Irving Andrews Fish (August 25, 1881 – April 22, 1948) was a lawyer and member of the

Wisconsin National Guard The Wisconsin National Guard consists of the Wisconsin Army National Guard and the Wisconsin Air National Guard. It is a part of the Government of Wisconsin under the control of the Wisconsin Department of Military Affairs. The Wisconsin Nation ...

and 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 ...

during

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 ...

. A veteran of

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 ...

, Fish rose to the command of 32nd Infantry Division (''"Red Arrow"'') in December 1938 and supervised division's pre-war training and preparation for combat deployment. Fish was relieved of command in March 1942, because

preferred Regular Army officer in command of combat division. He spent rest of the War in Washington, D.C., serving on staff positions in the

United States War Department The United States Department of War, also called the War Department (and occasionally War Office in the early years), was the United States Cabinet department originally responsible for the operation and maintenance of the United States Army, als ...

Biography

Early career

Irving A. Fish was born on August 25, 1881, in

Racine, Wisconsin Racine ( ) is a city in Racine County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. It is located on the shore of Lake Michigan at the mouth of the Root River (Wisconsin), Root River, south of Milwaukee and north of Chicago. It is the List ...

as the son of John T. Fish and Eliza Sampson. His father was an attorney and veteran of

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

for Union as captain in 13th Wisconsin Infantry Regiment. Irving graduated from the high school there and enrolled the

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Uni ...

Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is the List of municipalities in Wisconsin by population, second-most populous city in the state, with a population of 269,840 at the 2020 Uni ...

in summer of 1899. While at the university, he was a member of the Cadet Corps and enlisted the

. Fish graduated with

Bachelor of Laws 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 ...

in June 1903 and promoted to captain in the 1st Wisconsin Infantry Regiment. He was admitted to the

State Bar of Wisconsin The State Bar of Wisconsin (SBW) is the integrated (mandatory) bar association of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Created by the Wisconsin Supreme Court for all attorneys who hold a Wisconsin law license, the State Bar of Wisconsin aids the courts i ...

in 1903 and began practice law in Racine and then

. In 1907, Fish moved to

Milwaukee Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

and began working for a law firm Quarles, Spence & Quarles. He rose to the rank of Major in the National Guard by February 1913 and when his regiment was called up for federal service in July 1916, he served on the

Mexican Border Mexico shares international borders with three nations: *To the north the United States–Mexico border, which extends for a length of through the states of Baja California, Sonora, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León and Tamaulipas. *To the sou ...

during

Pancho Villa Expedition The Pancho Villa Expedition—now known officially in the United States as the Mexican Expedition, but originally referred to as the "Punitive Expedition, US Army"—was a military operation conducted by the United States Army against the para ...

. Upon the United States entry into World War I, 1st Wisconsin Infantry was converted to

120th Field Artillery Regiment The 120th Field Artillery Regiment is a field artillery regiment of the Wisconsin Army National Guard. The regiment's 1st Battalion, its only active element, is the cannon battalion assigned to the 32nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team. History ...

and embarked for France as the part of 32nd Infantry Division after a period of intensive training. Fish then participated in the Battles of Marne,

Oise Oise ( ; ; ) is a department in the north of France. It is named after the river Oise. Inhabitants of the department are called ''Oisiens'' () or ''Isariens'', after the Latin name for the river, Isara. It had a population of 829,419 in 2019.< ...

and Meuse-Argonne Offensive on the Western Front and returned stateside as Colonel.

Interwar period

Following his return stateside, Fish resumed his law practice. He was commissioned a colonel in the

Organized Reserve 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 ...

field artillery on 13 October 1919, and commanded the 376th Field Artillery Regiment of the 101st Division from October 1921 to January 1927. In December 1926, Fish assumed command of the 57th Field Artillery Brigade of the 32nd Infantry Division, and was promoted to the rank of brigadier general in the Wisconsin National Guard on 6 July 1927. He was then promoted to major general on 22 December 1938, and assumed command of the 32nd Infantry Division.

World War II

The 32nd Infantry Division was called up for Federal service in mid-October 1940 and Fish assumed rank of major general in the

Army of the United States The Army of the United States was one of the four major service components of the United States Army. Today, the Army consists of the Regular Army, the Army National Guard of the United States, the Army National Guard while in the service of the ...

. His division was made up of National Guard units from

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

and

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

and Fish supervised its pre-deployment training at

Camp Beauregard Louisiana National Guard Training Center Pineville (previously Camp Beauregard) is a Louisiana National Guard installation located northeast of Pineville, Louisiana, primarily in Rapides Parish, but also extending northward into Grant Pari ...

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

and then led division during

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 ...

in the fall of 1941. Following the United States entry into

, Fish was replaced by Regular Army Major General Edwin F. Harding and ordered to

Fort Lewis Fort Lewis may refer to: * Fort Lewis (Colorado), a former United States Army post (1878–1891) in the U.S. State of Colorado ** Fort Lewis College, a college in the Durango, Colorado, United States ** Fort Lewis Skyhawks, athletic teams of Fort L ...

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

for duty as commanding general of troops with additional duty as commander of a subsector of

Western Defense Command Western Defense Command (WDC) was established on 17 March 1941 as the command formation of the United States Army responsible for coordinating the defense of the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast region of the United States during Wo ...

. While in this capacity, he was responsible for the interior defense of Washington and Oregon. Fish was transferred to the Adjutant General Office,

War Department General Staff The United States Department of War, also called the War Department (and occasionally War Office in the early years), was the United States Cabinet department originally responsible for the operation and maintenance of the United States Army, als ...

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

in May 1943 and assumed duty as a member of the War Department Dependency Board under Major General Jay L. Benedict. The board was responsible for policies governing the release of casualty information to next-of-kin. In January 1944, Secretary of War

Henry L. Stimson Henry Lewis Stimson (September 21, 1867 – October 20, 1950) was an American statesman, lawyer, and Republican Party politician. Over his long career, he emerged as a leading figure in U.S. foreign policy by serving in both Republican and Demo ...

established the Secretary of War's Separation Board and Fish joined that board as a member under Major General

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 ...

. Consisting of five general officers of the Regular Army and Reserves (MG Bryden; MG Fish; BG Nathaniel H. Egleston; BG Frank S. Clark; BG Edward A. Evans), the board acted on behalf of Secretary of War on matters pertaining to commissioned and warrant officers like separation and relief from active duty, retention on active duty in a limited service status after appearance before a reclassification board, certain cases involving disability, etc. For his service in Washington, he was decorated with the Army's

Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a Awards and decorations of the United States military, military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievemen ...

medal.

Retirement and death

Upon his retirement from the Army on October 10, 1945, Fish returned to his

, where he resumed his law practice with the law firm of Fish, Marshutz and Hoffman. He died suddenly on April 22, 1948, aged 66 and was buried at Mound Cemetery in his native

. Fish was survived by his wife, Margaret and a son James.

Honors and awards

Here is the ribbon bar of Major general Fish:

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fish, Irving A. 1881 births 1948 deaths People from Racine, Wisconsin University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni Military personnel from Wisconsin National Guard (United States) generals American military personnel of World War I United States Army personnel of World War I Recipients of the Legion of Merit United States Army generals of World War II United States Army generals