Milton Atchison Reckord (December 28, 1879 – September 8, 1975) was a

lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

in the

National Guard of the United States The National Guard is a state-based military force that becomes part of the reserve components of the United States Army and the United States Air Force when activated for federal missions.Adjutant General An adjutant general is a military chief administrative officer. France In Revolutionary France, the was a senior staff officer, effectively an assistant to a general officer. It was a special position for lieutenant-colonels and colonels in staf ...

of the State of

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

Early life

Reckord was born to John and Lydia (Zimmerman) Reckord at their home in

Harford County, Maryland Harford County is located in the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 census, the population was 260,924. Its county seat is Bel Air. Harford County is included in the Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is al ...

. He commenced work at his father's milling plant in 1896 upon his graduation from Bel Air High School.

Military career

Reckord expressed desire to serve in the military, but, at the request of his mother, delayed entry into service until he turned 21. He enlisted in Company D, 1st Maryland Infantry, Maryland National Guard on February 15, 1901, and would eventually rise to command the same company when he was commissioned as a captain in December 1904. As a major, in 1916, Reckord was given command of the 2nd Battalion, 1st Maryland Infantry, which deployed to the Mexican border and served in the Mexican Expedition commanded by Gen. John J. Pershing. When the 29th Infantry Division was created on the eve of

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 ...

in 1917, Reckord was given command of one of its regiments, the 115th Infantry, which saw combat during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive. In 1920, he was appointed

Adjutant General An adjutant general is a military chief administrative officer. France In Revolutionary France, the was a senior staff officer, effectively an assistant to a general officer. It was a special position for lieutenant-colonels and colonels in staf ...

of the

National Guard and, in 1934, while still serving as Maryland's Adjutant General, he assumed command of the 29th Infantry Division. During the years between the First and

Second World War 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 ...

, Reckord was a leading advocate for increasing the role of the National Guard in the United States' national defensive strategy. From 1923 to 1925, he served as president of the

National Guard Association of the United States The National Guard Association of the United States was founded in 1878 as a congressional lobbying organization for National Guard issues. A member of the Military Coalition, NGAUS lobbies on behalf of 45,000 officers who comprise the membership ...

. In 1933, he authored legislation that permanently gave National Guard personnel status as both state and federal troops. Milton Reckord talking to special services woman

Milton Reckord talking to special services woman

Reckord was mobilized for World War II with the 29th Infantry Division in February 1941 and took a leave of absence from his post as Maryland's Adjutant General. Deemed by the Army to be too old to command a division in combat, he was relieved of command and assigned as the commander of the

III Corps 3rd Corps, Third Corps, III Corps, or 3rd Army Corps may refer to: France * 3rd Army Corps (France) * III Cavalry Corps (Grande Armée), a cavalry unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars * III Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of th ...

Area. He later deployed overseas and was named Theater Provost Marshal,

European Theater The European theatre of World War II was one of the two main theatres of combat during World War II. It saw heavy fighting across Europe for almost six years, starting with Germany's invasion of Poland on 1 September 1939 and ending with the ...

of Operations. After World War II, Reckord returned to his post as the Adjutant General of Maryland. He received a state promotion to Lieutenant General from Governor

J. Millard Tawes John Millard Tawes (April 8, 1894June 25, 1979), was an American politician and a member of the Democratic Party who was the 54th Governor of Maryland from 1959 to 1967. He remains the only Marylander to be elected to the three positions of Stat ...

in 1961, and continued to serve as Adjutant General until his retirement in 1966.

Death and burial

Record died at

Fort Howard Veterans Hospital Fort Howard Veterans Hospital is an abandoned hospital in Fort Howard, Maryland, located at the end of North Point Road. It occupies part of the grounds of Fort Howard, an early fortification protecting Baltimore harbor. History The Fort Howard ...

Fort Howard, Maryland Fort Howard is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. The population was 303 at the 2010 census. The median age is 47.9. 52.86% are female and 47.14% are male. 58.9% are married and 41 ...

, on September 8, 1975. He was buried at Mountain Christian Church Cemetery in

Joppa, Maryland Joppa is a former colonial town and current planning region of Harford County, Maryland, United States. Joppa was founded as a British settlement on the Gunpowder River in 1707 and designated as the third county seat of Baltimore County in 1712. T ...

Family

In 1910, Reckord married Bessie Payne Roe. They were the parents of a daughter, Gladys Atchison Reckord. Mrs. Reckord died on January 17, 1943, and Reckord never remarried. After retiring, he resided in

Ruxton, Maryland Ruxton and Riderwood are unincorporated communities in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. They are sometimes considered a part of Towson and are part of Towson's census area. The boundaries of Ruxton have been established largely by local ...

, with his daughter and her husband, H. Frederick Jones Jr.

Memberships

In his military life, Reckord was a leader of the

(NGAUS), and served as its president from 1923 to 1925. In the years after

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 ...

