Oscar Woolverton Griswold (22 October 1886 – 28 September 1959) 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 ...

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 first half of the 20th century. He is best known for his command of the

XIV Corps 14 Corps, 14th Corps, Fourteenth Corps, or XIV Corps may refer to: * XIV Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars * XIV Corps (German Empire), a unit of the Imperial German Army prior to and during World ...

in the

South Pacific Area The South Pacific Area (SOPAC) was a multinational U.S.-led military command active during World War II. It was a part of the U.S. Pacific Ocean Areas under Admiral Chester Nimitz. The delineation and establishment of the Pacific Ocean Areas was ...

and

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

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 ...

Early life

Oscar Woolverton Griswold was born on 22 October 1886 in

Ruby Valley {{coord, 40.400, -115.300, display=title Ruby Valley is a large basin located in south-central Elko and northern White Pine counties in the northeastern section of the state of Nevada in the western United States. From Secret Pass it runs south-s ...

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

. Raised in

Arthur, Nevada Arthur is an unincorporated community in Nevada, United States. There are only two small houses at Arthur currently. History About fifty inhabitants lived in the Pole Canyon in 1881. Two related stories explain the origin of the name of the town. ...

, he attended the

University of Nevada, Reno The University of Nevada, Reno (Nevada, the University of Nevada, or UNR) is a public land-grant research university in Reno, Nevada. It is the state's flagship public university and primary land grant institution. It was founded on October 12, ...

from 1905 to 1906, when 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 ...

. On graduation with the West Point Class of 1910, he was commissioned 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 the

Infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and marine i ...

Military career

Griswold's early company grade assignments included three years service in China from 1914 to 1917. 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 ...

he served as a

major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

and

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 84th Division,

American Expeditionary Forces 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 ...

, from 1918 to 1919, and participated in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive. Griswold was assigned to the

from 1921 to 1924. He graduated from the

Command and General Staff College 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 1925, graduating 189th in the class of 258, and the

United States Army War College The United States Army War College (USAWC) is a U.S. Army educational institution in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, on the 500-acre (2 km2) campus of the historic Carlisle Barracks. It provides graduate-level instruction to senior military offic ...

in 1929. From 1929 to 1931 Griswold served with the

War Department War Department may refer to: * War Department (United Kingdom) * United States Department of War (1789–1947) See also * War Office, a former department of the British Government * Ministry of defence * Ministry of War * Ministry of Defence * Dep ...

General Staff A military staff or general staff (also referred to as army staff, navy staff, or air staff within the individual services) is a group of officers, enlisted and civilian staff who serve the commander of a division or other large military un ...

. This duty was followed by service with the

United States Army Air Corps The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) was the aerial warfare service component of the United States Army between 1926 and 1941. After World War I, as early aviation became an increasingly important part of modern warfare, a philosophical r ...

. He served as a member of the Infantry Board from 1932 to 1936, and from 1936 to 1939 was assigned to the Office, Chief of Infantry.

World War II

Griswold commanded the 29th Infantry Regiment from September 1939 to October 1940. The 29th was the primary training regiment permanently billeted at the Infantry School at Fort Benning, Georgia; under Griswold's command, the first Parachute Test Platoon was organized out of the 29th, as well as its ersatz successor, the original 501st Parachute Battalion. Griswold 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 October 1940 and became Commanding General of the

Infantry Replacement Training Center The United States Replacement and School Command was a training and receiving formation of the United States Army during World War II. History It was established as part of the Army Ground Forces in March 1942, after it was noted that divis ...

at Camp Croft. 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 August 1941, he commanded 4th Infantry Division. MG Barrowclough, 1944

From April 1943, Griswold was Commanding General of the

, which fought in

New Georgia New Georgia, with an area of , is the largest of the islands in Western Province, Solomon Islands, and the 200th-largest island in the world. Geography New Georgia island is located in the New Georgia Group, an archipelago including most of ...

