Elbridge Gerry Chapman Jr. (November 20, 1895 – July 6, 1954) was a senior United States Army officer who served in both World War I and World War II. During the latter he commanded the 13th Airborne Division, but saw no action.

Early life and education

Chapman attended the University of Colorado, where he played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

and was captain of the

1916 Colorado Silver and Gold football team The 1916 Colorado Silver and Gold football team was an American football team that represented the University of Colorado as a member of the Rocky Mountain Conference (RMC) during the 1916 college football season. Led by first-year head coach B ...

Military career

Chapman entered the United States Army in 1917, due to the American entry into World War I and was commissioned as 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 ...

into the Infantry Branch. He served with distinction on the

Western Front Western Front or West Front may refer to: Military frontiers *Western Front (World War I), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (World War II), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (Russian Empire), a majo ...

in France as a company commander with the 5th Machine Gun Battalion (attached to the 1st Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division) and was awarded the

Distinguished Service Cross The Distinguished Service Cross (D.S.C.) is a military decoration for courage. Different versions exist for different countries. *Distinguished Service Cross (Australia) *Distinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom) *Distinguished Service Cross (U ...

and the

Silver Star Citation The Citation Star was a Department of War personal valor decoration issued as a ribbon device which was first established by the United States Congress on July 9, 1918 (Bulletin No. 43, War Dept. 1918). When awarded, a silver star was placed o ...

for valor. During the

interwar period In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days), the end of the World War I, First World War to the beginning of the World War II, Second World War. The in ...

he remained in the army and by the time the United States entered World War II in December 1941 he was an enthusiastic supporter of the army's rapidly growing

airborne forces Airborne forces, airborne troops, or airborne infantry are ground combat units carried by aircraft and airdropped into battle zones, typically by parachute drop or air assault. Parachute-qualified infantry and support personnel serving in ai ...

, commanding the 88th Glider Infantry Battalion, later becoming the Assistant Division Commander of the 13th Airborne Division, later commanding the division in North-West Europe but never commanded it in action. He retired from the army in 1946, after almost thirty years of service, and died in San Bruno, California, in July 1954, aged 58.

In media

Chapman was portrayed in the television miniseries '' Band of Brothers'' by David Andrews.

References

External links

Generals of World War II
, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Chapman, Elbridge 1895 births 1954 deaths United States Army Infantry Branch personnel Colorado Buffaloes football players Recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross (United States) Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army) Recipients of the Silver Star United States Army personnel of World War I United States Army generals of World War II United States Army generals Players of American football from Denver Military personnel from Colorado