Murdock A. Campbell (January 16, 1889 – August 29, 1972) was a

Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provin ...

attorney and military officer who served as

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

Vermont National Guard The Vermont National Guard is composed of the Vermont Army National Guard and the Vermont Air National Guard. Together, they are collectively known as the Green Mountain Boys. Both units use the original Revolutionary War-era Flag of the Green ...

Early life

Murdock Alexander Campbell was born in Graniteville, Vermont on January 16, 1889. He graduated from Goddard Seminary and worked at a local

granite Granite () is a coarse-grained ( phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies un ...

quarry. Campbell graduated from Albany Business College now (

Bryant & Stratton College Bryant & Stratton College (BSC) is a private for-profit college with campuses in New York, Ohio, Virginia, and Wisconsin, as well as an online campus. Founded in 1854, the college offers associate degree programs at all campuses and bachelor's ...

) and studied at the

University of Maine School of Law The University of Maine School of Law (UMaine Law or Maine Law) is public law school in Portland, Maine. It is accredited by the American Bar Association and Maine's only law school. It is also part of the University of Maine System. The school's ...

World War I

He joined the 57th Pioneer Infantry Regiment and deployed to

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

for

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

. Enlisting as a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

, he rose to

sergeant major Sergeant major is a senior non-commissioned rank or appointment in many militaries around the world. History In 16th century Spain, the ("sergeant major") was a general officer. He commanded an army's infantry, and ranked about third in th ...

before receiving his commission in September, 1918. He served in France from September 1918 to June 1919 and was discharged in July 1919.

Post-World War I

Following the war, Campbell resumed studying law. In 1925, he received his LL.B. degree from

National University School of Law National University School of Law was an American law school founded in Washington, D.C. in 1869. Originally intended as part of a larger design for a national university in the United States, the school was the principal component of National Unive ...

(now

George Washington University Law School The George Washington University Law School (GW Law) is the law school of George Washington University, in Washington, D.C. Established in 1865, GW Law is the oldest top law school in the national capital. GW Law offers the largest range of co ...

). In 1926, he received a Master of Laws (

LL.M. A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is an advanced postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in a related subject. In mos ...

) and a Master of Patent Law (M.P.L) from National University. He practiced law in

Northfield Northfield may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Northfield, Aberdeen, Scotland * Northfield, Edinburgh, Scotland * Northfield, Birmingham, England * Northfield (Kettering BC Ward), Northamptonshire, England United States * Northfield, Connect ...

in partnership with Frank Plumley and

Charles Albert Plumley Charles Albert Plumley (April 14, 1875 – October 31, 1964) was an American lawyer and politician. He served as a Republican U.S. Representative from Vermont, and was the son of U.S. Representative Frank Plumley. Biography Plumley was born i ...

. A Republican, he served as Assistant Secretary of the Vermont State Senate from 1927 to 1931 and Secretary from 1931 to 1933. During his term as Secretary, his assistant was Ernest W. Gibson, Jr., with whom Campbell also served in the Vermont National Guard. From 1933 to 1941, Campbell was Vermont’s Commissioner of the Department of Motor Vehicles. Campbell continued his military service after World War I and rose through the ranks 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 ...

and commander of the 172nd Infantry Regiment, a unit of the 43rd Infantry Division. Campbell later took a reduction in rank to

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 colon ...

and a position on the division staff, which enabled

Leonard F. Wing Leonard Fish Wing Sr. (November 12, 1893 – December 19, 1945), nicknamed "Red", was a Vermont political figure and a division commander in the United States Army during World War II. Early life Leonard Wing was born in Ira, Vermont on Novembe ...

to receive promotion to colonel and command of the regiment.

World War II

In 1941, Campbell was mobilized with the 172nd Infantry Regiment and sent to

Camp Blanding Camp Blanding Joint Training Center is the primary military reservation and training base for the Florida National Guard, both the Florida Army National Guard and certain nonflying activities of the Florida Air National Guard. The installation ...

for training in preparation for deployment overseas. In June Campbell was called home and appointed Assistant Adjutant General, aiding longtime incumbent

Herbert Thomas Johnson Brigadier General Herbert Thomas Johnson (January 27, 1872 – November 4, 1942) was a military officer who served as Adjutant General of the Vermont National Guard. Early life Herbert T. Johnson was born in Bradford, Vermont on January 27, 1872. ...

during Johnson’s extended illness. Campbell succeeded Johnson as Adjutant General when Johnson retired in December 1941. During the war, Campbell was responsible for mobilizing and deploying Vermont National Guard members to overseas theaters for

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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, and for creating and overseeing the

Vermont State Guard The Vermont State Guard (VSG) is the all-volunteer state defense force of the state of Vermont. The Vermont State Guard serves parallel to the Vermont National Guard, acting as a reserve force for the State of Vermont Military Department. The Verm ...

, a volunteer organization which handled the in-state duties of the Vermont National Guard while Guard members were overseas.

Post-World War II

Following World War II Campbell’s duties were centered on the reorganization of the post-war reorganization of the National Guard and the creation of the

Air National Guard The Air National Guard (ANG), also known as the Air Guard, is a federal military reserve force of the United States Air Force, as well as the air militia of each U.S. state, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the ter ...

. Campbell was also responsible for overseeing the deployment of Vermont soldiers and airmen mobilized for the

Korean War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Korean War , partof = the Cold War and the Korean conflict , image = Korean War Montage 2.png , image_size = 300px , caption = Clockwise from top:{ ...

, and for out processing and demobilizing them after the war. Campbell served as Adjutant General until retiring in 1955. He was succeeded by Francis William Billado, another attorney, member of the Vermont National Guard and longtime acquaintance of Campbell.

Death and burial

In retirement, Campbell lived in

Berlin, Vermont Berlin ( ) is a town in Washington County, Vermont, United States, founded in 1763. The population was 2,849 at the 2020 census. Being the town between Barre and Montpelier, the two largest cities in the region, much of the commercial busines ...

. He died at the Berlin Convalescent Home on August 29, 1972. He was buried in Northfield’s Mount Hope Cemetery.

Awards

Campbell was the first recipient of the Vermont Distinguished Service Medal.

Additional honors

The Vermont National Guard armory in

is named for him., retrieved December 29, 2013

References

External links

* , retrieved December 17, 2013 {{DEFAULTSORT:Campbell, Murdock A. 1889 births 1972 deaths People from Barre, Vermont Vermont Republicans National University School of Law alumni Vermont lawyers United States Army personnel of World War I United States Army personnel of World War II United States Army personnel of the Korean War National Guard (United States) generals United States Army generals Burials in Vermont Vermont National Guard personnel Goddard College alumni Albany Business College alumni 20th-century American lawyers