, Bougainville and in the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

. He was promoted to

in early 1945, and continued to serve in the Pacific theater under

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 ...

during the Battle of Manila in February 1945. Griswold was the top ground commander only under MacArthur and Krueger during that battle, which was the largest urban warfare American troops ever participated in up to that point; Griswold's XIV Corps, in their bitter and bloody fight for Manila, consisted of the 1st Cavalry Division, the 37th Infantry Division, and the 11th Airborne Division. In June 1945, General of the Army MacArthur nominated Griswold to command the

Tenth United States Army The Tenth United States Army was the last army level command established during the Pacific War during World War II, and included divisions from both the U.S. Army and the U.S. Marine Corps. History The headquarters of the Tenth Army was formed ...

following the death of Lieutenant General

Simon Bolivar Buckner, Jr. Simon Bolivar Buckner Jr. ( ; July 18, 1886 – June 18, 1945) was a lieutenant general in the United States Army during World War II who served in the Pacific Theater. As commanding general of Alaska Defense Command, Buckner commanded America ...

in the

Battle of Okinawa The , codenamed Operation Iceberg, was a major battle of the Pacific War fought on the island of Okinawa by United States Army (USA) and United States Marine Corps (USMC) forces against the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA). The initial invasion of ...

. However, he was passed over in favor of General

Joseph Stilwell Joseph Warren "Vinegar Joe" Stilwell (March 19, 1883 – October 12, 1946) was a United States Army general who served in the China Burma India Theater during World War II. An early American popular hero of the war for leading a column walking ...

Later life

After World War II, Griswold served as Commanding General of the

Seventh United States Army The Seventh Army was a United States army created during World War II that evolved into the United States Army Europe (USAREUR) during the 1950s and 1960s. It served in North Africa and Italy in the Mediterranean Theater of Operations and Fran ...

from 11 June 1946 to 15 March 1947, and then the

Third United States Army Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * 1⁄60 of a ''second'', or 1⁄3600 of a ''minute'' Places * 3rd Street (disambiguation) * Third Avenue (disambiguation) * Hig ...

from 15 March to 14 April 1947.Third Army / ARCENT commander bios
/ref> In October 1947, Griswold retired to

The Broadmoor The Broadmoor (stylized as THE BRODMOOR) is a hotel and resort in the Broadmoor neighborhood of Colorado Springs, Colorado. The Broadmoor is a member of Historic Hotels of America of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Its visitors hav ...

resort in

Colorado Springs, Colorado Colorado Springs is a home rule municipality in, and the county seat of, El Paso County, Colorado, United States. It is the largest city in El Paso County, with a population of 478,961 at the 2020 United States Census, a 15.02% increase since ...

, and resided in the Broadmoor Stadium Apartments. In 1948, he was employed by The Broadmoor Hotel Corporation as the Director of Athletic Events. These included ice hockey and figure skating in the Broadmoor Ice Palace. In 1954, Griswold helped to bring the new

United States Air Force Academy The United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) is a United States service academy in El Paso County, Colorado, immediately north of Colorado Springs. It educates cadets for service in the officer corps of the United States Air Force and Uni ...

to Colorado Springs. He also appeared in a television segment of '' This Is Your Life'' in December 1956 where he lauded the exploits of an army captain who refused to surrender in the Philippines and successfully led a guerilla campaign against the Japanese until he turned himself in to General Griswold. He remained employed by the Broadmoor until health problems caused him to retire. Griswold died on 28 September 1959 at his home in Colorado Springs.Robert "Rusty" Lomax, subordinate to General Griswold from 1948 to 1956. He was buried along with his wife Elizabeth Katherine (Matile) Griswold at the

West Point 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 ...

Awards

Griswold's awards and decorations include the following: In 1946 he received a

Doctor of Laws A Doctor of Law is a degree in law. The application of the term varies from country to country and includes degrees such as the Doctor of Juridical Science (J.S.D. or S.J.D), Juris Doctor (J.D.), Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), and Legum Doctor (LL. ...

from the

Dates of rank

Official Register of Commissioned Officers of the United States Army, 1948. pg. 2219.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Griswold, Oscar 1886 births 1959 deaths People from Elko County, Nevada University of Nevada, Reno alumni United States Military Academy alumni Military personnel from Nevada 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 United States Army generals of World War II Recipients of the Air Medal Recipients of the Silver Star Recipients of the Legion of Merit United States Army generals Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army) Recipients of the Navy Distinguished Service Medal People from Colorado Springs, Colorado Burials at West Point Cemetery