, Reckord was chairman of the NGAUS Committee on Legislation, and was the first individual to be appointed a life member of the NGAUS Executive Council. He was also a member of the Adjutants General Association of the United States (AGAUS), the 29th Infantry Division Association, the

Veterans of Foreign Wars The Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), formally the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States, is an organization of US war veterans, who, as military service members fought in wars, campaigns, and expeditions on foreign land, waters, or a ...

, the

Military Order of Foreign Wars The Military Order of Foreign Wars of the United States (MOFW) is one of the oldest veterans' and hereditary associations in the nation with a membership that includes officers and their hereditary descendants from all of the Armed Services. Memb ...

, and the

Army and Navy Club The Army and Navy Club in London is a private members club founded in 1837, also known informally as The Rag.National Rifle Association The National Rifle Association of America (NRA) is a gun rights advocacy group based in the United States. Founded in 1871 to advance rifle marksmanship, the modern NRA has become a prominent Gun politics in the United States, gun rights ...

(NRA) beginning in 1920, and served on the organization's Executive Council and as its executive vice president. He served as president of both the

Maryland Jockey Club The Maryland Jockey Club is a sporting organization dedicated to horse racing, founded in Annapolis in 1743. The Jockey Club was founded more than 30 years before the start of the Revolutionary War and is chartered as the oldest sporting organizat ...

, which owned

Pimlico Race Course Pimlico Race Course is a thoroughbred horse racetrack in Baltimore, Maryland, most famous for hosting the Preakness Stakes. Its name is derived from the 1660s when English settlers named the area where the facility currently stands in honor of Ol ...

, and the Hartford Agricultural and Breeders Association, which owned

Havre de Grace Racetrack The Havre de Grace Racetrack was an American horse racing track on Post Road in Havre de Grace, Harford County, Maryland. Nicknamed "The Graw," it operated from August 24, 1912, to 1950. For a time, it was owned by the Harford Agricultural and B ...

. In addition, he belonged to the

Freemasons Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

Maryland Club Founded in 1857, the Maryland Club is one of the oldest private clubs in the United States that was founded as an exclusive men's club. Its large Romanesque clubhouse, dating to 1891, is located in Baltimore’s historic Mount Vernon neighborho ...

Baltimore Country Club Baltimore Country Club is a private club in Baltimore, Maryland, with two campuses, one in the city's Roland Park neighborhood and the other in the north suburb of Lutherville. It is one of only twelve clubs nationwide to operate two campuses. T ...

, Advertising Club of Baltimore, and Racquet Club of Washington, D.C.

Legacy

The Reckord Trophy is a prize awarded annually to the Army

National Guard National Guard is the name used by a wide variety of current and historical uniformed organizations in different countries. The original National Guard was formed during the French Revolution around a cadre of defectors from the French Guards. Nat ...

battalion(s) that achieves the highest standards of training and readiness. The Reckord Trophy is one of the highest peacetime awards given to National Guard units. The Reckord Armory at the University of Maryland is named after General Reckord.

Honors

Reckord was the recipient of several

honorary degrees An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hono ...

, including:

Franklin & Marshall College Franklin & Marshall College (F&M) is a private liberal arts college in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. It employs 175 full-time faculty members and has a student body of approximately 2,400 full-time students. It was founded upon the merger of Fran ...

(

LL.D. Legum Doctor (Latin: “teacher of the laws”) (LL.D.) or, in English, Doctor of Laws, is a doctorate-level academic degree in law or an honorary degree, depending on the jurisdiction. The double “L” in the abbreviation refers to the early ...

, 1943);

Western Maryland College McDaniel College is a private college in Westminster, Maryland. Established in 1867, it was known as Western Maryland College until 2002 when it was renamed McDaniel College in honor of an alumnus who gave a lifetime of service to the college. ...

(Doctor of Military Science and Tactics, 1943); the

University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of M ...

(LL.D., 1944); and

Pennsylvania Military College Widener University is a private university in Chester, Pennsylvania. The university has three other campuses: two in Pennsylvania (Harrisburg and Exton) and one in Wilmington, Delaware. Founded as The Bullock School for Boys in 1821, the school ...

(LL.D., 1944). Reckord Armory, a recreation and athletics building on the campus of the

University of Maryland, College Park The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of Mary ...

, was named for Reckord in 1961. There is also a National Guard facility in the town of

Bel Air, Maryland The town of Bel Air is the county seat of Harford County, Maryland. According to the 2020 United States census, the population of the town was 10,661. History Bel Air's identity has gone through several incarnations since 1780. Aquilla Scott, w ...

known as Reckord Armory. No longer used for military activities, it is now a facility for public events including weddings, trade shows, and business meetings. In 1950, Reckord was the first recipient of the

Distinguished Service Medal. Also in 1950, Reckord received the

American Legion The American Legion, commonly known as the Legion, is a non-profit organization of U.S. war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militi ...

's Distinguished Service Medal.

Awards and medals

Reckford's decorations include the following:

References

Biographical information about Milton Reckord at UMD Archives