George Veazey Strong (March 14, 1880 – January 10, 1946) was a

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

general A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED ...

with the rank of

major general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of ...

, who is most famous for his service as commander of the Military Intelligence Corps 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 ...

Early life

Strong was born on March 14, 1880, in the

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

suburb of

Evanston, Illinois Evanston ( ) is a city, suburb of Chicago. Located in Cook County, Illinois, United States, it is situated on the North Shore along Lake Michigan. Evanston is north of Downtown Chicago, bordered by Chicago to the south, Skokie to the west, ...

. His family later moved to Helena, Montana, where he attended

Helena High School Helena High School is a public high school for grades 9 through 12 located in Helena, Montana, United States. It is part of the Helena Public School District. Founded in September 1876, it is the oldest high school in the state of Montana.

. Strong then attended the

Michigan Military Academy The Michigan Military Academy, also known as M.M.A., was an all-boys military prep school in Orchard Lake Village, Oakland County, Michigan. It was founded in 1877 by J. Sumner Rogers and closed in 1908 due to bankruptcy. Some journalists h ...

for two years, graduating in 1900. Subsequently, he attended 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 ...

West Point, New York West Point is the oldest continuously occupied military post in the United States. Located on the Hudson River in New York, West Point was identified by General George Washington as the most important strategic position in America during the Ame ...

, and was a graduate of Class of 1904, in which many of his classmates also later became famous generals, for example:

Joseph Stilwell Joseph Warren "Vinegar Joe" Stilwell (March 19, 1883 – October 12, 1946) was a United States Army general who served in the China Burma India Theater during World War II. An early American popular hero of the war for leading a column walking o ...

Lesley J. McNair Lesley James McNair (May 25, 1883 – July 25, 1944) was a senior United States Army officer who served during World War I and World War II. He attained the rank of lieutenant general during his life; he was killed in action during World War I ...

, Robert C. Richardson, Jr., Jay Leland Benedict,

Innis P. Swift Innis Palmer Swift (February 7, 1882 – November 3, 1953) was a Major General in the United States Army. He was the grandson and namesake of Civil War Major General Innis Newton Palmer,''Gen. Swift, A Cavalryman'', San Antonio Light, Augus ...

, Henry Conger Pratt,

Francis Honeycutt Francis Webster Honeycutt (May 26, 1883 – September 20, 1940) was an American fencer and military officer. He won a bronze medal in the team foil event at the 1920 Summer Olympics. He rose to the rank of brigadier general in 1940 and as ...

, Charles F. Thompson, Fulton Q. Gardner, George R. Allin,

William Bryden William Bryden (February 3, 1880 – January 20, 1972) was a career officer in the United States Army. A veteran of the Philippine–American War, Pancho Villa Expedition, World War I, and World War II, he attained the rank of major general and ...

, Walter R. Fulton, Pelham D. Glassford, Irving J. Phillipson, Donald C. Cubbison or Thomas M. Robins. While at West Point, he was an award-winning fencer. Strong was also a graduate of

Northwestern University Law School Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law is the law school of Northwestern University, a private research university. It is located on the university's Chicago campus. Northwestern Law has been ranked among the top 14, or "T14" law sch ...

, earning a Bachelor of Laws degree in 1916. During World War I, Strong served overseas in

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 area ...

with

American Expeditionary Forces The American Expeditionary Forces (A. E. F.) was a formation of the United States Army on the Western Front of World War I. The A. E. F. was established on July 5, 1917, in France under the command of General John J. Pershing. It fought along ...

. Strong served as lieutenant colonel on the staff of IV Corps 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 a ...

during the

Battle of Saint-Mihiel The Battle of Saint-Mihiel was a major World War I battle fought from 12–15 September 1918, involving the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) and 110,000 French troops under the command of General John J. Pershing of the United States against ...

and for his staff service in this assignments, he was awarded with Army Distinguished Service Medal and later with two

Purple Heart The Purple Heart (PH) is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the President to those wounded or killed while serving, on or after 5 April 1917, with the U.S. military. With its forerunner, the Badge of Military Merit, ...

