Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was norma ...

Stafford LeRoy Irwin (March 23, 1893 – November 23, 1955) was a senior

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 ...

officer An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," fro ...

who served 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 ...

. He came from a family with a strong military tradition: he was the son of Major General George LeRoy Irwin -- for whom Fort Irwin, California, is named -- while his grandfather, Brigadier General Bernard J. D. Irwin, was a recipient of the

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, military decoration and is awarded to recognize American United States Army, soldiers, United States Navy, sailors, Un ...

. After General Manton Eddy resigned from his position due to health issues, Irwin commanded the XII Corps from April 20, 1945, through the end of the war.

Early life and military career

Stafford LeRoy Irwin was born March 23, 1893, 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 ...

, Virginia, the son of Major General George LeRoy Irwin and his wife Marla Elizabeth. He attended the

United States Military Academy 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 ...

(USMA) at

West Point, New York West Point is the oldest continuously occupied military post in the United States. Located on the Hudson River in New York (state), New York, General George Washington stationed his headquarters in West Point in the summer and fall of 1779 durin ...

in 1911, at the age of 18. He graduated 40th in a class of 164 in June 1915 as a part of the West Point class of 1915, also known as "

the class the stars fell on "The class the stars fell on" is an expression used to describe the class of 1915 at the United States Military Academy in West Point, New York. In the United States Army, the insignia reserved for generals is one or more stars. Of the 164 gradu ...

". Many of Irwin's classmates became

general officer A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

s during

, including

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 ...

Omar Bradley Omar Nelson Bradley (12 February 1893 – 8 April 1981) was a senior Officer (armed forces), officer of the United States Army during and after World War II, rising to the rank of General of the Army (United States), General of the Army. He wa ...

, Henry Aurand, John W. Leonard,

James Van Fleet General (United States), General James Alward Van Fleet (19 March 1892 – 23 September 1992) was a United States Army officer who served during World War I, World War II and the Korean War. Van Fleet was a native of New Jersey, who was raised i ...

, Joseph May Swing, Charles W. Ryder, Paul J. Mueller, Roscoe B. Woodruff, Vernon Prichard, Leland Hobbs, and numerous others. He was subsequently commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Cavalry Branch of the

on the same date of his graduation. Irwin subsequently served with the cavalry during the

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 ...

, which was commanded by Brigadier General John J. Pershing, as a member of the 11th Cavalry Regiment in 1916 and the following year. 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 initially with the 80th Field Artillery Regiment, and then was a student at the U.S. Army Field Artillery School at

Fort Sill Fort Sill is a United States Army post north of Lawton, Oklahoma, about 85 miles (137 km) southwest of Oklahoma City. It covers almost . The fort was first built during the Indian Wars. It is designated as a National Historic Landmark a ...

, Oklahoma, where he was received promotion to the temporary rank of

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 ...

but saw no service overseas as the war came to an end on November 11, 1918.

Between the wars

During the

interwar period In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period, also known as the interbellum (), lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days) – from the end of World War I (WWI) to the beginning of World War II ( ...

Irwin, realizing the cavalry was becoming obsolete (which

trench warfare Trench warfare is a type of land warfare using occupied lines largely comprising Trench#Military engineering, military trenches, in which combatants are well-protected from the enemy's small arms fire and are substantially sheltered from a ...

and World War I had shown), transferred to the Field Artillery Branch. From 1919 to 1920 he was Professor of Military Science and Tactics at

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

and from 1920 to 1924 was an instructor for the

Oklahoma Army National Guard The Oklahoma Army National Guard is the Army National Guard component of the Oklahoma National Guard. The Commander-in-Chief of the Oklahoma National Guard is the Governor of Oklahoma. He appoints the State Adjutant General (TAG) who is a Major G ...

. Between 1929 and 1933 he was an instructor for the U.S. Army Field Artillery School and, from 1933 to 1936 served with the Organized Reserves. He attended the U.S. Army Field Artillery School in 1926, the U.S. Army Command and General Staff School from 1926 to 1927, and the

U.S. Army War College The United States Army War College (USAWC) is a United States Army, U.S. Army staff college in Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania, with a Carlisle, Pennsylvania, Carlisle postal address, on the 500-acre (2 km2) campus of the historic Carlisle B ...

in 1937.

World War II

Stafford Irwin was the commander of artillery for the 9th Infantry Division in North Africa. He was noted for performing well during the

Battle of Kasserine Pass The Battle of Kasserine Pass took place from 19-24 February 1943 at Kasserine Pass, a gap in the Grand Dorsal chain of the Atlas Mountains in west central Tunisia. It was a part of the Tunisian campaign of World War II. The Axis forces, led b ...

Tunisia Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...

, particularly during the engagement with Field Marshall

Erwin Rommel Johannes Erwin Eugen Rommel (; 15 November 1891 – 14 October 1944), popularly known as The Desert Fox (, ), was a German '' Generalfeldmarschall'' (field marshal) during World War II. He served in the ''Wehrmacht'' (armed forces) of ...

at Thala. Following the

North African campaign The North African campaign of World War II took place in North Africa from 10 June 1940 to 13 May 1943, fought between the Allies and the Axis Powers. It included campaigns in the Libyan and Egyptian deserts (Western Desert campaign, Desert Wa ...

he was given command of the 5th Infantry Division during Patton's drive across Europe. General Irwin finished the war as commander of XII Corps after Manton S. Eddy, the previous corps commander, was sent home due to ill health, and served in that position until September 1945.

Postwar and retirement

After the war, Irwin returned to the United States and became commander of V Corps in 1946 and director of the Military Intelligence Division in 1948. He was promoted to lieutenant general on October 15, 1950. He finished his military career as the commander of U.S. Army forces in Austria from 1950 to 1952 when he retired due to medical problems on May 31, 1952. Lt. Gen. Irwin died in 1955 of a

coronary occlusion A coronary occlusion, or coronary artery disease, is the partial or complete Coronary artery disease, obstruction of blood flow in a coronary artery. This condition was first discussed in 1910 by William Osler, Sir William Osler. This condition s ...

in Asheville, North Carolina, and 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. ...

Personal life

Irwin married in 1921 to Helen (Hall) Irwin and together they had one son, Francis LeRoy. After Helen died in 1937, Irwin remarried in 1941 to Clare (Moran) Irwin. His second marriage also produced a son.

Decorations

Lieutenant General Irwin's ribbon bar:

References

External links

Stafford LeRoy Irwin
at ArlingtonCemetery.net, an unofficial website
Arlington National Cemetery

retrieved 5/12/09
Field Artillery Magazine Jan/Feb 1949
retrieved 5/12/09

, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Irwin, Stafford Leroy 1893 births 1955 deaths United States Army Cavalry Branch personnel United States Army Field Artillery Branch personnel United States Army personnel of World War I Military personnel from Virginia United States Military Academy alumni Burials at Arlington National Cemetery People from Hampton, Virginia United States Army Command and General Staff College alumni Recipients of the Silver Star Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army) Recipients of the Legion of Merit Graduates of the United States Military Academy Class of 1915 Recipients of the Czechoslovak War Cross United States Army generals of World War II United States Army generals Yale University faculty