Charles Coudert Nast (July 23, 1903 – January 9, 1981) was an American attorney and military officer from

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

. A longtime member of the

New York Army National Guard The New York Army National Guard is a component of the New York National Guard and the Army National Guard. Nationwide, the Army National Guard comprises approximately one half of the United States Army's available combat forces and approximate ...

, He was a veteran of

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 ...

and the

Occupation of Japan Japan was occupied and administered by the Allies of World War II from the surrender of the Empire of Japan on September 2, 1945, at the war's end until the Treaty of San Francisco took effect on April 28, 1952. The occupation, led by the ...

, and was a recipient of the

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 ...

with

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and the New York Conspicuous Service Cross. A native of

Tuxedo Park, New York Tuxedo Park is a village in Orange County, New York, United States. Its population was 645 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Kiryas Joel–Poughkeepsie–Newburgh metropolitan area as well as the larger New York metropolitan area. Its name ...

and the son of

Condé Nast Condé Nast () is a global mass media company founded in 1909 by Condé Nast (businessman), Condé Montrose Nast (1873–1942) and owned by Advance Publications. Its headquarters are located at One World Trade Center in the FiDi, Financial Dis ...

, Charles C. Nast graduated from the

Middlesex School Middlesex School (informally known as MX) is a Mixed-sex education, coeducational, Private school, independent, and Nonsectarian, non-sectarian boarding school, boarding secondary school located in Concord, Massachusetts, Concord, Middlesex Count ...

, and received a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree from

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate education, undergraduate college of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Part of the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Scienc ...

in 1925 and an

LL.B. A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...

from

Columbia Law School Columbia Law School (CLS) is the Law school in the United States, law school of Columbia University, a Private university, private Ivy League university in New York City. The school was founded in 1858 as the Columbia College Law School. The un ...

in 1927. After serving in the office of the

Attorney General of New York The attorney general of New York is the chief legal officer of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and head of the Department of Law of the government of New York (state), state government. The office has existed in various forms since ...

, Nast practiced corporate law as a partner with the firm of DeWitt, Nast, Diskin & Martini, in addition to serving as general counsel of

publications. In 1925, Nast enlisted in the

Massachusetts Army National Guard The Massachusetts National Guard is the National Guard component for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeas ...

, and he later transferred his military membership to New York. He received his officer's commission in 1932, and was a

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

at the start of

. Nast served in the

Pacific theater The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

with the 27th Infantry Division. Nast took part in the post-war

, the rejoined the

. In December 1950, he was promoted to brigadier general and assigned as assistant division commander of the 42nd Infantry Division. He was assigned as the division commander in 1957 and promoted to major general in 1959. He remained in command until ending his active military service in 1963, and he retired in 1967. Nast died in

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

on January 9, 1981. 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. ...

Early life and civilian career

Charles Coudert Nast was born in

, on July 23, 1903, the son of

and Jeanne Clarisse (Coudert) Nast.

Frederic René Coudert Sr. Frederic René Coudert Sr. (March 1, 1832 in New York City – December 20, 1903 in Washington, D. C.) was an American lawyer with Coudert Brothers. __NOTOC__ Life His father Charles Coudert was French, and left France in 1824. Frederic graduate ...

was his mother's uncle, and several Coudert family members were involved with the prominent

Coudert Brothers Coudert Brothers LLP was a New York–based law firm with that practiced from 1853 until its dissolution in 2006. History The firm was established in 1853 in New York by three sons of Charles Coudert Sr.: Frederic René Coudert Sr., Charles Co ...

law firm. He graduated from the

, then attended

, from which he received his

degree in 1925. While in college, Nast was active on the staff of

The Harvard Crimson ''The Harvard Crimson'' is the student newspaper at Harvard University, an Ivy League university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. The newspaper was founded in 1873, and is run entirely by Harvard College undergraduate students. His ...

and the Harvard Graduates' Magazine. He was also a member of the

Hasty Pudding Club The Hasty Pudding Club, often referred to simply as the Pudding, is a social club at Harvard University, and one of three sub-organizations that comprise the Hasty Pudding - Institute of 1770. The current clubhouse was designed by Peabody and ...

, the college's Republican Club, and its Middlesex Club. After college, Nast attended

, from which he received his

degree in 1927. He was

admitted to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

in January 1928 and accepted a position as a deputy in the office of the

. Nast practiced corporate law with the firm of DeWitt, Nast, Diskin & Martini. In addition, he was general counsel for

publications. Nast retired in 1977.

