Lieutenant General Harold Roe "Pink" Bull (January 6, 1893 – November 1, 1976) was a general in the United States Army and served as Assistant Chief of Staff (G-3) at

Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF; ) was the headquarters of the Commander of Allied forces in north west Europe, from late 1943 until the end of World War II. U.S. General Dwight D. Eisenhower was the commander in SHAEF th ...

(SHAEF) from 1943 to 1945.

Biography

Harold Roe Bull (1893–1976) at West Point in 1914

Bull was born in

Springfield, Massachusetts Springfield is a city in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, United States, and the seat of Hampden County. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers: the western Westfield River, the ...

and graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York in 1914. His fellow graduates included

Carl Spaatz Carl Andrew Spaatz (born Spatz; June 28, 1891 – July 14, 1974), nicknamed "Tooey", was an American World War II general. As commander of Strategic Air Forces in Europe in 1944, he successfully pressed for the bombing of the enemy's oil product ...

Brehon B. Somervell Brehon Burke Somervell (9 May 1892 – 13 February 1955) was a general in the United States Army and Commanding General of the Army Service Forces in World War II. As such he was responsible for the U.S. Army's logistics. Following his death, ' ...

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Harold Francis Loomis Brigadier General Harold Francis Loomis (19 June 1890 – 21 October 1970) was a United States Army officer who served in both World War I and World War II. A graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York, he was ranked 5 ...

Ralph Royce Ralph Royce (28 June 1890 – 7 August 1965) was a United States Army Air Forces general during World War II. A West Point graduate who learned to fly in 1915–16, he served with the 1st Aero Squadron in the Pancho Villa Expedition an ...

, Orlando Ward,

Jens A. Doe Major General Jens Anderson Doe (20 June 1891 – 25 February 1971) was a senior United States Army officer who fought with distinction in both World War I and World War II. He is best known for his command of the 41st Infantry Division in ...

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, and Vicente Lim, all of whom were later to achieve

general officer A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED O ...

rank. He served as Major and Instructor in the Department of English and History at the United States Military Academy in 1923–1924.

World War II

He served as Assistant Chief of Staff (G-3) at

(SHAEF) under Dwight D. Eisenhower from October 1943 until SHAEF was dissolved in July 1945. He later served as Deputy Chief of Staff and Chief of Staff of U.S. Forces in Europe (USFET) until returning to the United States Department of War in September 1946. As head of the Operations (G-3) section of SHAEF, Bull had a major role in the planning of military operations in Europe. His office prepared most of the periodic situation reports to the

Combined Chiefs of Staff The Combined Chiefs of Staff (CCS) was the supreme military staff for the United States and Britain during World War II. It set all the major policy decisions for the two nations, subject to the approvals of British Prime Minister Winston Churchil ...

and the SHAEF Operational Directives which were issued by Eisenhower's headquarters. Bull's office included the SHAEF meteorological staff which compiled weather reports for use in planning military operations. A favorable weather report by Bull's staff helped General Eisenhower decide to launch the

invasion of Normandy Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allied operation that launched the successful invasion of German-occupied Western Europe during World War II. The operation was launched on 6 June 1944 (D-Day) with the Norm ...

on the morning of June 6, 1944. From September 20 to September 29, 1944, Bull was commanding general of the 4th Infantry Division.

Post-war

Bull was promoted to lieutenant general in 1949 and served as Commandant of the

National War College The National War College (NWC) of the United States is a school in the National Defense University. It is housed in Roosevelt Hall on Fort Lesley J. McNair, Washington, D.C., the third-oldest Army post still active. History The National War Colle ...

until his retirement from the Army in 1952. He died at his home in Bethesda, Maryland on November 1, 1976, and was buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

Decorations

References

External links

Papers of Harold R. Bull, Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library

, - 1893 births 1976 deaths People from Springfield, Massachusetts Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army) Recipients of the Legion of Merit Recipients of the Silver Star United States Military Academy alumni United States Army personnel of World War I United States Army generals of World War II United States Army generals United States Military Academy faculty Military personnel from Massachusetts United States Army Infantry Branch personnel Burials at Arlington National Cemetery {{US-army-World-War-II-bio-stub