James Bell Cress (28 December 1891 – 27 July 1967) was an engineer and United States Army Reserve major general. During World War II, he supervised the restoration of ports, canals, railroads and bridges sabotaged by the retreating German forces after the

Allied 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 Norma ...

. Cress later served as the executive in charge of the Army Reserve and the Army ROTC Program.

Early life and education

Cress was born in Galesburg, Illinois, the son of Army officer and 1884 United States Military Academy graduate George O. Cress. After studying engineering at the University of Michigan for three years, he entered the Military Academy at West Point in March 1910. Cress became First Captain, graduated 2nd in the Class of June 1914 and was commissioned in the Corps of Engineers. He subsequently graduated from the Army Engineer School in December 1916.

Career

After commissioning, Cress served with Company F, 2nd Battalion of Engineers at Vancouver Barracks in Washington state, Company F, 1st Engineers at Fort Sam Houston in Texas and the 18th Engineer Railway Regiment in California. In May 1917, Cress was promoted to captain and sent to Camp Lewis in Washington state. In August 1917, he received a temporary promotion to major and served in France until August 1918. While there, he participated in making port and rail improvements at Bordeaux. In August 1918, Cress received a temporary promotion to lieutenant colonel and served as an assistant to the Chief of Engineers in Washington, D.C. until October 1919. In November 1919, he became an assistant to the District Engineer in Detroit, Michigan. Returned to his permanent rank of captain in December 1919, Cress resigned his Regular Army commission in March 1920. After accepting a position with the

Dodge Brothers Company Dodge is an American brand of automobiles and a division of Stellantis, based in Auburn Hills, Michigan. Dodge vehicles have historically included performance cars, and for much of its existence Dodge was Chrysler's mid-priced brand above ...

, Cress was commissioned as a lieutenant colonel in the Engineer Section, Officers Reserve Corps in May 1920. He was subsequently promoted to colonel in June 1923. Cress later moved from Birmingham, Michigan to the San Francisco area, where he served as District Director for the U.S. Civil Service Commission and then as Regional Director for the

U.S. Railroad Retirement Board The U.S. Railroad Retirement Board (RRB) is an independent agency in the executive branch of the United States government created in 1935 to administer a social insurance program providing retirement benefits to the country's railroad workers. ...

. In March 1941, he was recalled to active duty in the Army Corps of Engineers. Cress served as executive officer to the Engineer, Fourth Army until October 1941 and then as Engineer,

IX Corps 9 Corps, 9th Corps, Ninth Corps, or IX Corps may refer to: France * 9th Army Corps (France) * IX Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars Germany * IX Corps (German Empire), a unit of the Imperial German ...

until April 1942. He was then assigned to organize, train and command the 333rd Engineer Special Service Regiment. After training, his new regiment embarked for England aboard USAT ''James Parker'' in October 1943. In May 1944, Cress was given command of the 1056th Engineer Port Construction and Repair Group, which included the 333rd Engineer Regiment. From June to November 1944, he was in charge of repairs to the port of

Cherbourg Cherbourg (; , , ), nrf, Chèrbourg, ) is a former commune and subprefecture located at the northern end of the Cotentin peninsula in the northwestern French department of Manche. It was merged into the commune of Cherbourg-Octeville on 28 Feb ...

. Cargo deliveries were able to commence by mid-July and full operation was restored in October. The 1056th Engineer Group then cleared the Albert Canal in Belgium, restoring barge traffic from

Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,

. Rail lines to the front were repaired, and then Cress supervised the construction of a new

Wesel Railway Bridge The Wesel Railway Bridge was a bridge on the Haltern–Venlo railway, built as part of the Hamburg–Venlo railway by the Cologne-Minden Railway Company, and opened on 1 March 1874. The long railway bridge at Wesel was the last Rhine bridge remai ...

across the Rhine River in only ten days at the beginning of April 1945. Cress was relieved of command in September 1945 and released from active duty in December 1945. After the war, he became a Deputy Administrator of the Veterans Administration in

Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...

. In February 1947, Cress was given command of the Army Reserve 80th Airborne Division. He was promoted to brigadier general in September 1947 and major general in March 1948. In January 1950, Cress became Executive for Reserve and ROTC Affairs. After suffering a heart attack, he retired from military service on 31 January 1951.

Personal

Cress married Eleanor Mary Chittenden (4 January 1892 – 29 June 1970), the daughter of his father's West Point classmate

Hiram M. Chittenden Hiram Martin Chittenden (October 25, 1858 – October 9, 1917) was an American engineer and historian. A graduate of West Point, he was the Seattle district engineer for the Army Corps of Engineers from 1906 to 1908). Chittenden was one of ...

, on 14 September 1916. They had two daughters. After his 1951 retirement, Cress and his wife moved to Palo Alto, California. He died at the Palo Alto-Stanford Hospital. Cress was buried at the West Point Cemetery on 29 September 1967.

References

External links

A Short History of the 333rd Engineer S. S. Regiment (March 1942 to May 1945)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cress, James Bell 1889 births 1967 deaths People from Galesburg, Illinois University of Michigan College of Engineering alumni United States Military Academy alumni Military personnel from Michigan United States Army Corps of Engineers personnel United States Army personnel of World War I United States Army reservists People from Birmingham, Michigan United States Army personnel of World War II Recipients of the Legion of Merit United States Army generals Military personnel from Palo Alto, California Burials at West Point Cemetery