Carter Bowie Magruder (April 3, 1900March 14, 1988) was a

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

general who served concurrently as Commander in Chief,

United Nations Command United Nations Command (UNC or UN Command) is the multinational military force established to support the South Korea, Republic of Korea (South Korea) during and after the Korean War. It was the first international unified command in history, an ...

/Commander,

United States Forces Korea United States Forces Korea (USFK) is a Unified Combatant Command#Subordinate Unified Command, sub-unified command of United States Indo-Pacific Command, U.S. Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM). USFK is the joint headquarters for U.S. combat-re ...

/Commanding General,

Eighth United States Army The Eighth Army is a U.S. field army which is the commanding formation of all United States Army United States Forces Korea, forces in South Korea. It commands U.S. and South Korean units and is headquartered at the Camp Humphreys,

(CINCUNC/COMUSFK/CG EUSA) from 1959 to 1961.

Early life and education

Carter Bowie Magruder (1900–1988) at West Point in 1923

Magruder was born in

London, United Kingdom London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, where his father, Dr. George Mason Magruder, was serving with the

United States Public Health Service The United States Public Health Service (USPHS or PHS) is a collection of agencies of the Department of Health and Human Services concerned with public health, containing nine out of the department's twelve operating divisions. The Assistant S ...

. Magruder's later returned to the U.S. and settled in Albemarle, Virginia, where young Carter graduated from the high school. At the time of the U.S. entry into World War I, he was attending the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United S ...

. He dropped out of college and after period of training at the Officers Training Camp in

Plattsburgh, New York Plattsburgh ( moh, Tsi ietsénhtha) is a city in, and the seat of, Clinton County, New York, United States, situated on the north-western shore of Lake Champlain. The population was 19,841 at the 2020 census. The population of the surrounding ...

, he was commissioned an infantry second lieutenant on September 16, 1918. With the end of the war, Magruder accepted an appointment to the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a fort, since it sits on strategic high groun ...

. Upon graduation in 1923, he was commissioned in the field artillery. Later he attended

Purdue University Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and money ...

and received a master's degree in mechanical engineering in 1932. Prior to World War II, he served at various posts and assignments and also attended the

Command and General Staff College The United States Army Command and General Staff College (CGSC or, obsolete, USACGSC) at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, is a graduate school for United States Army and sister service officers, interagency representatives, and international military ...

and Army War College.

World War II

In June 1941, Magruder was assigned to the Office of the Assistant Chief of Staff for logistics (G-4),

War Department General Staff The United States Department of War, also called the War Department (and occasionally War Office in the early years), was the United States Cabinet department originally responsible for the operation and maintenance of the United States Army, a ...

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, where he served under then-Major General Brehon B. Somervell. During his service there, Magruder was promoted to lieutenant colonel on December 21, 1941. Upon the creation of

Army Service Forces The Army Service Forces was one of the three autonomous components of the United States Army during World War II, the others being the Army Air Forces and Army Ground Forces, created on 9 March 1942. By dividing the Army into three large comman ...

under General Somervell in March 1942, Magruder was appointed Director of Planning Division, Army Service Forces and was promoted to colonel on December 12, 1942. While in this capacity, he planned and supervised the logistic support from the United States for overseas operations and gained the reputation of Army's top logistician. Magruder was present at the

Casablanca Casablanca, also known in Arabic as Dar al-Bayda ( ar, الدَّار الْبَيْضَاء, al-Dār al-Bayḍāʾ, ; ber, ⴹⴹⴰⵕⵍⴱⵉⴹⴰ, ḍḍaṛlbiḍa, : "White House") is the largest city in Morocco and the country's econom ...

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...

, and

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

conferences and later was decorated with

Army Distinguished Service Medal The Distinguished Service Medal (DSM) is a military decoration of the United States Army that is presented to soldiers who have distinguished themselves by exceptionally meritorious service to the government in a duty of great responsibility. Th ...

for his service in this capacity. Following the promotion to brigadier general on August 13, 1944, Magruder was ordered overseas and assumed duty as Assistant Chief of Staff for logistics (G-4) on the staff of Commanding General,

Mediterranean Theater of Operations The Mediterranean Theater of Operations, United States Army (MTOUSA), originally called the North African Theater of Operations, United States Army (NATOUSA), was a military formation of the United States Army that supervised all U.S. Army forc ...

Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, ...

. He was in charge of supply, transportation, and construction in that theater, stationed in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

and was promoted to major general on March 24, 1945. Magruder later received his second

for his service in the Mediterranean and also was decorated by the governments of

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

and

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

Postwar service

In November 1945, Magruder was transferred to the

European Theater of Operations The European Theater of Operations, United States Army (ETOUSA) was a Theater of Operations responsible for directing United States Army operations throughout the European theatre of World War II, from 1942 to 1945. It commanded Army Ground For ...

and assumed duty as Chief of Staff,

Services of Supply The Services of Supply or "SOS" branch of the Army of the USA was created on 28 February 1942 by Executive Order Number 9082 "Reorganizing the Army and the War Department" and War Department Circular No. 59, dated 2 March 1942. Services of Supp ...

under Lieutenant General

John C. H. Lee John Clifford Hodges Lee (1 August 1887 – 30 August 1958) was a career US Army engineer, who rose to the rank of lieutenant general and commanded the Communications Zone (ComZ) in the European Theater of Operations during World War II. A grad ...

