Donald Prentice Booth (21 December 1902 – 30 October 1993) was a

lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank 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 battlefield, who was norma ...

in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

he was the US Army's youngest theater commander. After World War II he was known for his commands of the 28th Infantry Division, the 9th Infantry Division and the Fourth United States Army. In addition, he served as High Commissioner of the

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from 1958 to 1961.

Early life

Donald Prentice Booth was the son of Colonel Alfred James Booth (1875–1937), a career Army officer and veteran of the

Spanish–American War The Spanish–American War (April 21 – August 13, 1898) was fought between Restoration (Spain), Spain and the United States in 1898. It began with the sinking of the USS Maine (1889), USS ''Maine'' in Havana Harbor in Cuba, and resulted in the ...

and

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. Donald Booth attended Hawaii's

Punahou School Punahou School (known as Oahu College until 1934) is a private, co-educational, college preparatory school in Honolulu, Hawaii. More than 3,700 students attend the school from kindergarten through 12th grade. The school was established by P ...

, and high schools in

San Antonio, Texas San Antonio ( ; Spanish for "Anthony of Padua, Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the List of Texas metropolitan areas, third-largest metropolitan area in Texa ...

Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It is located on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River. Albany is the oldes ...

, and

Patchogue, New York Patchogue ( ) is a Administrative divisions of New York#Village, village in Suffolk County, New York. The population was 12,408 at the time of the 2020 census. The Incorporated Village of Patchogue is an incorporated community in the Town (New ...

before graduating from Leavenworth High School in

Leavenworth, Kansas Leavenworth () is the county seat and largest city of Leavenworth County, Kansas, Leavenworth County, Kansas, United States. Part of the Kansas City metropolitan area, Leavenworth is located on the west bank of the Missouri River, on the site o ...

in 1921. He graduated from the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York that educates cadets for service as Officer_(armed_forces)#United_States, comm ...

in 1926 and was commissioned a second lieutenant of

Engineers Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while consider ...

Early military career

After receiving his commission Booth pursued graduate studies in engineering at

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

. Booth graduated from the Army Engineer Officer Course in 1930. From 1935 to 1939 he was an instructor at the US Military Academy. Booth graduated from the Command and General Staff School in 1940. Later that year, he served with the 2nd Engineers at Fort Sam Houston, Texas and was then transferred to be Assistant to the District Engineer in Seattle from 1940 to 1942.

World War II

From 1942 to 1944, Booth served as Director of Ports for the Persian Gulf Command, receiving promotion to brigadier general in May 1944. The Persian Gulf Command was responsible for transporting supplies to the U.S.S.R. after it joined the Allied war effort. Booth served as Chief of Staff from 1944 to 1945, and commanded the organization from early 1945 until the end of the war.

Post World War II

Following World War II Booth served in positions of increasing visibility and responsibility, including a posting as Executive Assistant to the Undersecretary of War From 1953 to 1954 General Booth was commander of the 28th Infantry Division in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

when this

National Guard National guard is the name used by a wide variety of current and historical uniformed organizations in different countries. The original National Guard was formed during the French Revolution around a cadre of defectors from the French Guards. ...

organization was activated to replace active duty units sent to

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

during the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

. Booth commanded the 9th Infantry Division, also in Germany, from May to November, 1954. From 1955 to 1957 Booth was the Army's Assistant Chief of Staff for Personnel, G-1. Promoted to lieutenant general in 1957, he served as the Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel until 1958. Booth served as US High Commissioner of the

and commanding general of IX Corps from 1958 to 1961. From 1961 to 1962 Booth was commander of the Fourth United States Army.

Awards and decorations

Booth's awards included multiple presentations of the Distinguished Service Medal. The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics decorated him with the Order of Kutuzov Second Class for his service as Commanding General, Persian Gulf Command. In 1961 he received the Order of the Rising Sun, Second Class to recognize his efforts as High Commissioner for the

Retirement and death

In retirement, Booth lived in

Santa Barbara, California Santa Barbara (, meaning ) is a coastal city in Santa Barbara County, California, of which it is also the county seat. Situated on a south-facing section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coast of the United States excepting A ...

, where he died on October 30, 1993. He was buried at

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is the largest cemetery in the United States National Cemetery System, one of two maintained by the United States Army. More than 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington County, Virginia. ...

, Section 3-HH, Row 2, Site 3.Nationwide Gravesite Locator
, US Department of Veterans Affairs

References

External links

Arlington National Cemetery web site {{DEFAULTSORT:Booth, Donald Prentice 1902 births 1993 deaths United States Army Corps of Engineers personnel United States Military Academy alumni United States Army Command and General Staff College alumni Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army) Military personnel from Albany, New York Military personnel from Santa Barbara, California Burials at Arlington National Cemetery United States Army generals of World War II United States Army generals United States Military Academy faculty