Military career

Start of career

In October 1923, Nast joined a

Coast Artillery Coastal artillery is the branch of the armed forces concerned with operating anti-ship artillery or fixed gun batteries in coastal fortifications. From the Middle Ages until World War II, coastal artillery and naval artillery in the form of c ...

unit of the

Massachusetts National Guard The Massachusetts National Guard is the United States National Guard, National Guard component for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Founded as the Massachusetts militia, Massachusetts Bay Colonial Militia on December 13, 1636, it contains the ...

as a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * "In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorded ...

. He served until September 1925, when he became an inactive National Guard member, and he was discharged in November. In December 1927, he joined Company K, 107th Infantry Regiment, a unit of the

New York National Guard New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995 * "New" (Daya song), 2017 * "New" (No Doubt song), 19 ...

. He served until November 1928, when he was again discharged. Nast returned to service with Company K in April 1929. He was promoted to

corporal Corporal is a military rank in use by the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. The rank is usually the lowest ranking non-commissioned officer. In some militaries, the rank of corporal nominally corr ...

in May 1930, and was discharged in June 1931. He rejoined Company K a month later, and was promoted to

sergeant Sergeant (Sgt) is a Military rank, rank in use by the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and in other units that draw their heritage f ...

in December. In May 1932, he received his commission as a second lieutenant and was assigned to the regimental headquarters of the 107th Infantry. He was promoted to

in May 1936, but accepted reduction to

first lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a se ...

in April 1937, when he became an inactive National Guard member. Nast was discharged in April 1939.

World War II

In September 1940, Nast returned to military duty as a private, and was assigned to the headquarters of 2nd Battalion, 105th Field Artillery, a unit of the 27th Infantry Division. He was commissioned as a captain in October, and the division entered active duty for training in anticipation of U.S. entry into

. He served with the 105th Field Artillery in the

, and received promotion to

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

in June 1942 and lieutenant colonel in April 1943. During his time with the 27th Division, Nast participated in the

Battle of Saipan The Battle of Saipan was an amphibious assault launched by the United States against the Empire of Japan during the Pacific War, Pacific campaign of World War II between 15 June and 9 July 1944. The initial invasion triggered the Battle of the ...

and

Battle of Okinawa The , codenamed Operation Iceberg, was a major battle of the Pacific War fought on the island of Okinawa Island, Okinawa by United States Army and United States Marine Corps forces against the Imperial Japanese Army during the Pacific War, Impe ...

. Following the

Surrender of Japan The surrender of the Empire of Japan in World War II was Hirohito surrender broadcast, announced by Emperor Hirohito on 15 August and formally Japanese Instrument of Surrender, signed on 2 September 1945, End of World War II in Asia, ending ...

in August 1945, the U.S. military began the post-war

. Nast, by now serving as Judge Advocate General on the 27th Division's staff, was assigned to lead the division's advance party, which arrived in Japan ahead of the division's main body to make arrangements including travel, food, and lodging. Nast transferred to the

Organized Reserve Corps The United States Army Reserve (USAR) is a reserve force of the United States Army. Together, the Army Reserve and the Army National Guard constitute the Army element of the reserve components of the United States Armed Forces. History Origi ...

in January 1946, and was promoted to

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

in August.

Later career

In April 1947, Nast returned to the National Guard and joined the 42nd Infantry Division as the organization's Judge Advocate General with the rank of lieutenant colonel. In October 1949, he was again promoted to colonel. In December 1950, he was promoted to brigadier general and assigned as the 42nd Division's assistant division commander. In 1952, Nast graduated from the Infantry Officer Advanced Course. In March 1957, Nast was assigned as commander of the 42nd Infantry Division, and he was promoted to major general in June 1959. He remained in command until October 1963, when he ended his active military service. Also in 1959, Nast graduated from the Special Associate Course (Advanced) of the

United States Army 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 ...

. He remained on New York's inactive National Guard list until July 1967, when he retired. Nast's awards included the

with

and the New York Conspicuous Service Cross. Nast died in

on January 9, 1981. He was buried at

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nast, Charles Coudert 1903 births 1981 deaths People from Tuxedo, New York Military personnel from Manhattan Middlesex School alumni Harvard College alumni Columbia Law School alumni United States Army Command and General Staff College alumni United States Army generals United States Army personnel of World War II Burials at Arlington National Cemetery