. He later succeeded Lee and upon the reorganization of postwar allied forces, Magruder assumed duty as Assistant Chief of Staff for logistics (G-4),

United States European Command The United States European Command (EUCOM) is one of the eleven unified combatant commands of the United States military, headquartered in Stuttgart, Germany. Its area of focus covers and 51 countries and territories, including Europe, Russi ...

under General

Joseph T. McNarney Joseph Taggart McNarney (August 28, 1893 – February 1, 1972) was a four-star general in the United States Army and in the United States Air Force, who served as Military Governor of occupied Germany. Early life Joseph Taggart McNarney was ...

. While in this capacity, Magruder was stationed in

Frankfurt Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...

and was charged with the destruction of German equipment and fortifications, the repatriation of slave labor and displaced persons and the release of prisoners of war. He later served as Chief of Staff of the European Command under General

Lucius D. Clay General Lucius Dubignon Clay (April 23, 1898 – April 16, 1978) was a senior officer of the United States Army who was known for his administration of occupied Germany after World War II. He served as the deputy to General of the Army Dwight D ...

until March 1949, when he returned to the United States for duty at

the Pentagon The Pentagon is the headquarters building of the United States Department of Defense. It was constructed on an accelerated schedule during World War II. As a symbol of the U.S. military, the phrase ''The Pentagon'' is often used as a metony ...

. Magruder served as deputy to the

Assistant Secretary of the Army Assistant Secretary of the Army is a title used to describe various civilian officials in the United States Department of the Army. Present Assistant Secretaries of the Army At present, there are five offices bearing the title of Assistant Secret ...

Tracy Voorhees Tracy Stebbins Voorhees (June 30, 1890 – September 25, 1974) served as Under Secretary of the United States Army from August 1949 to April 1950. He held numerous positions within the U.S. Government as a civilian. A practicing attorney, Voorhee ...

. Magruder then served as Deputy Assistant Chief of Staff for Logistics until November 1953, when he was ordered to the

Far East The ''Far East'' was a European term to refer to the geographical regions that includes East and Southeast Asia as well as the Russian Far East to a lesser extent. South Asia is sometimes also included for economic and cultural reasons. The ter ...

for duty as commanding general, 24th Infantry Division and in 1954 was promoted to lieutenant general. He then assumed command of

IX Corps 9 Corps, 9th Corps, Ninth Corps, or IX Corps may refer to: France * 9th Army Corps (France) * IX Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars Germany * IX Corps (German Empire), a unit of the Imperial Germ ...

and returned to the United States in 1955 for duty as Assistant Chief of Staff of the Army for Logistics, the highest logistics position in the Army. Promoted to full general in 1959, Magruder returned to Korea to command all United Nations and U.S. forces. During his command, a

military junta A military junta () is a government led by a committee of military leaders. The term ''junta'' means "meeting" or "committee" and originated in the national and local junta organized by the Spanish resistance to Napoleon's invasion of Spain in ...

led by

Park Chung-hee Park Chung-hee (, ; 14 November 1917 – 26 October 1979) was a South Korean politician and army general who served as the dictator of South Korea from 1961 until his assassination in 1979; ruling as an unelected military strongman from 1961 ...

overthrew the elected premier, John Chang. Magruder was publicly criticized by retired General

James Van Fleet General James Alward Van Fleet (March 19, 1892 – September 23, 1992) was a United States Army officer who saw service during World War I, World War II and the Korean War. Van Fleet was a native of New Jersey, who was raised in Florida and gradu ...

for ordering South Korean officers to stay loyal to the civilian government. Van Fleet, who supported the coup, said that Magruder "acted illegally", and:

Those ROK generals who refused to go along with the coup should have disobeyed his order ... It's all right to talk about representative government, but except in great countries like the U.S. and Great Britain, such a system lets elements get into the government and destroy it in underdeveloped countries where the enemy is lurking.

Magruder retired from the Army in June 1961 after almost 43 years of active service and received his third

for his service as commanding general, United Nations Command in Korea.

Later life and death

After retiring from the Army, Magruder worked as a logistics consultant to the Department of Defense and private industry. He settled in

Arlington, Virginia Arlington County is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The county is situated in Northern Virginia on the southwestern bank of the Potomac River directly across from the District of Columbia, of which it was once a part. The county is ...

, and was a member of the Army-Navy Country Club and the

Society of the Cincinnati The Society of the Cincinnati is a fraternal, hereditary society founded in 1783 to commemorate the American Revolutionary War that saw the creation of the United States. Membership is largely restricted to descendants of military officers wh ...

. He died at the age of 87 of lung ailments on March 14, 1988, at

Walter Reed Army Medical Center The Walter Reed Army Medical Center (WRAMC)known as Walter Reed General Hospital (WRGH) until 1951was the U.S. Army's flagship medical center from 1909 to 2011. Located on in the District of Columbia, it served more than 150,000 active and ret ...

and was buried in

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is one of two national cemeteries run by the United States Army. Nearly 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington, Virginia. There are about 30 funerals conducted on weekdays and 7 held on Sa ...

. His wife, Luella Johnson Magruder (1907–1991) was buried with him in 1991.Burial Detail: Magruder, Carter B
– ANC Explorer

Decorations

Here is the ribbon bar of General Magruder:

Notes

External links

at ArlingtonCemetery.net, an unofficial website

{{DEFAULTSORT:Magruder, Carter B. 1900 births 1988 deaths United States Army generals United States Army personnel of the Korean War Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army) Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Commanders of the Legion of Honour Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1939–1945 (France) Recipients of the Order of the Crown (Italy) United States Military Academy alumni Purdue University College of Engineering alumni United States Army Command and General Staff College alumni United States Army War College alumni Burials at Arlington National Cemetery Commanders, United States Forces Korea United States Army generals of World War II