John Merryman Franklin (18 June 1896 – 2 June 1975) was a

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 ...

general and the president of

United States Lines United States Lines was the trade name of an organization of the United States Shipping Board (USSB), Emergency Fleet Corporation (EFC) created to operate German liners seized by the United States in 1917. The ships were owned by the USSB and all ...

. 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 ...

he was the Assistant Chief of Transportation for Water Transportation.

Early life

John Merryman Franklin was born in

Cockeysville, Maryland Cockeysville is a census-designated place (CDP) in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. The population was 20,776 at the 2010 census. History Cockeysville was named after the Cockey family who helped establish the town. Thomas Cockey (1676� ...

, on 18 June 1896, the son of Philip A. S. Franklin, a shipping executive, and his wife Laura Merryman. He was the nephew of Walter S. Franklin III, and the great nephew 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 ...

William B. Franklin and

Rear Admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star "admiral" rank. It is often regarde ...

Samuel Rhoads Franklin Samuel Rhoads Franklin (August 24, 1825 – February 24, 1909) was a rear admiral in the United States Navy. He participated in the important Battle of Hampton Roads off the U.S. state of Virginia in 1862, served as the superintendent of the ...

. He was educated at

Middlesex School Middlesex School is a coeducational, non-sectarian, day and boarding independent secondary school for grades 9-12 located in Concord, Massachusetts. It was founded as an all-boys school in 1901 by a Roxbury Latin School alumnus, Frederick Winsor, ...

and

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

. On graduation from Harvard in 1918 with a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

degree, he enlisted in the

. He served on the Western Front during

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 ...

with the

Tank Corps of the American Expeditionary Forces The Tank Corps of the American Expeditionary Forces was the mechanized unit that engaged in tank warfare for the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) on the Western Front during World War I. Organization Brigadier General Samuel D. Rockenbach ...

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 the 301st Tank Battalion, and was awarded the British

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level pre-1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries. The MC i ...

. After the war Franklin returned to the United States, and went to work with the

Norton Lilly & Company Norton Lilly International, was founded as Norton Lilly & Company in 1841 in New York City by John Norton Jr., In 1834, John Norton, Jr. moved to New York in 1834, he was born in Eastport, Maine in 1816. John Norton, Jr. John Norton, Jr. shipping ...

, a steamship agent based in

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 ...

, and rose to become the head of its India Department. In 1927 he left to join

Kermit Roosevelt Kermit Roosevelt MC (October 10, 1889 – June 4, 1943) was an American businessman, soldier, explorer, and writer. A son of Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th President of the United States, Kermit graduated from Harvard College, served in both Wo ...

at the Roosevelt Steamship Company, where he became a vice president in 1931. The company merged with his father's company, the

International Mercantile Marine Company The International Mercantile Marine Company, originally the International Navigation Company, was a trust formed in the early twentieth century as an attempt by J.P. Morgan to monopolize the shipping trade. IMM was founded by shipping magnates ...

, and with the

. In 1936, he succeeded his father as chairman of the board and president of United States Lines. He married Emily Stone Hammond; they had two daughters, Laura and Emily, and a son, John Merryman Franklin II.

World War II

During

Franklin was recalled to active duty in 1942 in the Office of the

Quartermaster General of the United States Army The Quartermaster General of the United States Army is a general officer who is responsible for the Quartermaster Corps, the Quartermaster branch of the U.S. Army. The Quartermaster General does not command Quartermaster units, but is primarily f ...

with the rank of

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 ...

. The transportation office was transferred to the new

Transportation Corps The Transportation Corps is a combat service support branch of the U.S. Army. It is responsible for the movement of personnel and material by truck, rail, air, and sea. It is one of three U.S. Army logistics branches, the others being the Qua ...

in July 1942. He was promoted to

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 March 1943, he became the Director of Water Transportation, and the Assistant Chief of Transportation for Water Transportation. In October 1944 he went to the

European Theater of Operations, United States Army The European Theater of Operations, United States Army (ETOUSA) was a Theater (warfare), Theater of Operations responsible for directing United States Army operations throughout the European theatre of World War II, from 1942 to 1945. It comman ...

(ETOUSA) as its Assistant Chief of Transportation, with a mission to deal with the increasing number of ships that were being retained in the theater as floating warehouses due to lack of port capacity and depots ashore. In January 1945, Franklin returned to the United States and resumed his former duties as Director of Water Transportation. By

VE-Day Victory in Europe Day is the day celebrating the formal acceptance by the Allies of World War II of Germany's unconditional surrender of its armed forces on Tuesday, 8 May 1945, marking the official end of World War II in Europe in the Easter ...

he was in charge of a fleet of over 2,000 vessels. He was promoted to

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 June 1945, and oversaw the redeployment of US units from Europe to the

Pacific Theater The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

and the repatriation of troops to the United States after the war ended. For his services, he was awarded 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 ...

in September 1945, and the

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 ...

Later life

Franklin left the Army in November 1945 and became president of United States Lines once more. He negotiated the repurchase of the

ocean liner An ocean liner is a passenger ship primarily used as a form of transportation across seas or oceans. Ocean liners may also carry cargo or mail, and may sometimes be used for other purposes (such as for pleasure cruises or as hospital ships). Ca ...

from the US government, and the acquisition and construction of a fleet of large, modern

cargo ship A cargo ship or freighter is a merchant ship that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's seas and oceans each year, handling the bulk of international trade. Cargo ships are usu ...

s. He oversaw the construction of the , a liner that broke the transatlantic speed record on its maiden voyage in July 1952 with a outbound crossing and a return crossing. He forged a good working relationship with

Joseph Curran Joseph Curran (March 1, 1906 – August 14, 1981) was a merchant seaman and an American labor leader. He was founding president of the National Maritime Union (or NMU, now part of the Seafarers International Union of North America) from 1937 to ...

, the president of the

National Maritime Union The National Maritime Union (NMU) was an American labor union founded in May 1937. It affiliated with the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) in July 1937. After a failed merger with a different maritime group in 1988, the union merged w ...

, who had worked for him as a

bosun A boatswain ( , ), bo's'n, bos'n, or bosun, also known as a deck boss, or a qualified member of the deck department, is the most senior rate of the deck department and is responsible for the components of a ship's hull. The boatswain supervi ...

in the 1930s. Franklin retired in 1966, and went to live at Hayfields, a farm in Cockeysville that he had purchased in 1939. There he enjoyed playing golf, riding horses and doing farm chores. He died at the

Greater Baltimore Medical Center Greater Baltimore Medical Center (GBMC) is a U.S. hospital located in the Baltimore suburb of Towson, Maryland. It was opened in 1965. GBMC serves more than 20,455 inpatient cases and approximately 52,000 emergency department visits annually. GB ...

on 2 June 1975 after suffering a

stroke A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop functionin ...

. A funeral service was held at St. Bartholomew's Episcopal Church in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, and he was buried at the

Locust Valley Cemetery Locust Valley Cemetery is a non-denominational cemetery located in Lattingtown, New York, in Nassau County. The cemetery was founded in the 19th Century and designed by John Charles Olmsted and Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr., renowned architect ...

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...

. Today his Hayfields farm is the site of the Hayfields Country Club.

Notes

References

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External links

Generals of World War II
{{DEFAULTSORT:Franklin, John Merryman 1896 births 1975 deaths Burials at Locust Valley Cemetery Businesspeople from Maryland Franklin military family Harvard University alumni Military personnel from Maryland People from Cockeysville, Maryland Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army) Recipients of the Military Cross United States Army generals of World War II United States Army generals United States Army personnel of World War I United States Lines