Donald Prentice Booth (December 21, 1902 – October 30, 1993) was a

lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

in the

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 ...

. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

he was the US Army's youngest theater commander. After World War II he was known for his commands of the 28th Infantry Division, the 9th Infantry Division and the

Fourth United States Army Fourth United States Army was a field army of the United States Army between 1932 and 1991. History In 1922, Fourth Army was organized as a unit of the Organized Reserves in New York City. It was allotted to the Regular Army as an inactive unit ...

. In addition, he served as High Commissioner of the

Ryukyu Islands The , also known as the or the , are a chain of Japanese islands that stretch southwest from Kyushu to Taiwan: the Ōsumi, Tokara, Amami, Okinawa, and Sakishima Islands (further divided into the Miyako and Yaeyama Islands), with Yonaguni ...

from 1958 to 1961.

Early life

Donald Prentice Booth (1902–1993) at West Point in 1926

Donald Prentice Booth was the son of Colonel Alfred James Booth (1875–1937), a career Army officer and veteran of the

Spanish–American War , partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence , image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption = (clock ...

and

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. Donald Booth attended Hawaii's

Punahou School Punahou School (known as Oahu College until 1934) is a private, co-educational, college preparatory school in Honolulu, Hawaii. More than 3,700 students attend the school from kindergarten through twelfth grade, 12th grade. Protestant missionar ...

, and high schools in

San Antonio, Texas ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_t ...

Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of New York, also the seat and largest city of Albany County. Albany is on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River, and about north of New York City ...

, and

Patchogue, New York Patchogue (, ) is a Administrative divisions of New York#Village, village in Suffolk County, New York. The population was 11,798 at the time of the 2010 census. Patchogue is part of the Town (New York), town of Brookhaven, New York, Brookhaven, on ...

before graduating from

Leavenworth High School Leavenworth High School is a public high school located in Leavenworth, Kansas, operated by Leavenworth USD 453 school district. The school was established in 1865, making it one of the first high schools in Kansas. The school colors are blue and ...

Leavenworth, Kansas Leavenworth () is the county seat and largest city of Leavenworth County, Kansas, United States and is part of the Kansas City metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 37,351. It is located on the west bank of t ...

in 1921. He graduated from 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 ...

in 1926 and was commissioned a

second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

Engineers Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the limit ...

Early military career

After receiving his commission Booth pursued graduate studies in engineering at

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...

. Booth graduated from the Army Engineer Officer Course in 1930. From 1935 to 1939 he was an instructor at the US Military Academy. Booth graduated from the Command and General Staff School in 1940. Later that year, he served with the 2nd Engineers at Fort Sam Houston, Texas and was then transferred to be Assistant to the District Engineer in Seattle from 1940–1942.

World War II

From 1942 to 1944, Booth served as Director of Ports for the

Persian Gulf Command The Persian Gulf Command was a United States Army service command established in December 1943 to facilitate the supply of US lend-lease war material to the Soviet Union, through the "Persian Corridor". History The command originated in Septem ...

, receiving promotion to brigadier general in May 1944. The Persian Gulf Command was responsible for transporting supplies to the

U.S.S.R. The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

after it joined the Allied war effort. Booth served as Chief of Staff from 1944 to 1945, and commanded the organization from early 1945 until the end of the war.

Post World War II

Following World War II Booth served in positions of increasing visibility and responsibility, including a posting as Executive Assistant to the Undersecretary of War From 1953 to 1954 General Booth was commander of the 28th Infantry Division in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

when this

National Guard National Guard is the name used by a wide variety of current and historical uniformed organizations in different countries. The original National Guard was formed during the French Revolution around a cadre of defectors from the French Guards. Nat ...

organization was activated to replace active duty units sent to

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

during the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

. Booth commanded the 9th Infantry Division, also in Germany, from May to November, 1954. From 1955 to 1957 Booth was the Army's Assistant Chief of Staff for Personnel, G-1. Promoted to lieutenant general in 1957, he served as the Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel until 1958. Booth served as US High Commissioner of the

from 1958 to 1961. From 1961 to 1962 Booth was commander of the

Awards and decorations

HICOM Booth receiving the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Star

Booth's awards included multiple presentations of the

Distinguished Service Medal Distinguished Service Medal (DSM) is a high award of a nation. Examples include: *Distinguished Service Medal (Australia) (established 1991), awarded to personnel of the Australian Defence Force for distinguished leadership in action * Distinguishe ...

. In 1961 he received the Order of the Rising Sun, Second Class to recognize his efforts as High Commissioner for the

Retirement and death

In retirement, Booth lived in

Santa Barbara, California Santa Barbara ( es, Santa Bárbara, meaning "Saint Barbara") is a coastal city in Santa Barbara County, California, of which it is also the county seat. Situated on a south-facing section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coas ...

, where he died on October 30, 1993. He was buried at

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 ...

, Section 3-HH, Row 2, Site 3.Nationwide Gravesite Locator
, US Department of Veterans Affairs

References

External links

Arlington National Cemetery web site {{DEFAULTSORT:Booth, Donald Prentice 1902 births 1993 deaths United States Army Corps of Engineers personnel United States Military Academy alumni United States Army Command and General Staff College alumni Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army) Military personnel from Albany, New York People from Santa Barbara, California Burials at Arlington National Cemetery United States Army generals of World War II United States Army generals Military personnel from California United States Military Academy faculty