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 ...

Henry W. McMillan (August 12, 1911 - August 28, 1990) was an

Adjutant General An adjutant general is a military chief administrative officer. France In Revolutionary France, the was a senior staff officer, effectively an assistant to a general officer. It was a special position for lieutenant-colonels and colonels in staf ...

of Florida (1962-1975) and a longstanding service member in the

Florida National Guard The Florida National Guard is the National Guard force of the state of Florida. It comprises the Florida Army National Guard and the Florida Air National Guard. The United States Constitution charges the National Guard with dual federal and stat ...

and 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 ...

Early life

Henry William McMillan Jr. was born in

Osyka, Mississippi Osyka is a town in Pike County, Mississippi, United States. It is located on the Mississippi–Louisiana state line. The population was 440 at the 2010 census. It is part of the McComb, Mississippi Micropolitan Statistical Area. The peak of its ...

but moved to

Tallahassee, Florida Tallahassee ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat and only incorporated municipality in Leon County, Florida, Leon County. Tallahassee became the capital of Florida, then the Florida Territory, in 1824. In ...

when he was fifteen. He had nine siblings. One of his sisters, Vernelle Tucker, was an early female executive for the ''Tallahassee Democrat'' paper. In adulthood, when he was not fulfilling his military duties, he worked with the

Internal Revenue Service The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the revenue service for the United States federal government, which is responsible for collecting U.S. federal taxes and administering the Internal Revenue Code, the main body of the federal statutory ta ...

Military career

CPT_Henry_McMillan,_Company_M,_124th_Infantry,_Tallahassee,_Florida_National_Guard

Henry W. McMillan enlisted in the Florida National Guard as a private in February 1929 at the age of seventeen and a half by claiming to be a year older. He became a second lieutenant in February 1934. He was mobilized in the army as a

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

in November 1940 and promoted to

major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

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 ...

, and

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 ...

. He commanded an infantry company, a battalion, and the

124th Infantry Regiment The 124th Infantry Regiment is a parent regiment of the United States Army, represented in the Florida Army National Guard by the 1st Battalion headquartered in Miramar and 2nd Battalion at Orlando. The two Battalions are elements of the 53rd In ...

throughout

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 ...

. Towards the end of the war, he was the first Chief of U.S. Military Mission to the

Republic of Paraguay Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to th ...

. McMillan later resigned from the regular army and returned to Florida to reorganize the Florida National Guard. He became

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 1952 and major general in 1961. From 1961 to 1962, he commanded the 51st Infantry Division. McMillan served as Adjutant General of Florida from April 1962 - August 1975. In 1971 he answered a question on state versus federal compensation in the Annual Report of the Attorney General.

Civic Service

While McMillan was Adjutant General, he was also president of the

National Guard Association of the United States The National Guard Association of the United States was founded in 1878 as a congressional lobbying organization for National Guard issues. A member of the Military Coalition, NGAUS lobbies on behalf of 45,000 officers who comprise the membership ...

, Chairman of the Army Reserve Forces Policy Committee and president of the Adjutants General Association of the United States. He was a member of the

Rotary Club Rotary International is one of the largest service organizations in the world. Its stated mission is to "provide service to others, promote integrity, and advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace through hefellowship of business, profe ...

, a member of the Board of Directors of Barnett Bank of Anastasia Island, and of Marineland Incorporated of Florida. He served on the

Historic St. Augustine Preservation Board The Historic St. Augustine Preservation Board (HSAPB) was a state agency in Florida that participated in the restoration and preservation of historic buildings in St. Augustine, Florida from 1959 to 1997. Created in 1959 by Governor LeRoy Coll ...

(HSAPB) for almost twelve years in various capacities (chairman, vice-chairman, and secretary-treasurer). The HSAPB proclaimed McMillan a Distinguished Citizen on the occasion of his retirement.

Awards and Medals

McMillan was honored with several military awards and decorations. He received the

Distinguished Service Medal Distinguished Service Medal (DSM) is a high award of a nation. Examples include: *Distinguished Service Medal (Australia) (established 1991), awarded to personnel of the Australian Defence Force for distinguished leadership in action * Distinguishe ...

, the

Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements. The decoration is issued to members of the eight ...

, with

Oak Leaf Cluster An oak leaf cluster is a ribbon device to denote preceding decorations and awards consisting of a miniature bronze or silver twig of four oak leaves with three acorns on the stem. It is authorized by the United States Armed Forces for a speci ...

, the

American Defense Service Medal The American Defense Service Medal was a military award of the United States Armed Forces, established by , by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, on June 28, 1941. The medal was intended to recognize those military service members who had served ...

, the

WWII Victory Medal The World War II Victory Medal is a service medal of the United States military which was established by an Act of Congress on 6 July 1945 (Public Law 135, 79th Congress) and promulgated by Section V, War Department Bulletin 12, 1945. The Wor ...

, the Order of Merit of the Republic of Paraguay, the

Order of Isabel the Catholic The Order of Isabella the Catholic ( es, Orden de Isabel la Católica) is a Spanish civil order and honor granted to persons and institutions in recognition of extraordinary services to the homeland or the promotion of international relations a ...

from the

Government of Spain gl, Goberno de España eu, Espainiako Gobernua , image = , caption = Logo of the Government of Spain , headerstyle = background-color: #efefef , label1 = Role , data1 = Executive power , label2 = Established , da ...

, the Florida Cross, with Silver Cluster, and the Florida Distinguished Service Medal, among others. The Spanish government had recognized him for his involvement with the Historic St. Augustine Preservation Board and his contributions to restoring downtown

St. Augustine, Florida St. Augustine ( ; es, San Agustín ) is a city in the Southeastern United States and the county seat of St. Johns County on the Atlantic coast of northeastern Florida. Founded in 1565 by Spanish explorers, it is the oldest continuously inhabit ...

. He was the first recipient of the City of St. Augustine's

Order of La Florida The Order of La Florida is an award given by the City of St. Augustine, Florida to those who have rendered extraordinary services to the city. History The award was established in 1975. Recipients must be at least fifty-five years old and the ...

in 1975.

Family life and legacy

Henry W. McMillan married Louise Ford, of Columbus, Georgia in 1932. They had two daughters. The National Guard Armory in Tallahassee was named for McMillan in 1976 upon his retirement. At that time, he was the longest serving member in history of the Florida National Guard. He died in

Orlando Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures rele ...

in 1990 and is buried in Roselawn Cemetery in Tallahassee.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McMillan, Henry W. 1911 births 1990 deaths People from Pike County, Mississippi Florida National Guard personnel Internal Revenue Service people United States Army personnel of World War II United States Army generals