. During this time, Almond had many conflicts with Major General Oliver Prince Smith, commander of the 1st Marine Division (who was senior to him) which was part of X Corps from October until December. Almond was repeatedly insolent and disrespectful to Smith as well as Major General Walton Walker, the Commanding General of the U.S. Eighth Army, who was also senior to him in rank, he often took to calling both these generals 'Son'. Almond has been criticized by historians for the wide dispersal of his units during the X Corps invasion of the north-eastern part of North Korea, in November-December,1950. This dispersal combined with an excessively aggressive, almost reckless, attitude fundamentally contributed to the defeat of X Corps by the Chinese, including the destruction of Task Force Faith, and the narrow escape of the Marines at the Battle of Chosin Reservoir. In numerous instances Almond allowed his innate racism against the Chinese, who he regularly referred to as 'Laundry Men' and described them as "Not very intelligent", to cloud his vision leading him to put his soldiers at mortal risk and more than once led them to ambush.
Despite his controversial reputation, Almond was retained as X Corps commander by Lieutenant General Matthew Ridgway when he took command of Eighth Army in December to avoid destroying the morale of the Eighth Army after MacArthur was relieved of his command by President Truman. Although he was regarded by Ridgway as his only aggressive corps commander and took part in the defeat of the Chinese offensives during February and March 1951, as well as the Eighth Army's counter-offensive, Operation Killer, his command was immediately severely reduced by Ridgway, who informed Almond upon his assumption of command that Almond's facility to dissemble the truth would not be tolerated under Ridgway's command. Almond was promoted to Lieutenant General during this time shortly after MacArthur's dénouement as a result of MacArthur's prior lobbying. During the remainder of Almond's command, he strenuously attempted to prevent integration of the Eighth Army. When Ridgway arranged for an African American captain who had served heroically to receive the Silver Star, Almond reversed the decision behind Ridgway's back and relieved the captain of his command.
[edit] Post Korea
In July 1951, Almond became head of the Army War College. He retired in 1953 and worked in insurance until his death in 1979. During his retirement, he further tarnished his legacy by repeatedly speaking out against the integration of the Armed Forces.
Almond's decorations include the Distinguished Service Cross with oak leaf cluster, the Distinguished Service Medal with oak leaf cluster, the Silver Star with oak leaf cluster and the Purple Heart.
He is buried at Arlington National Cemetery.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- Notes
- Bibliography
- Fehrenbach, T.R. (1963). This Kind of War. Dulles, Virginia: Brassey's. ISBN 1-57488-259-7.
- Halberstam, David (2007). The Coldest WInter - America and the Korean War. New York: Hyperion. ISBN 978-140130-052-4.
- Russ, Martin (1999). Breakout” – The Chosin Reservoir Campaign, Korea, 1950.. Penguin Books. ISBN 0-14029-259-4.
- Web
VI Corps (United States)
