Lieutenant general LeRoy Lutes (October 4, 1890 – January 30, 1980) was a decorated American military officer who was in critical staff and supply positions during and after World War II. His last assignment was a commanding general of the

Fourth United States Army Fourth United States Army was a field army of the United States Army between 1932 and 1991. History Interwar period Fourth Army (I) The Fourth Army was authorized by the National Defense Act of 1920 and was originally to be composed of Organ ...

Early years

LeRoy Lutes was born on October 4, 1890, in

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

. Lutes attended the

Wentworth Military Academy Wentworth Military Academy and College was a private two-year military college and high school in Lexington, Missouri, one of six military junior colleges in the United States. The institution was founded in 1880 and closed in 2017. History ...

Lexington, Missouri Lexington is a city in, and the county seat of, Lafayette County, Missouri, United States. The population was 4,726 at the 2010 census. Lexington is in western Missouri, within the Kansas City metropolitan area, approximately east of Kansas C ...

, and joined the

Illinois National Guard The Illinois National Guard comprises both Army National Guard and Air National Guard components of Illinois. As of 2013, the Illinois National Guard has approximately 13,200 members. The National Guard is the only United States military force e ...

in 1906. Lutes was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Regular Army on March 21, 1917, while serving on the Mexican border. After the war, Lutes was transferred to the U.S. Army Coast Artillery Corps and also attended the advanced course at Coast Artillery School at

Fort Monroe Fort Monroe is a former military installation in Hampton, Virginia, at Old Point Comfort, the southern tip of the Virginia Peninsula, United States. It is currently managed by partnership between the Fort Monroe Authority for the Commonwealth o ...

Hampton, Virginia Hampton is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. The population was 137,148 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Virginia, seve ...

. Subsequently, Lutes also attended the

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 ...

Fort Leavenworth Fort Leavenworth () is a United States Army installation located in Leavenworth County, Kansas, in the city of Leavenworth, Kansas, Leavenworth. Built in 1827, it is the second oldest active United States Army post west of Washington, D.C., an ...

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

, where he earned more military knowledges. In July 1935, Lutes was transferred to the

National Guard Bureau The National Guard Bureau (NGB) is the federal agency responsible for the administration of the National Guard established by the United States Congress as a joint bureau of the Department of the Army and the Department of the Air Force. It was c ...

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 ...

, where he served until the end of June 1939.

Second World War

In January 1940 he became chief of logistic and also assistant chief of staff of the Third Army in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

under the command of Lieutenant General Herbert J. Brees. Lutes participated in 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 ...

in 1940–1941. Brehon Somervell, impressed with Lutes' talents as a staff officer, helped advance his career. Lutes was appointed Director of Operations, Headquarters Services of Supply in 1942. In succession he became acting chief of staff, Headquarters,

Army Service Forces The Army Service Forces was one of the three autonomous components of the United States Army during World War II, the others being the Army Air Forces and Army Ground Forces, created on 9 March 1942. By dividing the Army into three large comman ...

; chief of staff and deputy to the commanding general, Army Service Forces; and on January 1, 1946, commanding general, Army Service Forces. On June 11, 1946, he was assigned to Gen.

Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was the 34th president of the United States, serving from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, he was Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionar ...

's general staff as director of the Service, Supply and Procurement Division. In 1947 he became director of staff of the Munitions Board, and in 1949 he was made commanding general of the Fourth Army. He retired from the Army in 1952. In 1955 he was appointed to a committee to advise the

Office of Defense Mobilization The Office of Defense Mobilization (ODM) was an independent agency of the United States government whose function was to plan, coordinate, direct and control all wartime mobilization activities of the federal government, including manpower, economi ...

on the availability of commodities related to national defense. For his services during World War II and its aftermath, Lutes received the

Army Distinguished Service Medal The Distinguished Service Medal (DSM) is a military decoration of the United States Army that is presented to soldiers who have distinguished themselves by exceptionally meritorious service to the government in a duty of great responsibility. ...

with the Bronze

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 spec ...

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 ...

and

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 ...

Family life

Lutes married four times; his wives were Martha M. Mulvihill (1893–1953), Charlotte Townsend Lutes (1902–1955), Mildred Speas Lutes (1911–1966, and Helen Kinney Lutes (1912–2011). His son LeRoy Lutes Jr. (1914–1992) graduated from West Point and was a US Army colonel who received the Army Distinguished Service Medal, for service in

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

. Lutes and his family members are 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. ...

.Burial Detail: Lutes, LeRoy (Section 30, Grave 1162)
– ANC Explorer

Decorations

Here is the ribbon bar of Lieutenant general LeRoy Lutes:

References

External links

at ArlingtonCemetery.net, an unofficial website
Papers of Leroy Lutes, Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential LibraryUS Army WWII The War Department Global Logistics and Strategy: 1940–1943
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lutes, Leroy 1890 births 1980 deaths People from Cairo, Illinois United States Army generals Wentworth Military Academy and College alumni United States Army Command and General Staff College alumni United States Army War College alumni United States Army personnel of World War I Burials at Arlington National Cemetery Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army) Recipients of the Legion of Merit Honorary commanders of the Order of the British Empire United States Army generals of World War II Military personnel from Illinois