George Windle Read Jr. (July 29, 1900 – December 15, 1974) 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

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 ...

. He was prominent as a top-tier polo player, a successful commander 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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

armor units, and the U.S. Army's Chief of Armor.

Early life

Read was born at

Fort Grant, Arizona Fort Grant is a state prison and a former United States Army fortification in the U.S. state of Arizona. Fort Grant is located on the southwestern slope of Mount Graham in what is now Graham County. The post is named for Ulysses S. Grant, the ...

, on July 29, 1900,The Monthly Supplement: a Current Biographical Reference Service, published by Who’s Who, Inc., 1944, Volumes 5-6, page 247 the son of Burton Young Read and Major General George Windle Read (1860–1934), one of the top commanders in the American Expeditionary Force during

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, ...

. His grandfather was Lieutenant General S.B.M. Young, who served as the first Chief of Staff of the United States Army. Read was educated on military posts throughout the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

, and graduated from Central High School in Washington, D.C. Read was decided upon a military career from an early age; at 13, he took part in a summer

Boy Scout A Scout (in some countries a Boy Scout, Girl Scout, or Pathfinder) is a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement. Because of the large age and development span, many Scouting associations have split ...

encampment that included military training. In the late 1800s and early 1900s, Washington's high schools maintained a corps of cadets, with students organized into companies and regiments for drill and ceremony competitions. During his high school years, Read was an active participant as a member of the corps' Company H. 1st Regiment.

World War I

Read enlisted in the Army on May 15, 1917, shortly before his seventeenth birthday. He served with the 15th Cavalry Regiment and the 30th and 42nd Infantry Divisions during

, attaining the rank of sergeant.

Post World War I

Read completed the

officer candidate school An officer candidate school (OCS) is a military school which trains civilians and enlisted personnel in order for them to gain a commission as officers in the armed forces of a country. How OCS is run differs between countries and services. Typ ...

Langres Langres () is a commune in northeastern France. It is a subprefecture of the department of Haute-Marne, in the region of Grand Est. History As the capital of the Romanized Gallic tribe known as the Lingones, it was called Andematunnum, then L ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

, and was 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 1 ...

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 m ...

in 1919. He soon transferred to Cavalry, and graduated from the Cavalry School Basic Course in 1921. He served throughout the

and overseas during the 1920s and 1930s. From 1922 to 1925 Read served 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 ...

as aide de camp to his father.Life of the Soldier and the Airman, Volumes 35-36, 1953, page 289 A championship caliber polo player, Read took part in several tournaments during the 1920s and 1930s, playing on teams sponsored by the Army. Read graduated from the Cavalry School Regular Course in 1937, afterwards serving in the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europ ...

as an observer in

Palestine __NOTOC__ Palestine may refer to: * State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia * Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia * Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East J ...

and a member of the Armored Force Board that was based in

Cairo, Egypt Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo me ...

World War II

After graduating 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 1941, Read was assigned as Training and Operations Officer, G-3, for the 6th Armored Division. Read served with the 6th Armored Division 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 subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located enti ...

throughout

, including assignments as commander of the 68th Tank Regiment, commander of the division's Combat Command B, assistant division commander, and division commander from April to May, 1945 and again from July until the division was deactivated in September, 1945.

Post World War II

In the late 1940s Read served as President of Army Ground Forces Board 3 at

Ft. Benning, Georgia Fort Benning is a United States Army post near Columbus, Georgia, adjacent to the Alabama– Georgia border. Fort Benning supports more than 120,000 active-duty military, family members, reserve component soldiers, retirees and civilian emplo ...

. (The Army created several ground forces boards to test new weapons and equipment and make procurement recommendations.) From 1948 to 1950 Read served as Deputy Chief of Staff for Logistics, G-4, for the United States Constabulary. During the early 1950s General Read commanded 1st Brigade, United States Constabulary in

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

. From April 1952 to April 1953 Read served as commander of the 2nd Armored Division. In 1953 Read was assigned as commander of the

U.S. Army Armor Center and School The United States Army Armor School (formerly Armored Force School) is a training school located at Fort Benning, Georgia. Its primary focus is the training of United States Army soldiers, non-commissioned officers, warrant officers, and comm ...

Fort Knox Fort Knox is a United States Army installation in Kentucky, south of Louisville and north of Elizabethtown. It is adjacent to the United States Bullion Depository, which is used to house a large portion of the United States' official gold r ...

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virgini ...

, where he remained until 1955. He then commanded Allied Land Forces South East Europe, remaining in this post until 1957. In 1957 Read assumed command of the

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 an ...

, remaining in this position until his retirement in 1960.

Awards and decorations

General Read's U.S. decorations included multiple awards of the Distinguished Service Medal, the

Silver Star The Silver Star Medal (SSM) is the United States Armed Forces' third-highest military decoration for valor in combat. The Silver Star Medal is awarded primarily to members of the United States Armed Forces for gallantry in action against an ...

, and multiple awards of the

Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements. The decoration is issued to members of the eight ...

and

Bronze Star Medal The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious a ...

. His foreign awards included the French Legion of Honor and

Croix de Guerre The ''Croix de Guerre'' (, ''Cross of War'') is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was first awa ...

with Palm,

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct language ...

Luxembourg War Cross The Luxembourg War Cross (french: Croix de Guerre, german: Kriegskreuz) is a military decoration of Luxembourg. It was created on 17 April 1945 by the Grand Duchess Charlotte of Luxembourg. The War Cross recognizes military service and feats of br ...

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

Grand Cross of the Royal Order of the Phoenix, and

Order of Merit (Chile) The Order of Merit ( es, link=no, Orden al Mérito) is a Chilean order and was created in 1929. Succeeding the Medal of the Merit, which was created during the term of the President Germán Riesco through the Minister of War decree No. 1350 on ...

Retirement and death

General Read resided in

Aptos Aptos (Ohlone for "The People") is an unincorporated town in Santa Cruz County, California. The town is made up of several small villages, which together form Aptos: Aptos Hills-Larkin Valley, Aptos Village, Cabrillo, Seacliff, Rio del Mar, and Se ...

, Santa Cruz County, California after his retirement from the Army, and died at Fort Ord's Silas B. Hays Army Hospital on December 15, 1974, from the effects of lymphocytic leukemia. He was buried at

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is one of two national cemeteries run by the United States Army. Nearly 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington, Virginia. There are about 30 funerals conducted on weekdays and 7 held on Sa ...

, Section 3, Site 3946.

Family

In 1933, Read married Ernestine Eaton Renzel (1903–1988). They had no children.

References

External links

Generals of World War II
, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Read, George Windle Jr. 1900 births United States Army generals United States Army personnel of World War I United States Army Command and General Staff College alumni Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army) Recipients of the Silver Star Recipients of the Legion of Merit Recipients of the Legion of Honour Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1939–1945 (France) Recipients of the Croix de guerre (Belgium) Grand Crosses of the Order of the Phoenix (Greece) People from Aptos, California 1974 deaths People from Graham County, Arizona Burials at Arlington National Cemetery United States Army generals of World War II Military personnel from Arizona