John French Conklin (April 20, 1891 – January 25, 1973) was an American

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 ...

, who served most of his career in the

United States Army Corps of Engineers , colors = , anniversaries = 16 June (Organization Day) , battles = , battles_label = Wars , website = , commander1 = ...

. During the World War II, Conklin served as

Chief Engineer A chief engineer, commonly referred to as "ChEng" or "Chief", is the most senior engine officer of an engine department on a ship, typically a merchant ship, and holds overall leadership and the responsibility of that department..Chief engineer's ...

Third U.S. Army The United States Army Central, formerly the Third United States Army, commonly referred to as the Third Army and as ARCENT, is a military formation of the United States Army which saw service in World War I and World War II, in the 1991 Gulf Wa ...

Early years

John French Conklin was born on April 20, 1891, at

Fort Leavenworth Fort Leavenworth () is a United States Army installation located in Leavenworth County, Kansas, in the city of Leavenworth, Kansas, Leavenworth. Built in 1827, it is the second oldest active United States Army post west of Washington, D.C., an ...

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...

, as a son of Army Colonel, John Conklin and Rosalie French. He came from the family with a long military tradition, because his maternal grandfather was Union major general William H. French and also maternal uncle was major general

John Clem John Lincoln Clem (nicknamed Johnny Shiloh; August 13, 1851 – May 13, 1937) was an American general officer who served as a drummer boy in the Union Army during the American Civil War. He gained fame for his bravery on the battlefield, b ...

. Young John followed his family tradition and upon completing of the high school in May 1911, 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 ...

West Point, New York West Point is the oldest continuously occupied military post in the United States. Located on the Hudson River in New York, West Point was identified by General George Washington as the most important strategic position in America during the Ame ...

John French Conklin (1891–1973) at West Point in 1915

During his time at the academy, he reached the rank of cadet lieutenant and also was an expert rifleman. Conklin graduated with

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

degree on June 12, 1915, as a part of "

the class the stars fell on "The class the stars fell on" is an expression used to describe the class of 1915 at the United States Military Academy in West Point, New York. In the United States Army, the insignia reserved for generals is one or more stars. Of the 164 gradu ...

", where many of his classmates became distinguished general officers later, including

Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, ...

, Omar N. Bradley, Joseph T. McNarney,

James Van Fleet General James Alward Van Fleet (March 19, 1892 – September 23, 1992) was a United States Army officer who saw service during World War I, World War II and the Korean War. Van Fleet was a native of New Jersey, who was raised in Florida and gradu ...

, Stafford L. Irwin, Leland S. Hobbs, Leroy H. Watson,

Roscoe B. Woodruff Major General Roscoe Barnett Woodruff (February 9, 1891 – April 24, 1975) was a career United States Army officer who fought in both World War I and World War II and served for 38 years. During World War II he commanded numerous divisions and c ...

or many others. He was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Corps of Engineers on the date of his promotion and attached to the 2nd Battalion of Engineers, with whom he served on the Mexican Border during the

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 ...

until April 1917. Shortly before his departure, Conklin married Marguerite Heard, a daughter of Major General

John W. Heard John William (or Wilkinson) Heard (March 27, 1860 – February 4, 1922) was a United States Army Brigadier General who was a recipient of the Medal of Honor for valor in action on July 23, 1898, near Bahia Honda, Cuba. Early life and educa ...

, USMA Class of 1883 and

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valor. ...

recipient. He was subsequently appointed an instructor and assistant adjutant of the Officers Training Camp at

Fort Myer Fort Myer is the previous name used for a U.S. Army post next to Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington County, Virginia, and across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C. Founded during the American Civil War as Fort Cass and Fort Whipple, t ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

, and remained in that capacity for the duration of World War I.

Interwar period

Following the World War I, Conklin completed the courses at

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 1927 and at Army War College in

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 1934 and served as an instructor in the Department of Civil and Military Engineering at the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1923–1924 and later as company commander with engineers units. During that period he reached the rank of major. Following his promotion, Conklin returned to West Point in 1931 and served as assistant professor in the Department of Natural and Experimental Philosophy mid-1934. In July 1934, Conklin was appointed District Engineer, U.S. Engineers Office in

Huntington, West Virginia Huntington is a city in Cabell and Wayne counties in the U.S. state of West Virginia. It is the county seat of Cabell County, and the largest city in the Huntington–Ashland metropolitan area, sometimes referred to as the Tri-State Area. A h ...

, and remained in that capacity until he was attached to the 11th Engineer Regiment in July 1937. He was promoted to lieutenant colonel on April 1, 1936, and assumed command of the regiment at the end of September 1937. Conklin was then transferred to

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. Incorporated in 1705, it had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 census, making it the third-most populous city in Virginia after neighboring Virginia Be ...

, where he served as District Engineer, U.S. Engineers Office until June 1941.

World War II

Conklin was subsequently appointed corps engineer, I Armored Corps and was promoted to the rank of colonel in December 1941. He served in this capacity under famous general

George S. Patton George Smith Patton Jr. (November 11, 1885 – December 21, 1945) was a general in the United States Army who commanded the Seventh United States Army in the Mediterranean Theater of World War II, and the Third United States Army in France ...

during desert maneuvers in

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

and

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

in order to prepare the corps for deployment to

North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...

