Martin Blumenson (November 8, 1918 – April 15, 2005) was an American military historian who served as a historical officer with the

Third Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * 1⁄60 of a ''second'', i.e., the third in a series of fractional parts in a sexagesimal number system Places * 3rd Street (di ...

and Seventh Armies in

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 later became a prolific author. His works included a biography of General George S. Patton.

Biography

Born in New York City and raised in Bernardsville, New Jersey, in a family of Russian-Jewish descent, Blumenson graduated from Bernards High School in 1935 and was inducted into the school's wall of honor in 2015. He studied at

Bucknell University Bucknell University is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal-arts college in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1846 as the University at Lewisburg, it now consists of the College of Arts a ...

and

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

, earning master's degrees from both by 1942. During World War II, he became an officer 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 ...

and served as a historical officer with U.S. forces in the Central European Campaign from 1944–45. Postwar, Blumenson remained in France for years, married a French woman and later divided his time between France and the United States. During the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

, Blumenson again served with the U.S. Army and the unit he commanded (3rd Historical Detachment) was attached to IX Corps. After the Korean War, he worked in the

Office of the Chief of Military History The United States Army Center of Military History (CMH) is a directorate within the United States Army Training and Doctrine Command. The Institute of Heraldry remains within the Office of the Administrative Assistant to the Secretary of the A ...

, contributing two works to the official U.S. Army history of World War II, ''Breakout and Pursuit'' and ''Salerno to Cassino''. Working for the OCMH until 1967, Blumenson then worked for the Johnson administration as an adviser to the President's

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. Blumenson also taught or lectured at numerous institutions, prominent among which were the U.S. Military Academy,

U.S. Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (USNA, Navy, or Annapolis) is a federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as Secretary of the Navy. The Naval Academy is the sec ...

, and

The Citadel The Citadel Military College of South Carolina (simply known as The Citadel) is a public senior military college in Charleston, South Carolina, United States. Established in 1842, it is the third oldest of the six senior military colleges ...

. During his career, Blumenson authored 17 works on the

military history Military history is the study of War, armed conflict in the Human history, history of humanity, and its impact on the societies, cultures and economies thereof, as well as the resulting changes to Politics, local and international relationship ...

of World War II in

North Africa North Africa (sometimes Northern Africa) is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region. However, it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of t ...

and Europe. His works on Patton, ''The Patton Papers'' and ''Patton: The Man behind the Legend, 1885–1945'' were acclaimed. Blumenson's final work was published in 2001. Blumenson died on April 15, 2005, in Washington, D.C. In 1995, he was awarded the Samuel Eliot Morison Prize for lifetime achievement given by the

Society for Military History The Society for Military History is a United States–based international organization of scholars who research, write, and teach military history of all time periods and places. It includes naval history, air power history, and studies of technol ...

. Blumenson was a talented pianist, playing at

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhattan), 57t ...

. In 2020 accusations were published that he manipulated an entry in the war-diary of General Patton (Patton-Papers 1974) concerning the

Chenogne massacre The Chenogne massacre was a war crime committed by members of the 11th Armored Division, an American combat unit, near Chenogne, Belgium, on January 1, 1945, during the Battle of the Bulge. According to eyewitness accounts, an estimated 80 G ...

(replacing paramedical soldiers with soldiers),Sven Kellerhoff: Das Verbrechen, das General Patton vertuschen wollte
Welt, 1. Januar 2010 which was addressed in a later correction, because Blumenson used instead of the original diary of Patton a typed copy with the manipulated content.

Selected works

* * * * * *''Mark Clark, The Last of the Great World War II Commanders''. 1984. Congdon & Weed, NY. Also Methuen Pubs, Canada ISBN 0-86553-123-4 * * ''Patton: The Man Behind the Legend, 1885–1945'' * ''The Patton Papers: 1940–1945''
''Salerno to Cassino''
* ''Sicily, Whose Victory?'' * ''The Vilde Affair: Beginnings of the French Resistance''

Education

* B.A. and M.A.,

, 1939, 1940. * M.A.,

, 1942.

References

External links

Martin Blumenson – My Remembrance of a friend
Carlo D'Este, '' Armchair General Magazine''
Arlington National Cemetery
{{DEFAULTSORT:Blumenson, Martin 20th-century American historians Historians of the United States United States Army personnel of World War II United States Army officers United States Army historians American male non-fiction writers Bernards High School alumni People from Bernardsville, New Jersey Bucknell University alumni Harvard University alumni 1918 births 2005 deaths Writers from New York City Historians from New York City 20th-century American male writers Historians from New Jersey Military personnel from New York City