Benjamin Lear (12 May 1879 – 1 November 1966) was a

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 ...

general who served in 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 ...

Philippine Insurrection The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...

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 ...

and

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 also competed at the

1912 Summer Olympics The 1912 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the V Olympiad () and commonly known as Stockholm 1912, were an international multi-sport event held in Stockholm, Sweden, between 6 July and 22 July 1912. The opening ceremony was he ...

Early career

Ben Lear was born in

Hamilton, Ontario Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario. Hamilton has a 2021 Canadian census, population of 569,353 (2021), and its Census Metropolitan Area, census metropolitan area, which encompasses ...

on 12 May 1879. His military service began in 1898, when he enlisted with the 1st Colorado Infantry,

United States Volunteers United States Volunteers also known as U.S. Volunteers, U.S. Volunteer Army, or other variations of these, were military volunteers called upon during wartime to assist the United States Army but who were separate from both the Regular Army (United ...

, for the

as a

first sergeant First sergeant is typically a senior non-commissioned officer rank, used in many countries. Singapore First sergeant is a Specialist (Singapore), specialist in the Singapore Armed Forces. First sergeants are the most senior of the junior spe ...

. He was promoted to second lieutenant during the

Philippine–American War The Philippine–American War, known alternatively as the Philippine Insurrection, Filipino–American War, or Tagalog Insurgency, emerged following the conclusion of the Spanish–American War in December 1898 when the United States annexed th ...

in the 1st Colorado and later in the 36th Infantry, USV, then joined the Regular Army as a sergeant at the end of the war. He subsequently served in

He was a 1912 Olympian, part of the equestrian team which won the bronze medal in the three-day team event. Lear graduated from the Army School of the Line in 1922, the Army General Staff School in 1923, and the Army War College in 1926. He was promoted to brigadier general in May 1936 and major general in October 1938. He commanded the 1st Cavalry Division from 1936 to 1938, and the Pacific Sector of the

Panama Canal Zone The Panama Canal Zone (), also known as just the Canal Zone, was a International zone#Concessions, concession of the United States located in the Isthmus of Panama that existed from 1903 to 1979. It consisted of the Panama Canal and an area gene ...

from 1938 to 1940.

World War II

Stateside duty

Lear was promoted to lieutenant general in October 1940 and was commanding general of the U.S. Second Army from 20 October 1940 to 25 April 1943. As such, he was responsible for training a large number of U.S. soldiers during

. He became known as a strict disciplinarian. It was in the lead-up to the

Louisiana Maneuvers The Louisiana Maneuvers were a series of major U.S. Army exercises held from August to September 1941 in northern and west-central Louisiana, an area bounded by the Sabine River to the west, the Calcasieu River to the east, and by the city of ...

of 1941 that Lear acquired the nickname "Yoo-Hoo". On July 6, 1941, Lear was playing golf at a country club in

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. Situated along the Mississippi River, it had a population of 633,104 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Tenne ...

, in civilian clothes, when a convoy of 80 U.S. Army trucks carrying men of the 110th Quartermaster Regiment, 35th Division rolled past. The troops in the passing trucks subjected a group of women in shorts to a series of whistles and "lewd and obscene" catcalls. Lear had the convoy stopped, telling the officers that their men's conduct was unacceptable and that they had disgraced the Army. Lear's punishment was to make every one of the 350 men in the convoy march of the trip back to Camp Joseph T. Robinson, Arkansas, in three five-mile sections. Many men straggled and a number collapsed in the heat. There was a storm of public criticism of Lear's actions from people who felt that the soldiers had been harshly and collectively punished when many had done nothing wrong. The commander of the 35th Division, Major General Ralph E. Truman, was well-connected politically, his cousin being Senator

Harry S. Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. As the 34th vice president in 1945, he assumed the presidency upon the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt that year. Subsequen ...

, and some Congressmen called for Lear to be retired. However, in the eyes of the Army, the men's actions were not a case of sexual harassment, but of indiscipline, and no action was taken against Lear. The derogatory nickname "Yoo-Hoo" stuck. During the Louisiana Maneuvers, Lear led his Second Army against the U.S. Third Army under

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 ...

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 fro ...

. In these maneuvers, Lear judged Truman's control and discipline of his division to be unsatisfactory, making the decision to relieve him from his command. Lear continued in command of the Second Army until he was succeeded by Lieutenant General

Lloyd Fredendall Lieutenant General Lloyd Ralston Fredendall (December 28, 1883 – October 4, 1963) was a general officer of the United States Army who served during World War II. He is best known for his leadership failure during the Battle of Kasserine Pass, l ...

in April 1943.

Retirement and recall to active duty

Lear was administratively retired in May 1943, having reached the mandatory retirement age of 64, but was immediately recalled to active duty to serve on the Personnel Board of the

Secretary of War The secretary of war was a member of the U.S. president's Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's administration. A similar position, called either "Secretary at War" or "Secretary of War", had been appointed to serve the Congress of the ...

, retaining his rank of

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 ...

. He became Commanding General of the

Army Ground Forces The Army Ground Forces were one of the three autonomous components of the Army of the United States during World War II, the others being the Army Air Forces and Army Service Forces. Throughout their existence, Army Ground Forces were the la ...

on 14 July 1944, shortly before

Lesley J. McNair, his predecessor, was killed by friendly fire in Normandy on 25 July 1944. After the German counter-attacks in the

Ardennes The Ardennes ( ; ; ; ; ), also known as the Ardennes Forest or Forest of Ardennes, is a region of extensive forests, rough terrain, rolling hills and ridges primarily in Belgium and Luxembourg, extending into Germany and France. Geological ...

intensifed the

European Theater The European theatre of World War II was one of the two main Theater (warfare), theatres of combat during World War II, taking place from September 1939 to May 1945. The Allies of World War II, Allied powers (including the United Kingdom, the ...

's manpower problems, Lear was appointed deputy commander of the European Theater of Operations, US Army, in January 1945. In part, he was responsible for the theater's manpower policies, and began to institute an overhaul of its replacement system; the war against Germany ended before the full benefits of his reforms could be realized, however.

Retirement

Lear fully retired from the army in July 1945 and was promoted to

four-star general Military star ranking is military terminology, used in mainly English speaking countries, to describe general and flag officers. Within NATO's armed forces, the stars are equal to OF-6–10. Star ranking One-star A one-star rank is usually ...

on 19 July 1954 by a special act of Congress (Public Law 83-508). He settled in Memphis, Tennessee, after his retirement. He died at the Veterans Administration Hospital in

Murfreesboro, Tennessee Murfreesboro is a city in Rutherford County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. Its population was 165,430 according to the 2023 census estimate, up from 108,755 residents certified in 2010 United States census, 2010. Murfreesboro i ...

on 1 November 1966 and was buried on 3 November 1966 in

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 4, Grave 2690.Burial Detail: Lear, Ben
– ANC Explorer. Retrieved 22 September 2022.

Decorations and medals

Promotions

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lear, Ben 1879 births 1966 deaths Canadian military personnel from Ontario American military personnel of the Philippine–American War American military personnel of the Spanish–American War United States Army personnel of World War I Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army) Recipients of the Silver Star American male equestrians Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in equestrian Equestrians at the 1912 Summer Olympics American event riders Sportspeople from Hamilton, Ontario Medalists at the 1912 Summer Olympics United States Army Command and General Staff College alumni United States Army War College alumni United States Army generals of World War II United States Army generals Military personnel from Memphis, Tennessee Burials at Arlington National Cemetery 19th-century United States Army personnel 20th-century American sportsmen