Brigadier General LeGrande Albert "Pick" Diller (16 February 1901 – 2 September 1987) 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 ...

officer 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 served as 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 ...

's Aide-de-camp in the

South West Pacific Area South West Pacific Area (SWPA) was the name given to the Allied supreme military command in the South West Pacific Theatre of World War II. It was one of four major Allied commands in the Pacific War. SWPA included the Philippines, Borneo, the D ...

during the war.LeGrande Albert Diller, Commanding Officer 22nd Infantry, 4th Infantry Division
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Early life

Born in Tonawanda, Erie County, New York, he had two brothers Everell (who retired as an army colonel), Thurlow Diller and two sisters.

Military career

Diller was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant of Infantry in the

Regular Army A regular army is the official army of a state or country (the official armed forces), contrasting with irregulars, irregular forces, such as volunteer irregular militias, private armies, mercenary, mercenaries, etc. A regular army usually has the ...

on February 19, 1923, and he graduated

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York. Established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church, the university has been nonsectarian since 1920. Locate ...

in 1924 with a Bachelor of Science degree in chemical engineering. He was promoted to 1st lieutenant in 1927 and graduated from the Infantry School Company Officers Course in 1928. He was promoted to captain in August 1935 and graduated from the

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 1937. Transferred to Philippines in 1939, he was promoted on July 1, 1940, to major. In 1941, he became one of General Douglas MacArthur's personal Aides and on December 19, 1941, he received a promotion to the temporary rank of

lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

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 ...

. He would handle MacArthur's public relations and maintain his public image. He would flee with MacArthur from the Philippines in four

PT boat A PT boat (short for patrol torpedo boat) was a motor torpedo boat used by the United States Navy in World War II. It was small, fast, and inexpensive to build, valued for its maneuverability and speed but hampered at the beginning of the wa ...

s with MacArthur in PT-41 and Diller in PT-35. In March 1942, he was promoted to

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 ...

and was transferred to the

General Staff Corps General Staff Corps ( sv, Generalstabskåren, Gst) was an administrative corps within the Swedish Armed Forces between 1937 and 1990 and consisted of Swedish Army officers chosen for duty in the Defence Staff and Army Staff. It replaced the earlie ...

on October 17, 1942. He remained with MacArthur during the war, receiving a promotion 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 ...

on January 9, 1945. He was the lead US Army representative on the committee that arranged the formal

Japanese surrender The surrender of the Empire of Japan in World War II was announced by Emperor Hirohito on 15 August and formally signed on 2 September 1945, bringing the war's hostilities to a close. By the end of July 1945, the Imperial Japanese Navy ...

aboard the battleship in Tokyo Harbor on September 2, 1945. Following the war, Diller worked under MacArthur serving as Secretary of the Army general staff in Tokyo. Thereafter from 1947 to 1954, reverting to the Regular Army rank of colonel, Diller commanded infantry regiments in West Germany including 22nd Infantry Regiment. He retired from the army in 1954 with the rank of brigadier general.

Later life

Following his retirement he served in the board of directors of

Ringling School of Art Ringling College of Art and Design (RCAD) is a private art and design school in Sarasota, Florida. It was founded by Ludd M. Spivey as an art school in 1931 as a remote branch of Southern College but separated by 1933. History The origins of ...

. He died of cancer in Georgia in 1987.

Family

He was married Harriett "Hat", who died in 1986, after which he married his second wife, Mary, in July 1987. He had one son, Richard W. Diller, who retired from the Army as a colonel.

In popular culture

Diller was portrayed by actor

Allan Miller Allan Miller is an American stage, film, and television actor. Biography Miller was born in Brooklyn, New York, the son of Anna (née Diamond) and Benedict Miller. He served in the U.S. Army after World War II during the occupation of Japan ...

in the 1977 film '' MacArthur''.

References

External links

Generals of World War II
{{DEFAULTSORT:Diller, LeGrande A. 1901 births 1987 deaths United States Army Infantry Branch personnel People from Erie County, New York Syracuse University alumni United States Army Command and General Staff College alumni Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army) Recipients of the Silver Star United States Army generals United States Army generals of World War II