Lewis Blaine Hershey (September 12, 1893May 20, 1977) was a United States Army general who served as the second Director of the

Selective Service System The Selective Service System (SSS) is an Independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States government that maintains information on U.S. Citizenship of the Unite ...

, the means by which the United States administers its military

conscription Conscription (also called the draft in the United States) is the state-mandated enlistment of people in a national service, mainly a military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it continues in some countries to the present day un ...

Early life

He was born in Steuben County, Indiana, son of Latta Freleigh Hershey (1858–1938) and Rosetta Caroline Richardson (1862–1898). He attended the local public schools and graduated from Tri-State College (now Trine University) in 1914 receiving a degree in education. He taught at local elementary schools and served as a school principal in Indiana. He married Ellen Dygert (1892–1977) and had four children: Kathryn, Gilbert, George, and Ellen.

Military

Hershey enlisted in the Indiana National Guard in 1911. Hershey received a direct commission as a

second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

in 1913. In 1916, his guard unit was called to active duty on the Mexican border. The unit was relieved in December 1916. His unit was again called to federal service during World War I and sent to France with the

American Expeditionary Force The American Expeditionary Forces (A. E. F.) was a formation of the United States Army on the Western Front of World War I. The A. E. F. was established on July 5, 1917, in France under the command of General John J. Pershing. It fought alon ...

. Hershey was raised a Master Mason in Northeastern Lodge 210, Fremont, Indiana, in 1916. After the war, Hershey remained in the National Guard until he received a regular commission 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 Regular Army in 1920. He attended the Command and General Staff College and the Army War College. Hershey taught

military science Military science is the study of military processes, institutions, and behavior, along with the study of warfare, and the theory and application of organized coercive force. It is mainly focused on theory, method, and practice of producing mil ...

at the Ohio State University and then served in the general staff as G-4 at the Department of Hawaii.

Career

In 1936, he was assigned to the General Staff in Washington, DC. In October 1940, President

Franklin Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

promoted him to brigadier general and named him executive officer of the

. On July 31, 1941, President Roosevelt named Hershey director of the Selective Service. In 1942, Hershey was promoted to major general. In 1943, he received an honorary degree in Doctor of Laws from Oglethorpe University. While officially retiring on December 31, 1946, he was retained on active duty starting the next day. He was the longest-serving director in the history of the Selective Service System, and held the position until February 15, 1970, spanning World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War. General Hershey was one of only six generals in the history of the United States Army to have served as a general during three major conflicts. The other five were Brevet Lieutenant General Winfield Scott (War of 1812, Mexican War and Civil War), 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 ...

(World War I, World War II and Korea), Lieutenant General Milton Reckord (World War II, Korea, Vietnam), Major General Leo Boyle (World War II, Korea, Vietnam), and General Hugh Shelton (Panama, Gulf War, War on Terror). (Generals Reckord and Boyle were both long serving state adjutants general in the National Guard.) Hershey was promoted to lieutenant general in 1956 and to four-star general on December 23, 1969. On October 24, 1967, in response to increasing demonstrations against military recruiting on college campuses, Hershey issued Local Board Memorandum No. 85, since known as the Hershey Directive, which recommended that when a draft card was abandoned or mutilated that registrant should be declared "a delinquent for failure to have the card in his possession" and then be reclassified as available for service. Two days later, he sent a letter to local boards suggesting that violators of any portion of the Selective Service Act or Regulations be treated as delinquent. Notably, he said that such violations included "illegal activity which interferes with recruiting," which was assumed to mean demonstrating against military recruiters. Unlike the Memorandum, the letter was unofficial. This order outraged students, many of whom were not subject to being drafted due to education deferments, and campus demonstrations against the war (and Hershey's order) increased. Various Supreme Court cases voided the Memorandum, and after one of them Hershey withdrew it with Memorandum No. 101, on January 21, 1970. The most explicit overruling of the Memorandum and Letter came in a decision from the United States Court of Appeals Third Circuit in ''Bucher v. Selective Service System'' on January 2, 1970, which ruled that there is "no statutory authorization for such reclassification," but did not rule on First Amendment issues:

Since we have reached the conclusion that the delinquency reclassifications here are invalid for the separate and independent reasons that (1) they violate the constitutional procedural due process guarantees of the Fifth and Sixth Amendments, and (2) they lack statutory authorization, we find it unnecessary to advert to the plaintiffs' contention that the reclassifications violate their First Amendment rights.

