Irving Andrews Fish (August 25, 1881 – April 22, 1948) was a lawyer and member of the

Wisconsin National Guard The Wisconsin National Guard consists of the Wisconsin Army National Guard and the Wisconsin Air National Guard. It is a part of the Government of Wisconsin under the control of the Wisconsin Department of Military Affairs. The Wisconsin Natio ...

and

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 ...

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 opposin ...

. A veteran 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 ...

, Fish rose to the command of 32nd Infantry Division (''"Red Arrow"'') in December 1938 and supervised division's pre-war training and preparation for combat deployment. Fish was relieved of command in March 1942, because

preferred Regular Army officer in command of combat division. He spent rest of the War in Washington, D.C., serving on staff positions in the

United States War Department The United States Department of War, also called the War Department (and occasionally War Office in the early years), was the United States Cabinet department originally responsible for the operation and maintenance of the United States Army, a ...

Biography

Early career

Irving A. Fish was born on August 25, 1881, in

Racine, Wisconsin Racine ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Racine County, Wisconsin, United States. It is located on the shore of Lake Michigan at the mouth of the Root River. Racine is situated 22 miles (35 km) south of Milwaukee and approximately 60 ...

as the son of John T. Fish and Eliza Sampson. His father was an attorney and veteran of

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

for

Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

as captain in 13th Wisconsin Infantry Regiment. Irving graduated from the high school there and enrolled the

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the county seat of Dane County and the capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census the population was 269,840, making it the second-largest city in Wisconsin by population, after Milwaukee, and the 80th-lar ...

in summer of 1899. While at the university, he was a member of the Cadet Corps and enlisted the

. Fish graduated with

Bachelor of Laws Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

in June 1903 and promoted to captain in the 1st Wisconsin Infantry Regiment. He was admitted to the

State Bar of Wisconsin The State Bar of Wisconsin (SBW) is the integrated (mandatory) bar association of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Created by the Wisconsin Supreme Court for all attorneys who hold a Wisconsin law license, the State Bar of Wisconsin aids the courts i ...

in 1903 and began practice law in Racine and then

. In 1907, Fish moved to

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...

and began working for a law firm Quarles, Spence & Quarles. He rose to the rank of Major in the National Guard by February 1913 and when his regiment was called up for federal service in July 1916, he served on the

Mexican Border Mexico shares international borders with three nations: *To the north the United States–Mexico border, which extends for a length of through the states of Baja California, Sonora, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León and Tamaulipas. *To the south ...

during

Pancho Villa Expedition The Pancho Villa Expedition—now known officially in the United States as the Mexican Expedition, but originally referred to as the "Punitive Expedition, U.S. Army"—was a military operation conducted by the United States Army against the p ...

. Upon the United States entry into World War I, 1st Wisconsin Infantry was converted to 120th Field Artillery Regiment and embarked for France as the part of 32nd Infantry Division after a period of intensive training. Fish then participated in the Battles of Marne,

Oise Oise ( ; ; pcd, Oése) is a department in the north of France. It is named after the river Oise. Inhabitants of the department are called ''Oisiens'' () or ''Isariens'', after the Latin name for the river, Isara. It had a population of 829,419 ...

and Meuse-Argonne Offensive on the Western Front and returned stateside as Colonel.

Interwar period

Following his return stateside, Fish resumed his law practice, while retained his rank within the

. He commanded 376th Field Artillery Regiment of the National Guard from October 1921 to January 1927 and upon his promotion to the rank of Brigadier General in July 1927, Fish assumed command of 57th Field Artillery Brigade attached to the 32nd Infantry Division. He was then promoted to Major General on December 22, 1938, and assumed command of 32nd Infantry Division.

World War II

The 32nd Infantry Division was called up for Federal service in mid-October 1940 and Fish assumed 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 ...

in the

Army of the United States The Army of the United States is one of the four major service components of the United States Army (the others being the Regular Army, the United States Army Reserve and the Army National Guard of the United States), but it has been inactive si ...

. His division was made up of National Guard units from

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

and

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

and Fish supervised its pre-deployment training at

Camp Beauregard Camp Beauregard is a U.S. Army installation located northeast of Pineville, Louisiana, primarily in Rapides Parish, but also extending northward into Grant Parish. It is operated and owned by the Louisiana National Guard as one of their main t ...

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

and then led division during

Louisiana Maneuvers The Louisiana Maneuvers were a series of major U.S. Army exercises held in 1941 in northern and west-central Louisiana, an area bounded by the Sabine River to the west, the Calcasieu River to the east, and by the city of Shreveport to the nort ...

in the fall of 1941. Following the United States entry into

, Fish was replaced by Regular Army Major general

Edwin F. Harding Edwin Forrest Harding (September 18, 1886June 5, 1970) commanded the 32nd Infantry Division at the beginning of World War II. He graduated 74th among his classmates from the United States Military Academy in 1909, who included John C. H. Lee (1 ...

and ordered to Fort Lewis,

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

for duty as Commanding General of Troops with additional duty as Commander of a subsector of

Western Defense Command Western Defense Command (WDC) was established on 17 March 1941 as the command formation of the United States Army responsible for coordinating the defense of the Pacific Coast region of the United States during World War II. A second major respo ...

. While in this capacity, he was responsible for interior defense of Washington and Oregon. Fish was transferred to the Adjutant General Office,

War Department General Staff The United States Department of War, also called the War Department (and occasionally War Office in the early years), was the United States Cabinet department originally responsible for the operation and maintenance of the United States Army, a ...

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

in May 1943 and assumed duty as a member of the War Department Dependency Board under Major General Jay L. Benedict. The board was responsible for policies governing the release of casualty information to next-of-kin. In January 1944, Secretary of War

Henry L. Stimson Henry Lewis Stimson (September 21, 1867 – October 20, 1950) was an American statesman, lawyer, and Republican Party politician. Over his long career, he emerged as a leading figure in U.S. foreign policy by serving in both Republican and D ...

established the Secretary of War's Separation Board and Fish joined that board as a member under Major General

William Bryden William Bryden (February 3, 1880 – January 20, 1972) was a career officer in the United States Army. A veteran of the Philippine–American War, Pancho Villa Expedition, World War I, and World War II, he attained the rank of major general and w ...

. Consisting of five general officers of Regular Army and Reserves (MG Bryden; MG Fish; BG Nathaniel H. Egleston; BG Frank S. Clark; BG Edward A. Evans), the board acted for the Secretary of War on matters pertaining commissioned and warrant officers on matters including separation and relief from active duty; retention on active duty in a limited service status after appearance before a retiring board; certain cases involving disability etc. For his service in Washington, he was decorated with

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 ...

Retirement and death

Upon his retirement from the Army on October 10, 1945, Fish returned to his

, where he resumed his law practice with the law firm of Fish, Marshutz and Hoffman. He died suddenly on April 22, 1948, aged 66 and was buried at Mound Cemetery in his native

. Fish was survived by his wife, Margaret and a son James.

Honors and awards

Here is the ribbon bar of Major general Fish:

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fish, Irving A. 1881 births 1948 deaths People from Racine, Wisconsin University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni Military personnel from Wisconsin National Guard (United States) generals American military personnel of World War I United States Army personnel of World War I Recipients of the Legion of Merit United States Army generals of World War II United States Army generals