| George Grunert | |
|---|---|
Lieutenant General George Grunert, Deputy Commander and Commander, First United States Army |
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| Born | July 21, 1881 White Haven, Pennsylvania |
| Died | January 12, 1971 (aged 89) San Antonio, Texas |
| Allegiance | United States of America |
| Service/branch | United States Army |
| Years of service | 1898-1945 |
| Rank | Lieutenant General |
| Commands held | 10th Cavalry Regiment 26th Cavalry Regiment 23rd Brigade Philippine Department Sixth Service Corps Area First United States Army Second Service Corps Area Eastern Defense Command |
| Awards | Purple Heart Distinguished Service Medal (2) |
George Grunert was a United States Army cavalry officer who retired as a Lieutenant General in a 47 year career that extended from the Spanish-American War to the end of World War II.
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Grunert, born of German immigrants, was a native of White Haven, Pennsylvania. He enlisted in the Army in 1898 during the Spanish-American War and served in the Philippines, Cuba and western posts in his early career. As a quartermaster sergeant in an artillery unit at Fort Monroe, Virginia he obtained a commission at second lieutenant in the cavalry in 1901.
U.S. Census records indicate he was a lieutenant stationed in Cuba in 1908 and at Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia, a cavalry post in 1910.
He was sent to France as an observer with British forces in 1917 World War I. During the American build up, he served as assistant chief of staff for I Corps and was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal for his work during the American offensives of 1918.
In 1919, he attended the Army War College then at Washington Barracks, now Fort Leslie McNair, in Washington, D.C. He served with the 1st Infantry Division (United States) at Camp Dix, returned to Washington, D.C. to serve in the office of the Army Chief of Staff. He returned to the field as a lieutenant colonel of the 10th Cavalry Regiment at Fort Huachuca, Arizona in the 1925.
After a second tour of duty in the office of the Army Chief of Staff, Grunert attended the Command and General Staff School at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas from 1930 to 1932. In 1933, he was Director of Military Intelligence and Espionage Division course at the Army War College and in 1935, he was Director of War Plans Division course.
In 1936, he was posted to the Philippines as commanding officer of the 26th Cavalry Regiment (United States) and at that time, through Army oversight, the only remaining cavalry unit not yet compelled to modernize. He received his promotion to brigadier general in December 1936 likely in preparation for his command of the 23rd Brigade, also stationed in the Philippines.
Grunert succeeded George C. Marshall in command of 5th Brigade at Vancouver Barracks, Washington where he was promoted to major general in 1939.
From May 1940 to November 1941 as a major general, he commanded the Philippine Department, directing the U.S. Army supervision and control over the Philippine defense force that Douglas MacArthur would come out of retirement to command.
He returned to the United States weeks before Pearl Harbor and in rapid succession commanded Sixth Service Command at Fort Sheridan, Illinois and serving as the ranking military officer in the Chicago area. Next stop was Washington, D.C. in two administrative posts with Army Service Forces as Deputy Chief of Staff for Service Commands (Service of Supply), nine state-side supply and logistics commands, under General Brehon B. Somervell
In August 1943, he became deputy commander for the Eastern Defense Command, a continental defense command for the eastern United States, and First United States Army at Fort Jay, Governors Island in New York City, succeeding General Hugh A. Drum as he reached mandatory retirement age in October 1943.
Grunert held interim command over First Army as Omar N. Bradley began assumption of command to take it to Europe in January 1944 for the Normandy Invasion. Grunert continued concurrent command of Eastern Defense Command, which also assumed the duties of Central Defense Command, and Second Service Command for the New York area until his retirement in July 1945.
In 1944, Grunert was appointed by Secretary of War Henry Stimson as the presiding officer of a secret panel that investigated the Army response to events prior to the attack on Pearl Harbor. The Pearl Harbor Board report, released after the war, traced the entire military and diplomatic history prior to the attack finding much fault along the way, critical of break downs in communications between Secretary of State Cordell Hull, George C. Marshall and a failure of appropriate action by Hawaiian Department commander, Walter C. Short. The panel's method of investigation and conclusions are still subject to criticism today.
Grunert died at Brooke Army Hospital in San Antonio, Texas on January 12, 1971 at age 89 and was buried at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery. He was survived by his wife Florence Reynolds, daughter Mary and son-in-law, then U.S. First Army commander, Lieutenant General Jonathan O. Seaman at Fort Meade, Maryland. His son, Colonel George R. Grunert (1908–1969), attended the U.S. Military Academy, graduating with the class of 1930 and played on the Army polo team. He was a veteran of World War II and Korea and preceded his father in death.