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 ...

Frank William Milburn (January 11, 1892 – October 25, 1962) was a senior

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

officer who served 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 opposing ...

and 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 ...

Military career

Frank William Milburn (1892–1962) at West Point in 1914

Milburn attended 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 ...

and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in June 1914. During

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 ...

, Milburn served in the Panama Canal Zone. Subsequently, Milburn served in a variety of

infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and mar ...

assignments, among them the 5th, 33rd, 15th, and 28th Infantry Regiments. A 1933 graduate of the Command and General Staff School (the school for higher command in U.S. Army), Milburn was promoted to

brigadier general Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

in early 1942 and selected to command the

U.S. 83rd Infantry Division The 83rd Infantry Division ("Thunderbolt") was a formation of the United States Army in World War I and World War II. World War I The division was activated in September 1917 at Camp Sherman, Ohio. It was initially made up of enlisted draftee ...

in August 1942. He was again promoted in September 1942 to the rank of

major general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of ...

. Milburn commanded the 83rd Division until December 1943, when he took over the newly formed U.S. XXI Corps. Milburn commanded the XXI Corps for the remainder of

in Europe as part of the U.S. Seventh Army under General

Alexander Patch General Alexander McCarrell Patch (November 23, 1889 – November 21, 1945) was a senior United States Army officer who fought in both world wars, rising to rank of general. During World War II, he commanded U.S. Army and Marine Corps ...

. Milburn's XXI Corps played a decisive role in collapsing the Colmar Pocket in February 1945. In his ''The History of the French First Army'', General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny described General Milburn in this manner:

When I saw Maj.-Gen. Frank W. Milburn arrive at Rothau at 10.00 on the 25th January, lean and muscular and straight of eye, with the energetic features of a fighter, it did not take me long to know that I would find in him the most careful and loyal of subordinates. The steadfastness of his character, his clear view of realities and his leader-like authority, were apparent to me at once, and I felt that I could have complete confidence in him to bring to a successful conclusion the rough task which was going to fall to his U.S. 21st Army Corps.

Postwar, Milburn's tour of command of the XXI Corps ended in July 1945. Subsequently, Milburn served briefly as the acting commander for the Seventh Army and then the XXIII Corps. Milburn commanded the

U.S. V Corps V Corps (), formerly known as the Fifth Corps, is a regular corps of the United States Army at Fort Knox. It was previously active during World War I, World War II, the Cold War, the Kosovo War, and the War on Terrorism. Shoulder sleeve ins ...

from November 1945 until June 1946. From June 1946 until May 1949, Milburn commanded the U.S. 1st Infantry Division. Promoted to

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 1949, Milburn served as the deputy commander of U.S. Army Europe until 1950. During the Korean War, Milburn temporarily commanded the U.S. IX Corps in August 1950. From September 1950 until June 1951, Milburn commanded the U.S. I Corps, supervising the invasion of North Korea in October and November 1950. For two days in December 1950, following the Chinese intervention into the conflict, Milburn was the acting commander of the U.S. Eighth Army until the arrival of General

Matthew B. Ridgeway General Matthew Bunker Ridgway (March 3, 1895 – July 26, 1993) was a senior officer in the United States Army, who served as Supreme Allied Commander Europe (1952–1953) and the 19th Chief of Staff of the United States Army (1953–1955). Alt ...

, who was given command of the army after the death of General

Walton Walker Walton Harris Walker (December 3, 1889 – December 23, 1950) was a United States Army four-star general who served with distinction in World War I, World War II, and the Korean War, where he commanded the Eighth United States Army before dyin ...

. Milburn's career is remarkable for having commanded five

corps Corps (; plural ''corps'' ; from French , from the Latin "body") is a term used for several different kinds of organization. A military innovation by Napoleon I, the formation was first named as such in 1805. The size of a corps varies great ...

of the U.S. Army. He retired from military service in April 1952 and worked briefly as the athletic director at the

University of Montana The University of Montana (UM) is a public research university in Missoula, Montana. UM is a flagship institution of the Montana University System and its second largest campus. UM reported 10,962 undergraduate and graduate students in the fa ...

Head coaching record

Football

References

* Encyclopedia of the Korean War. Spencer C. Tucker, ed. Santa Barbara, ABC-CLIO, 2000. . * The History of the French First Army. Jean de Lattre de Tassigny. London, George Allen & Unwin Ltd., 1952. * Riviera to the Rhine. Jeffrey J. Clarke and Robert Ross Smith. Washington, Government Printing Office, 1993. * U.S. Army World War II Corps Commanders. Robert H. Berlin. Fort Leavenworth, Command and General Staff College, 1989.

External links

Generals of World War II
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