Innis Palmer Swift (February 7, 1882 – November 3, 1953) was a Major General 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 ...

. He was the grandson and namesake of

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

Major General Innis Newton Palmer,''Gen. Swift, A Cavalryman'', San Antonio Light, August 31, 1951, Page 21A. as well as the grandson of Brigadier General Ebenezer Swift. His four decades of military service culminated in his commanding a unit during the liberation of the

Philippines 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 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 ...

Early life and career

Swift was born at Fort Laramie, Wyoming, the son of Major General

Eben Swift Eben Swift (May 11, 1854 – April 25, 1938) was a Major general (United States), major general in the United States Army who served as the first commander of the 82nd Division, now the 82nd Airborne Division. Military career Swift was born ...

and Susan Palmer. He graduated from

West Point 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 1904 and was commissioned in the

cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from ''cheval'' meaning "horse") are groups of soldiers or warriors who Horses in warfare, fight mounted on horseback. Until the 20th century, cavalry were the most mob ...

. He served as aide-de-camp to General John J. Pershing in the

and then served in

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

. While a First Lieutenant commanding C Troop, 13th Cavalry, he accompanied First Lieutenant George S. Patton on the hunt for Julio Cardenas, commander of Pancho Villa's personal bodyguard. 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 ...

he served as Assistant

Chief of Staff The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supportin ...

for the 86th Division. Swift attended the Army Command and General Staff School, graduating in 1923, and remained at the school as faculty until 1929.Berlin, Robert H
“U.S. Army World War II Corps Commanders: A Composite Biography”
''The Journal of Military History'', Vol. 53, No. 2 (April, 1989), pp. 147-168. He subsequently attended the Army War College and the Army Industrial College In 1940 he was promoted to Brigadier General, and in 1941 to Major General and placed in command of the 1st Cavalry Division and

Fort Bliss Fort Bliss is a United States Army post in New Mexico and Texas, with its headquarters in El Paso, Texas. Established in 1848, the fort was renamed in 1854 to honor William Wallace Smith Bliss, Bvt.Lieut.Colonel William W.S. Bliss (1815–1853 ...

. He participated in the Louisiana Maneuvers, where he coined the nickname used by army light observation aircraft when he told a pilot after a bumpy landing, "You looked just like a damn

grasshopper Grasshoppers are a group of insects belonging to the suborder Caelifera. They are amongst what are possibly the most ancient living groups of chewing herbivorous insects, dating back to the early Triassic around 250 million years ago. Grassh ...

!" ditor's note: There are numerous versions of the story and it is uncertain as to exactly what Swift's words were. The author quoted (Graff) was paraphrasing

World War II

He transitioned the division from horse cavalry to essentially an

infantry Infantry, or infantryman are a type of soldier who specialize in ground combat, typically fighting dismounted. Historically the term was used to describe foot soldiers, i.e. those who march and fight on foot. In modern usage, the term broadl ...

division, though it retained "Cavalry" in the name. He took his division to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

in July 1942 and remained in command through the Admiralty Islands campaign after which he was reassigned to command I Corps in August 1944. He led I Corps during the liberation of

Luzon Luzon ( , ) is the largest and most populous List of islands in the Philippines, island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the List of islands of the Philippines, Philippine archipelago, it is the economic and political ce ...

in the

in late 1944 into 1945. He was the oldest U.S. Corps commander to serve in

. After the war he remained a close personal friend of

Douglas MacArthur Douglas MacArthur (26 January 18805 April 1964) was an American general who served as a top commander during World War II and the Korean War, achieving the rank of General of the Army (United States), General of the Army. He served with dis ...

.''Gen. Swift Dies'', Lubbock Evening Journal, Nov 3, 1953, Page 10.

Private life and death

Swift married the former Lucille G. Paddock and the couple had four daughters. After retiring in 1946 he lived in

San Antonio San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " 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 third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...

. He retained interest in his old command, staying active in the 1st Cavalry Division Association and avidly following the division's activity in

Korea Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...

. He died at Brooke Army Hospital after a heart attack and was buried in Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery.

Notes

References

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External links

Generals of World War II
{{DEFAULTSORT:Swift United States Army generals United States Army generals of World War II 1882 births 1953 deaths United States Army Cavalry Branch personnel United States Army Command and General Staff College alumni Burials at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery Recipients of the Legion of Merit People from Goshen County, Wyoming Military personnel from San Antonio United States Army personnel of World War I Dwight D. Eisenhower School for National Security and Resource Strategy alumni United States Army War College alumni United States Military Academy alumni Military personnel from Wyoming