Haydon LeMaire Boatner (October 8, 1900 – May 29, 1977) was a

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 ...

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 ...

who served in

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 ...

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 ...

Early life and family

Haydon L. Boatner was born and raised in

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

. His father, Mark Mayo Boatner, graduated from

Virginia Military Institute la, Consilio et Animis (on seal) , mottoeng = "In peace a glorious asset, In war a tower of strength""By courage and wisdom" (on seal) , established = , type = Public senior military college , accreditation = SACS , endowment = $696.8 mill ...

and was a respected lawyer and judge in New Orleans. His mother's maiden name was Byrd Elizabeth Bryant. He was one of six children: Mark II, Frank, Haydon, Bryant (who became an Air Force

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 ...

, Charlotte and Elizabeth (Betty). He enlisted in the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

near the end of

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 ...

but did not complete training in time to deploy.

Education

From 1919 to 1920 he attended

Tulane University Tulane University, officially the Tulane University of Louisiana, is a private university, private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by seven young medical doctors, it turned into ...

, in New Orleans. In 1920, he received an appointment to 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 ...

at West Point, New York.

Military career

He was commissioned in the infantry from

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 1924. His first assignment was with the 29th Infantry at Fort Benning, Georgia. From 1928 to 1930, he served with the 15th Infantry in Tianjin (Tientsin), China. From 1930 to 1934 he served as assistant military attaché at the American Embassy, Peking, and during this time he became fluent in

Mandarin Chinese Mandarin (; ) is a group of Chinese (Sinitic) dialects that are natively spoken across most of northern and southwestern China. The group includes the Beijing dialect, the basis of the phonology of Standard Chinese, the official language of ...

. He graduated from

Command and General Staff School The United States Army Command and General Staff College (CGSC or, obsolete, USACGSC) at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, is a graduate school for United States Army and sister service officers, interagency representatives, and international military ...

in 1939. He was appointed as commanding officer of the forward echelon in

Burma Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...

in 1942 and was promoted to brigadier general in November 1942. He was subsequently chief of staff of the Chinese Army in Burma from 1942 to 1943. He was commanding general of combat troops in northwest Burma from 1943 to 1944 and chief of staff of Chinese Combat Command from 1944 to 1945. From 1948 to 1951 he was professor of military science and tactics and commandant of cadets at A&M College of Texas. During the Korean War Brigadier General Boatner served as assistant division commander of the 2nd Infantry Division. In May 1952, Lieutenant General

Mark W. Clark Mark Wayne Clark (May 1, 1896 – April 17, 1984) was a United States Army officer who saw service during World War I, World War II, and the Korean War. He was the youngest four-star general in the US Army during World War II. During World War I ...

, commanding general of the Eighth Army, appointed Boatner to take command of the

Koje-do POW Camp Geoje-do POW camp ( ko, 거제도 포로수용소, zh, 巨济岛戰俘營) was a prisoner of war camp located on Geoje island at the southernmost part of Gyeongsangnam-do, South Korea. It is considered the largest of the UNC established camps. ...

and suppress the uprising by Communist POWs. Boatner swiftly took control of the situation at Koje-do, and by June 1952 the camp had been pacified. He was subsequently promoted to Major General. His assignments after the Korean War included commanding general of the 3rd Infantry Division from December 1954 until October 1955 and

Provost Marshal General The provost marshal general (pronounced "provo") is a United States Army staff position that handles investigations of U.S. Army personnel. It is the highest-ranking provost marshal position in the U.S. Army, reporting to the Chief of Staff of ...

of the U.S. Army from 19 November 1957 until 31 October 1960. MG Boatner retired from the army in November 1960.

Death

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 ...

.Burial Detail: Boatner, Haydon L (Section 30, Grave 1521)
– ANC Explorer

References

Bibliography

* Fehrenbach, T. R., ''This Kind of War: A Study In Unpreparedness'' 1963, . Republished in 1998 as ''This Kind Of War: The Classic Korean War History'' , .

External links

*
Generals of World War II
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boatner, Haydon L. 1900 births 1977 deaths United States Army generals United States Army personnel of the Korean War United States Military Academy alumni Burials at Arlington National Cemetery United States Army generals of World War II Recipients of the Silver Star Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army) Recipients of the Legion of Merit United States Army Command and General Staff College alumni