John Leslie Magruder (June 3, 1887 – April 30, 1958) was an American military and intelligence officer who was deputy director of the

Office of Strategic Services The Office of Strategic Services (OSS) was the first intelligence agency of the United States, formed during World War II. The OSS was formed as an agency of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) to coordinate espionage activities behind enemy lines ...

and director of the

Strategic Services Unit The Strategic Services Unit was an intelligence agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States government that existed in the immediate post–World War II period. It was created from the Secret Intelligence Branch, Secret ...

. He held the rank of brigadier general in the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary 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 the United Stat ...

Biography

John Magruder was born on June 3, 1887, in

Woodstock, Virginia Woodstock is a town in and the county seat of Shenandoah County, Virginia, Shenandoah County, Virginia, United States. It has a population of 5,212 according to the 2010 United States Census, 2017 census. Woodstock comprises 3.2 square miles o ...

. He attended

Virginia Military Institute The Virginia Military Institute (VMI) is a public senior military college in Lexington, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1839 as America's first state military college and is the oldest public senior military college in the U.S. In k ...

and graduated in 1909. He was commissioned a second lieutenant in infantry in 1910. He was transferred to the field artillery branch of the army in the next year. During

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 ...

, Magruder served with the 112th Field Artillery within the

American Expeditionary Forces The American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) was a formation of the United States Armed Forces on the Western Front (World War I), Western Front during World War I, composed mostly of units from the United States Army, U.S. Army. The AEF was establis ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. After the war Magruder was transferred to

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

, where he was appointed an assistant

military attaché A military attaché or defence attaché (DA),Defence Attachés
''Geneva C ...

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

. He served in this capacity until 1924, when he was assigned for study at

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 ...

Fort Leavenworth Fort Leavenworth () is a United States Army installation located in Leavenworth County, Kansas, in the city of Leavenworth, Kansas, Leavenworth. Built in 1827, it is the second oldest active United States Army post west of Washington, D.C., an ...

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

. After his graduation, Magruder was transferred back to

, now in the new capacity of military attaché. During World War II Magruder served in the

(OSS), as deputy director under the leadership of General

William J. Donovan William Joseph "Wild Bill" Donovan (January 1, 1883 – February 8, 1959) was an American soldier, lawyer, intelligence officer and diplomat. He is best known for serving as the head of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), the precursor to ...

. After the war, the OSS was disbanded. Core elements of it, however, were maintained in the new

(SSU), located in the then Department of War. This newly formed SSU was led by Magruder. The SSU was absorbed by the newly created

Central Intelligence Group The Central Intelligence Group (CIG) was the direct successor to the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), and the Strategic Services Unit (SSU), and the direct predecessor to the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). The official duties of CIG as quo ...

(CIG) on July 1, 1946, where it remained until the CIG was transitioned into the CIA. Magruder played a formative role in the creation of the civilian

Central Intelligence Agency The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; ) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and ...

(CIA) in 1947.

Decorations

Notes

1887 births 1958 deaths Military personnel from Virginia United States Army generals of World War II People of the Office of Strategic Services People from Woodstock, Virginia Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army) United States Army Command and General Staff College alumni United States Army generals United States Army War College alumni Virginia Military Institute alumni United States Army personnel of World War I {{US-army-World-War-II-bio-stub