(Many online articles erroneously refer to ''Bucher v. Selective Service System'' as a Supreme Court decision.) The controversy over the Hershey Directive led to calls for his retirement. On February 15, 1970 President Richard Nixon appointed Hershey as Presidential Advisor for Manpower Mobilization and Hershey vacated the office of Director of the Selective Service.

Retirement

As required by law, Hershey was involuntarily retired from the Army on April 10, 1973, at the age of 79, as a four-star general. He was one of the very few members of the U.S. Army to be allowed to serve beyond the mandatory retirement age of 64 since it was established shortly after the American Civil War. Hershey died in Angola, Indiana on May 20, 1977 (only a month after his wife's death) and he is interred in Section 7 of Arlington National Cemetery. Hershey was a recipient of the prestigious Silver Buffalo Award from the Boy Scouts of America. Has full list to 2007. He was a Scout leader and executive in Washington, DC. His previous awards from the

Boy Scout A Scout (in some countries a Boy Scout, Girl Scout, or Pathfinder) is a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement. Because of the large age and development span, many Scouting associations have split ...

s included the

Silver Beaver Award The Silver Beaver Award is the council-level distinguished service award of the Boy Scouts of America. Upon nomination by their local Scout council and with the approval of the National Court of Honor, recipients of this award are registered adu ...

and the Silver Antelope Award. Hershey was one of only three Army officers to have served as a general during three wars (the others being Winfield Scott and

) and was one of the few Army officers promoted to brigadier general without previously holding the rank of colonel.

Awards and decorations

U.S. military decorations and service medals

Defense Distinguished Service Medal ribbon

Defense Distinguished Service Medal (1970) : Distinguished Service Medal ribbon

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 ...

(1946) :

Navy Distinguished Service Medal The Navy Distinguished Service Medal is a military decoration of the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps which was first created in 1919 and is presented to sailors and Marines to recognize distinguished and exceptionally meritoriou ...

Mexican Border Service Medal : World War I Victory Medal ribbon

World War I Victory Medal :

American Defense Service Medal : American Campaign Medal ribbon

American Campaign Medal : World War II Victory Medal ribbon

World War II Victory Medal :

National Defense Service Medal with oak leaf cluster

Non-governmental organization awards

Masonic Grand Lodge of Indiana : Caleb B. Smith Medal of Honor Sons of the American Revolution : Gold Good Citizenship Medal (1967) American Legion : Distinguished Service Medal (1946) : National Commanders Award (1963) AMVETS : Silver Helmet Defense Award (1968) Boy Scouts of America : Silver Buffalo Award :

: Silver Antelope Award

Promotions

* Private, Indiana National Guard – 16 February 1911 * Corporal – 10 June 1912 * Sergeant – 28 May 1913 * 2nd Lieutenant, NGUS – 17 June 1913 * 1st Lieutenant, NGUS – 9 February 1916 * Captain, NGUS (temporary) – 27 May 1918 * Captain, Regular Army – 3 September 1920 * Major, Regular Army – 1 August 1935 * Lieutenant Colonel, Regular Army – 12 September 1940 * Colonel – Never held * Brigadier General, Army of the United States – 16 November 1940 * Major General, Army of the United States – 28 April 1942 * Retired – 31 December 1946 (Returned to active duty the next day.) * Lieutenant General – 23 June 1956 United States Army Register, 1964. p. 593. * General, Retired List – 16 February 1970

Notes

References

* ''Who Was Who in America, Vol. VII, 1977–1981''. Chicago:Marquis Who's Who, p. 270. * ''National Cyclopædia of American Biography'', Vol. F (1942) New York: James T. White & Co. p. 47.

External links

Selective Service System
at ArlingtonCemetery.net, an unofficial website
Harvard Law Review article on the legality of the "Hershey Directive"
*
Online Biography of General Hershey
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hershey, Lewis Blaine 1893 births 1977 deaths United States Army personnel of World War I United States Army generals of World War II United States Army personnel of the Korean War Burials at Arlington National Cemetery United States Army generals Conscription in the United States Politics of World War II Trine University alumni People from Steuben County, Indiana Military personnel from Indiana United States Army Command and General Staff College alumni United States Army War College alumni Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army) Recipients of the Defense Distinguished Service Medal Recipients of the Navy Distinguished Service Medal 20th-century American educators Schoolteachers from Indiana Franklin D. Roosevelt administration personnel Truman administration personnel Eisenhower administration personnel Kennedy administration personnel Lyndon B. Johnson administration personnel Nixon administration personnel Ohio State University faculty