. Conklin landed near

Casablanca Casablanca, also known in Arabic as Dar al-Bayda ( ar, الدَّار الْبَيْضَاء, al-Dār al-Bayḍāʾ, ; ber, ⴹⴹⴰⵕⵍⴱⵉⴹⴰ, ḍḍaṛlbiḍa, : "White House") is the largest city in Morocco and the country's econom ...

during the

Operation Torch Operation Torch (8 November 1942 – Run for Tunis, 16 November 1942) was an Allies of World War II, Allied invasion of French North Africa during the Second World War. Torch was a compromise operation that met the British objective of secu ...

on November 8, 1942, and participated in the combat operations against

Afrika Korps The Afrika Korps or German Africa Corps (, }; DAK) was the German expeditionary force in Africa during the North African Campaign of World War II. First sent as a holding force to shore up the Italian defense of its African colonies, the ...

with additional duty as chief engineer, Western Task Force. He distinguished himself in that capacities and was decorated with 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 ...

by General Patton. He was ordered back to the United States in January 1943 and assumed duty as army engineer,

U.S. Third Army The United States Army Central, formerly the Third United States Army, commonly referred to as the Third Army and as ARCENT, is a military formation of the United States Army which saw service in World War I and World War II, in the 1991 Gulf Wa ...

under Lieutenant General

Courtney Hodges General Courtney Hicks Hodges (January 5, 1887 – January 16, 1966) was a decorated senior officer in the United States Army who commanded First U.S. Army in the Western European Campaign of World War II. Hodges was a notable "mustang" officer ...

. Conklin sailed with Third Army to

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

in December of that year and when General Patton assumed command of the Army in January 1944, he remained in his previous capacity and took part in the intensive training until mid-1944. Conklin sailed for

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

at the end of July 1944 and participated consecutively in the

Battle 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 ...

, Lorraine Campaign,

Battle of the Bulge The Battle of the Bulge, also known as the Ardennes Offensive, was the last major German offensive (military), offensive military campaign, campaign on the Western Front (World War II), Western Front during World War II. The battle lasted fr ...

and the advance to Germany and Czechoslovakia. He was promoted to

on January 7, 1945, and received several decorations for his service in European Theater from 1944 to 1945. Conklin received the

Army Distinguished Service Medal The Distinguished Service Medal (DSM) is a military decoration of the United States Army that is presented to soldiers who have distinguished themselves by exceptionally meritorious service to the government in a duty of great responsibility. Th ...

and

Bronze Star Medal The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service in a combat zone. Wh ...

and also was decorated with Legion of Honor, rank Chevalier by the Government of

and with

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...

and French ''Croix de guerres'' with Palm.

Postwar service

Following the occupation duty in

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

, Conklin returned to the United States in December 1945 and assumed duty as commanding general, Replacement Training Center at 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 o ...

. He remained in that capacity until March 1947, when he was appointed Chief of Personnel Division, Office of the Chief of Engineers under Lieutenant General Raymond A. Wheeler. In mid-May 1949, Conklin was ordered to

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

and assumed duty as civil property custodian, Far East Command under General of the Army

Douglas MacArthur Douglas MacArthur (26 January 18805 April 1964) was an American military leader who served as General of the Army for the United States, as well as a field marshal to the Philippine Army. He had served with distinction in World War I, was C ...

. He served in that capacity until mid-1951, when he was ordered back to the United States and retired from active duty. Brigadier General John F. Conklin died on January 25, 1973, at

Sibley Memorial Hospital Sibley Memorial Hospital is a non-profit hospital located in The Palisades neighborhood of Washington, D.C. It is fully accredited by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, and is licensed by the District of Columbia De ...

He is buried at

United States Military Academy Post Cemetery West Point Cemetery is a historic cemetery in the eastern United States, on the grounds of the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, New York. It overlooks the Hudson River, and served as a burial ground for Revolutionary War soldiers and early ...

with his first wife, Marguerite Heard Conklin (1893–1929). They were married in April 1917 at

Fort Bliss Fort Bliss is a United States Army post in New Mexico and Texas, with its headquarters in El Paso, Texas. Named in honor of William Wallace Smith Bliss, LTC William Bliss (1815–1853), a mathematics professor who was the son-in-law of President ...

, Texas. She was the daughter of Brigadier General

. They had one adopted son, John Heard Conklin who died in 1971, and three grandchildren. After his first wife's death, Conklin married Helen DeWitt Duff in 1931. They lived in the Westmoreland Hills section of

Bethesda, Maryland Bethesda () is an unincorporated, census-designated place in southern Montgomery County, Maryland. It is located just northwest of Washington, D.C. It takes its name from a local church, the Bethesda Meeting House (1820, rebuilt 1849), which in ...

, after his retirement.

Decorations

Here is Brigadier General Conklin's ribbon bar:

References

External links

Generals of World War II
{{DEFAULTSORT:Conklin, John French 1891 births 1973 deaths People from Fort Leavenworth, Kansas United States Military Academy alumni Graduates of the United States Military Academy Class of 1915 Military personnel from Kansas United States Army Corps of Engineers personnel United States Army personnel of World War I United States Military Academy faculty United States Army Command and General Staff College alumni United States Army War College alumni Recipients of the Legion of Merit United States Army generals of World War II Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army) Chevaliers of the Légion d'honneur Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1939–1945 (France) Recipients of the Croix de guerre (Belgium) United States Army generals People from Bethesda, Maryland Burials at West Point Cemetery