Don Pratt

Don Forrester Pratt (July 12, 1892 – June 6, 1944) was a brigadier general in the United States Army who served as assistant division commander (ADC) of the 101st Airborne Division during World War II. He was the highest-ranking Allied officer killed on D-Day.

Biography Early life Born in Brookfield, Missouri, Pratt graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1917. He received his commission as a second lieutenant after enlisting in the army during World War I, in August 1917.

From 1932 to 1936, he served as adjutant, 15th Infantry Regiment, in Tientsin, China. Next he was an instructor, for the infantry school at Fort Benning, Georgia, from 1937 until 1941. Upon the United States entry into World War II, he was named chief-of-staff, 43rd Infantry Division, 1941-1942. His next assignment, in August 1942, was as the deputy commander, for the newly formed 101st Airborne Division, at the rank of brigadier general. Pratt was named the assistant division commander on September 15, 1943, under Major General William C. Lee. Stationed near the town of Newbury, England, on February 9, 1944, Lee suffered a major heart attack. Pratt thought that he would be chosen to succeed Lee, but Maxwell D. Taylor, then 82nd Airborne artillery commander, was given command of the 101st Airborne.

Pratt flew as a passenger (along with his aide 1st Lt. Lee John May) in the lead glider, a quickly substituted CG-4A with a bolt-on Griswold nose protection device painted to represent The Fighting Falcon.