John B. Anderson (United States Army officer)
John Benjamin Anderson was a senior American Army officer, who commanded XVI Corps during World War II.
Biography
Early life and military career
John Benjamin Anderson was born on March 10, 1891 in Parkersburg, Iowa, to Danish immigrants Carl Christian Anderson and Louisa Anderson. John Benjamin was the youngest of seven children. After graduating from Parkersburg High School in 1910, John Benjamin Anderson attended the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York and graduated on June 12, 1914, shortly before World War I broke out in Europe. John was commissioned as a second lieutenant into the Field Artillery Branch of the United States Army on that date. Many of his classmates later became general officers during World War II. For example: Carl Andrew Spaatz, Brehon B. Somervell, Frank W. Milburn, Harold R. Bull, Vicente Lim, Harry C. Ingles, Jens A. Doe, Robert W. Crawford, Ralph Royce, Orlando Ward and James L. Bradley.John Benjamin Anderson was subsequently assigned to the 6th Field Artillery Regiment and transferred to El Paso, Texas with his unit, where John served on the Mexican border during the Pancho Villa Expedition in 1916. John was there upon the American entry into World War I, which occurred on April 6, 1917, with the United States declaring war on Germany.
During the war, John Benjamin Anderson was sent, with the 6th Field Artillery Regiment, part of the newly created 1st Infantry Division, to the Western Front, where he served as a regimental adjutant in the Somme sector, scene of much bitter fighting the year before, in France in October and November 1917. In the spring of 1918,John Benjamin Anderson served with the British Expeditionary Force at Ypres, Belgium and subsequently he was appointed adjutant of the 1st Artillery Brigade. Later, John Benjamin Anderson was transferred back to his 6th Artillery Regiment, where John served as battery commander and commanded a battalion of the 6th Field Artillery Regiment during the Battle of Cantigny. John served in this capacity for the remainder of the war, which came to an end with the signing of the Armistice with Germany on November 11, 1918.
Between the wars
After brief occupation duties, John Benjamin Anderson returned to the United States in 1919 and was posted to the Fort Sill, Oklahoma, where John was appointed instructor at the local U.S. Army Field Artillery School. John also attended the Advanced Course at this institution during the years 1922 and 1923.John Benjamin Anderson attended the U.S. Army Command and General Staff School at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas in June 1925 and subsequently served as a battalion commander of the 24th Field Artillery Regiment at Fort Stotsenburg, Philippines until July 1927.
From September 1927 to June 1928 John Benjamin Anderson studied at the U.S. Army War College in Washington, D.C. and then John was assigned to the personal division of the War Department General Staff. In this capacity, John was sent to the Geneva, Switzerland in 1929 as one of the U.S. Army representatives to the conference regarding the treatment of prisoners of war.
John was transferred to the 13th Field Artillery Regiment stationed at Fort Bragg, North Carolina and served there until September 1934. John was subsequently appointed the instructor at the U.S. Army Command and General Staff School at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas and was promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel in this capacity.
In July 1938, towards the end of the interwar period, John Benjamin Anderson was transferred to the staff of the Office of the Chief of Artillery in Washington, D.C., where Jon was appointed Chief of Personnel Section. In this capacity, John Benjamin Anderson was promoted to the one-star general officer rank of brigadier general at the end of October 1941, shortly before the United States entered World War II.
World War II
A month later, John was appointed Chief Artillery officer of the 2nd Infantry Division, which was stationed at Fort Sam Houston, Texas. The division was then under the command of Major General John C. H. Lee. On August 4, 1942, eighth months after the American entry into World War II, John Benjamin Anderson was promoted to the two-star general officer rank of major general.On September 15, the 102nd Infantry Division was activated at Camp Maxey, Texas and recently promoted Major General John Benjamin Anderson was appointed as the division's first Commanding General. John Benjamin Anderson participated in the training with his division and served with it until December 1943, before handing over command of the 102nd to Major General Frank Keating.
In December 1943, the XVI Corps was activated at Fort Riley, Kansas and John Benjamin Anderson assumed command in early January 1944. XVI Corps participated in the winter training exercises at Watersmeet Township, Michigan and subsequently it was later deployed in the European Theater of Operations.
John Benjamin Anderson commanded the XVI Corps on the Western Front as part of the U.S. Ninth Army in the Rhineland Campaign and also in the Central Europe Campaign. XVI Corps under John Benjamin Anderson's command liberated the Dutch city of Roermond and participated in the combats in the Ruhr Pocket.
John Benjamin Anderson was decorated for his leadership with the Army Distinguished Service Medal, Legion of Merit and Bronze Star by the United States government. John Benjamin Anderson also received some foreign decorations.
Postwar
On June 6, 1945, the city of Roermond, Netherlands held a victory celebration during which they honored General John Benjamin Anderson and members of the XVI corps for liberating the city. As part of the celebration, the city renamed one of its major roads "Andersonweg". A plaque was placed on a prominent building to commemorate the event.John Benjamin Anderson was succeeded in the command of XVI Corps by Major General Thomas D. Finley in October 1945 and John subsequently returned to the United States. John retired from the army the following year, on June 30, 1946, after a 33-year military career, due to a disability.
John Benjamin Anderson died on September 1, 1976, at the age of 85 in Washington, D.C. and is buried, together with his wife, Sue Palmer Anderson, at Arlington National Cemetery, Virginia.