William Frew Train II (January 23, 1908 – November 27, 2006) was a
United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...
lieutenant general and veteran of
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 opposing ...
and the
Korean War
, date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...
.
Early life
William Train was born and raised in
Savannah, Georgia
Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia and is the county seat of Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the British colonial capital of the Province of Georgia and later t ...
. Orphaned when he was 17, he enlisted in the
United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...
as a private in 1926 and retired 41 years later as a three-star general.
Military career
In 1927, Private Train placed first among army enlisted men competing for admission 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 ...
at West Point. He graduated from West Point in 1931 and was commissioned as a second lieutenant.
In 1933, one of his first posts was second-in-command at Camp Roosevelt, the first
Civilian Conservation Corps
The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a voluntary government work relief program that ran from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men ages 18–25 and eventually expanded to ages 17–28. The CCC was a major part of ...
camp established in the
George Washington National Forest
The George Washington and Jefferson National Forests is an administrative entity combining two U.S. National Forests into one of the largest areas of public land in the Eastern United States. The forests cover of land in the Appalachian Mountai ...
in central Virginia.
World War II
Shortly after the 1941
attack on Pearl Harbor
The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii ...
, Captain Train was summoned to the War Department General Staff to serve in the newly built Pentagon helping to organize the war effort and earning the Legion of Merit.
Later 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 opposing ...
, Train served in the Italian campaign in 1943 for several months and then, in October 1944, he joined the 28th Infantry Division fighting on the Siegfried Line. The Siegfried Line was the defensive barrier at the German border to which the German army had retreated in the summer and fall of 1944 after the American and British invasion at Normandy on June 6, 1944.
In trying to break through the Siegfried Line in November 1944, Train's division was stopped by fierce German resistance during the
Battle of Huertgen Forest
A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...
, the bloodiest battle of the war in Europe on the American side. After suffering devastating losses, the 28th Division was moved to a quiet sector of the front line in northern Luxemburg and southern Belgium.
This placed them directly in the path of the massive German surprise attack in the
Battle of the Bulge
The Battle of the Bulge, also known as the Ardennes Offensive, was the last major German offensive campaign on the Western Front during World War II. The battle lasted from 16 December 1944 to 28 January 1945, towards the end of the war in ...
, launched on December 16, 1944. Lieutenant Colonel Train was Assistant Regimental Commander of the 112th Infantry Regiment of the 28th Division. His regiment held its position for the first two days of the attack against overwhelming odds and then participated in the defense of St. Vith in southern Belgium, a key road junction. These defensive actions seriously disrupted the northern sector of the German attack, which ground to a halt on December 26. Two days earlier, on December 24, Train's regiment—which had become surrounded by the German forces—was able to safely withdraw to the new American lines with the rest of the St. Vith defenders. Train was awarded the Silver Star for his leadership and bravery during the battle. He also received two Bronze Star Medals for his World War II service.
After the war, he graduated from the
Imperial Defence College
The Royal College of Defence Studies (RCDS) instructs the most promising senior officers of the British Armed Forces, His Majesty's Diplomatic Service and Civil Service in national defence and international security matters at the highest level ...
in 1947.
Korean War
Train served in
Korea
Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...
in 1950 and 1951 during the intense fighting of the first year of that war. As plans officer for the
Eighth United States Army
The Eighth Army is a U.S. field army which is the commanding formation of all United States Army forces in South Korea. It commands U.S. and South Korean units and is headquartered at the Camp Humphreys,
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 1957.
Later in his career, Train commanded the 4th Infantry Division from 1960 to 1962, 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 ...
from 1962 to 1964. He commanded
Second United States Army
Second Army was most recently located at Fort Belvoir, Virginia as a Direct Reporting Unit to Headquarters U.S. Army, Chief Information Officer (CIO)/G-6. Under the CIO/G-6, Second Army served as the single point of contact for Army missions a ...
from 1964 until it was inactivated and combined with
First United States Army
First Army is the oldest and longest-established field army of the United States Army. It served as a theater army, having seen service in both World War I and World War II, and supplied the US army with soldiers and equipment during the Kore ...
on January 1, 1966 at
Fort Meade
Fort George G. Meade is a United States Army installation located in Maryland, that includes the Defense Information School, the Defense Media Activity, the United States Army Field Band, and the headquarters of United States Cyber Command, the ...
, Maryland. His final command of the newly combined First Army, responsible for all Army forces and facilities in the northeast United States from Virginia to Maine, concluded an active duty career on 41 years with his retirement on May 31, 1967.
Family
Train was survived by Charlotte Gibner Train, his wife of 70 years. He was also survived by his daughter, Leslie, his son, Bruce, and his grandson, Zachary. He suffered the loss of his first son, Lieutenant William F. Train III (June 26, 1937 – June 16, 1962), who was the sixth American advisor killed in South Vietnam.
Train and his wife had settled in San Mateo, California after his retirement. His son had been buried 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 ear ...
and Train's ashes were interred next to his son on March 29, 2007.