George Sherwin Simonds (March 12, 1874 – November 1, 1938) was a

U.S. 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 ...

officer with 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 a ...

Early life

He was born in

Cresco, Iowa Cresco is a city in Howard County, Iowa, United States. The population was 3,888 in the 2020 census, a decline from 3,905 in 2000 census. It is the county seat of Howard County. History Cresco was platted in 1866 at the time the railroad was e ...

on March 12, 1874, the son of son of William O. Simonds and Ellen Sherwin Simonds .

Military career

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 1899. After graduation, he was assigned to the 22d Infantry. He served in the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

and

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

. He returned to

West Point The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known Metonymy, metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a f ...

in 1904 as an instructor in the Department of Law. In addition from 1915 to 1917, he also taught in the Department of Tactics. When World War I began, he was sent to

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 ...

as an observer. After returning to America, he was assigned to the General Staff of the General Headquarters of the

American Expeditionary Force The American Expeditionary Forces (A. E. F.) was a formation of the United States Army on the Western Front of World War I. The A. E. F. was established on July 5, 1917, in France under the command of General John J. Pershing. It fought alon ...

and returned to France again in 1917.

Lieutenant Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

George S. Simonds, Infantry, was Chief of Staff of the 2nd Corps, American Expeditionary Force. He received a temporary promotion to

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

in June 1918 and 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 October 1918. Simonds received the Army

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 service in the war. The medal's citation reads: After the war, Simonds graduated from the Army War College in 1920 and was promoted to colonel in July 1921. He was promoted to brigadier general in November 1924. Simonds commanded the tank center until 1925, and was succeeded by

James K. Parsons James Kelly Parsons (February 11, 1877 – November 8, 1960) was a career officer in the United States Army. He attained the rank of major general, and was notable for his command of the 39th Infantry Regiment in France during World War I, and h ...

. Brigadier General Simonds served as Chief of the War Plans Division of the War Department from September 1, 1927 to September 1, 1931. In 1932, he was assigned to run the Army War College. Previously he was

Douglas MacArthur Douglas MacArthur (26 January 18805 April 1964) was an American military leader who served as General of the Army for the United States, as well as a field marshal to the Philippine Army. He had served with distinction in World War I, was C ...

's chief war planner, and his appointment was made to improve the planning ability in the Army War College. Simonds was promoted to

in 1933. Simonds served as Deputy Chief of Staff in the War Department from February 2, 1935 to May 28, 1936. In June 1936, Simonds took command of 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 ...

and Ninth Corps; the headquarters was at the

Presidio of San Francisco The Presidio of San Francisco (originally, El Presidio Real de San Francisco or The Royal Fortress of Saint Francis) is a park and former U.S. Army post on the northern tip of the San Francisco Peninsula in San Francisco, California, and is part o ...

. Simonds retired from the Army at San Francisco in 1938.

Death and legacy

He died on November 1, 1938 and was buried in the

West Point Cemetery West Point Cemetery is a historic cemetery in the eastern United States, on the grounds of the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, New York. It overlooks the Hudson River, and served as a burial ground for Revolutionary War soldiers and early ...

. The ship USAT ''General George S. Simonds'' was named for him.

References

External links

* 1874 births 1938 deaths People from Cresco, Iowa United States Military Academy alumni Military personnel from Iowa American military personnel of the Philippine–American War United States Military Academy faculty United States Army generals of World War I Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army) United States Army War College alumni United States Army generals Military personnel from San Francisco Burials at West Point Cemetery {{US-army-World-War-I-bio-stub