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 ...

Stanley Hamer Ford (January 30, 1877 - January 19, 1961) was a senior officer of the

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 ...

. After serving in numerous conflicts and wars, including

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 was commander of the

Philippine Department The Philippine Department (Filipino: ''Kagawaran ng Pilipinas/Hukbong Kagawaran ng Pilipinas'') was a regular United States Army organization whose mission was to defend the Philippine Islands and train the Philippine Army. On 9 April 1942, durin ...

, 1st Infantry Division, Seventh Corps Area,

Sixth Corps Area Sixth Corps Area was a Corps area, effectively a military district, of the United States Army from 1921 to the 1940s. The headquarters was established at Sheridan Reserve Center, Fort Sheridan, Illinois, in August 1920, from portions of the former C ...

, and the Second Army

Early life

Ford was born on January 30, 1877, in

Columbus, Ohio Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, and t ...

. Ford graduated from the

Ohio State University The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best publ ...

with a Bachelor of Philosophy degree in 1898, and was a member of the

Sigma Alpha Epsilon Sigma Alpha Epsilon (), commonly known as SAE, is a North American Greek-letter social college fraternity. It was founded at the University of Alabama on March 9, 1856. Of all existing national social fraternities today, Sigma Alpha Epsilon is t ...

fraternity. He was then commissioned 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 ...

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 ...

in the United States Army.

Spanish–American War

Ford saw service in

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

and 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 ...

during the

Spanish–American War , partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence , image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption = (clock ...

, serving with the 16th Infantry in Cuba and the 25th Infantry in the Philippines.

Post Spanish–American War

After the war he served in a series of staff and command assignments, including Infantry and Quartermaster postings to Jefferson Barracks, Missouri,

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, and the installation now known as

Fort Drum, New York Fort Drum is a U.S. Army military reservation and a census-designated place (CDP) in Jefferson County, on the northern border of New York, United States. The population of the CDP portion of the base was 12,955 at the 2010 census. It is home t ...

World War I

111-SC-41826 - NARA - 55242867 (cropped) (cropped)

During

, he served as Assistant Chief of Staff of the 84th Infantry Division and Chief of Staff of the 27th Infantry Division. In recognition of his services during the war 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 ...

. The citation for the medal reads:

Post World War I

Ford continued his Army career after the war, completing the General Staff College in 1920. He served as commander of the 16th Infantry Regiment from 1924 to 1926. From 1926 to 1930 Ford served as Assistant Chief of Staff of the Army's Military Intelligence Division. Ford attained the rank of

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 1930. In the early 1930s, General Ford served as military attache in

Paris, France Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

. He then commanded 1st Brigade 1st Infantry Division. After his brigade command, Ford took command of the

. Ford 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 1936 and successively commanded 1st Infantry Division Seventh Corps Area,

, and Second Army simultaneously with Sixth Corps Area. In October 1938 Ford took command of the Second Army, which was responsible for overseeing U.S. Army organizations in several mid-western and southern states. On 5 August 1939, he was promoted temporarily to

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 accordance with "An Act To provide for the rank and title of lieutenant general of the Regular Army." He was one of the first four active duty officers promoted to lieutenant general since 1918., He was a member of 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 ...

World War II

As commander of Second Army Ford oversaw execution of large scale maneuvers and exercises by active Army and National Guard troops that enhanced their readiness in anticipation of fighting in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

and the

Pacific 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 ...

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 ...

. General Ford ended his military career upon reaching mandatory retirement age in January, 1941.

Post military career

During World War II he assisted

John F. O'Ryan John Francis O'Ryan (August 21, 1874 - January 29, 1961) was a Manhattan, New York City attorney, politician, government official and military officer. He served as commander of the 27th Division during World War I. He later served as a member ...

, the World War I commander of the 27th Infantry Division, during O'Ryan's assignment as New York State's Civil Defense Director.

Personal

General Ford married Lona Pace in 1904. Their son Hamer Pace Ford (1905–1950) graduated from

West Point The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known Metonymy, metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a f ...

in 1924 and was a career Army officer, attaining the rank of Colonel before his death in Berlin, Germany. In 1933 General Ford married Katherine Welch of

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

Death and interment

General Ford died at the Army's Carlisle Barracks on January 19, 1961, while en route to

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination ...

's inaugural. He was buried in Philadelphia's

Laurel Hill Cemetery Laurel Hill Cemetery is a historic rural cemetery in the East Falls neighborhood of Philadelphia. Founded in 1836, it was the second major rural cemetery in the United States after Mount Auburn Cemetery in Boston, Massachusetts. The cemetery is ...

, Section K, Lot 214-SW 1/4.

Awards and decorations

Distinguished Service Medal Distinguished Service Medal (DSM) is a high award of a nation. Examples include: *Distinguished Service Medal (Australia) (established 1991), awarded to personnel of the Australian Defence Force for distinguished leadership in action * Distinguishe ...

- in recognition of his superior performance with the 27th Division in World War I. *

Spanish Campaign Medal The Spanish Campaign Medal was a military award of the United States Armed Forces which recognized those men of the U.S. military who had served in the Spanish–American War. Although a single decoration, there were two versions of the Spanish C ...

Philippine Campaign Medal The Philippine Campaign Medal is a Awards and decorations of the United States military, medal of the United States Armed Forces which was created to denote service of U.S. military men in the Philippine–American War between the years of 1899 an ...

* Cuban Pacification Medal * World War I Victory Medal *

American Defense Service Medal The American Defense Service Medal was a military award of the United States Armed Forces, established by , by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, on June 28, 1941. The medal was intended to recognize those military service members who had served ...

*Officer of the

French Legion of Honor The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon B ...

Belgian Croix de Guerre The ''Croix de guerre'' ( French) or ''Oorlogskruis'' (Dutch), both literally translating as "Cross of War", is a military decoration of the Kingdom of Belgium established by royal decree on 25 October 1915. It was primarily awarded for bravery ...

with palm In 1940 General Ford received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from the Ohio State University.List of honorary degree recipients
The Ohio State University Student Senate web site

Dates of rank

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ford, Stanley H. 1877 births 1961 deaths United States Army Infantry Branch personnel United States military attachés Military personnel from Ohio American military personnel of the Spanish–American War Burials at Laurel Hill Cemetery (Philadelphia) Chevaliers of the Légion d'honneur History of the Philippines (1898–1946) Ohio State University alumni People from Columbus, Ohio Recipients of the Croix de guerre (Belgium) Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army) United States Army generals United States Army personnel of World War I United States Army generals of World War II