Distinguished Service Medal Citation

The official U.S. Army citation for Strong's Distinguished Service Medal reads: :General Orders: War Department, General Orders No. 38 (1922) :Action Date: World War I :Name: George Veazey Strong :Service: Army :Rank: Lieutenant Colonel :Company: Headquarters :Division: 2d Army, American Expeditionary Forces :Citation: ''The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, July 9, 1918, takes pleasure in presenting the Army Distinguished Service Medal to Lieutenant Colonel (Judge Advocate General's Department) George Veazey Strong, United States Army, for exceptionally meritorious and distinguished services to the Government of the United States, in a duty of great responsibility during World War I. While on staff duty with Headquarters, 4th Army Corps and Headquarters, 2d Army, American Expeditionary Forces, Lieutenant Colonel Strong was in charge of all troop movements preparatory to the St. Mihiel attack and immediately following this attack, and was also in charge of all troop movements from the 4th Army Corps in the Toul sector to the Argonne front. By his tireless energy, keen foresight, and sound judgment he perfected the multifarious duties whereby all of these movements were carried to successful completion. During this period his services were conspicuously efficient and contributed materially to the success of these operations.''

Between wars

Strong served as a law professor at West Point from 1920 to 1922. He graduated from 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 ...

in 1924, the advanced course at the

United States Army Infantry School The United States Army Infantry School is a school located at Fort Benning, Georgia that is dedicated to training infantrymen for service in the United States Army. Organization The school is made up of the following components: * 197th Infantr ...

in 1929 and the

Command and General Staff School 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 1931. Strong was promoted to brigadier general on June 1, 1938.

World War II

In 1940, Strong was appointed commander of the Seventh Corps Area and promoted to major general on April 3, 1941, serving in this capacity until May 1941, when he was reassigned to the

VIII Corps 8th Corps, Eighth Corps, or VIII Corps may refer to: * VIII Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French army during the Napoleonic Wars * VIII Army Corps (German Confederation) * VIII Corps (German Empire), a unit of the Imperial German Ar ...

as its commander. He succeeded

Walter Krueger Walter Krueger (26 January 1881 – 20 August 1967) was an American soldier and general officer in the first half of the 20th century. He commanded the Sixth United States Army in the South West Pacific Area during World War II. He rose fr ...

, who was promoted and transferred. Strong stayed in this capacity until 1942, where he was succeeded by Major General Daniel Isom Sultan. Strong was chosen to become U.S. Army Deputy Chief of Staff for Intelligence (G-2). Major General Strong served in this capacity until January 1944, when he was succeeded by Major General Clayton Bissell. Subsequently, he was retired, but remained employed by the army and attached to the

War Department War Department may refer to: * War Department (United Kingdom) * United States Department of War (1789–1947) See also * War Office, a former department of the British Government * Ministry of defence * Ministry of War * Ministry of Defence * D ...

. Strong finally retired in June 1945 and died the following year at Doctors Hospital in Washington, D.C. at the age of 65. He was 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 ...

on January 15, 1946. For his service during World War II, he was awarded with

Oak Leaf Cluster An oak leaf cluster is a ribbon device to denote preceding decorations and awards consisting of a miniature bronze or silver twig of four oak leaves with three acorns on the stem. It is authorized by the United States Armed Forces for a speci ...

to his Army Distinguished Service Medal and Legion of Merit.

Decorations

Here is Major General Strong's ribbon bar:

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Strong, George Veazey 1880 births 1946 deaths People from Evanston, Illinois People from Helena, Montana United States Military Academy alumni American male fencers Military personnel from Montana Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law alumni United States Army personnel of World War I Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army) United States Military Academy faculty United States Army War College alumni United States Army Command and General Staff College alumni United States Army generals United States Army generals of World War II Recipients of the Legion of Merit Recipients of the Legion of Honour Burials at West Point Cemetery