Harry L. Twaddle

Harry Lewis Twaddle (June 2, 1888 – December 12, 1954) was a career officer in the United States Army. He served from 1912 to 1948 and attained the rank of major general. A veteran of World War I and World War II, he commanded the 95th Infantry Division during the latter. His awards include the Army Distinguished Service Medal, Silver Star, Legion of Merit, and Bronze Star Medal.

A native of Clarksfield, Ohio, Twaddle was raised in Briarcliff Manor, New York, and graduated from Ossining High School in 1905. After graduating from Syracuse University in 1910, he worked as an electrical engineer for two years before deciding to pursue a career in the military. He passed the examination for a commission in the United States Army in 1912, and was appointed a second lieutenant of Infantry. Twaddle served in the Western United States and Alaska before and during World War I. After the war, he commanded the convalescent center at Fort Dix, New Jersey; completed several military education and professional development courses; and served in several prominent staff assignments.

At the start of World War II, Twaddle was head of the United States Department of War's Mobilization Branch, where he helped plan the Army's expansion as the U.S. began preparing to enter the war. He was then assigned as the assistant chief of staff for operations and training (G-3) on the War Department General Staff, where he planned the individual and unit training soldiers would get before combat. In 1942, he was assigned to command the 95th Infantry Division, which he led for the rest the war, including combat in Europe in 1944 and 1945. After the war, Twaddle's assignments included command of the Infantry Replacement Center at Camp Wolters, Texas.

Twaddle retired in June 1948. In retirement, he lived in Kensington, Maryland, and served as president of the 95th Infantry Division Association. He died on December 12, 1954, while visiting one of his sons in Hammond, Indiana. Twaddle was buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

Early life Harry Lewis Twaddle was born in Clarksfield, Ohio, on June 2, 1888, the son of Herbert Allen Twaddle and Sadie Arabelle (Campbell) Twaddle. He was raised and educated in Clarksfield, then in Briarcliff Manor, New York, where his father managed the dairy farm of businessman V. Everit Macy. Twaddle graduated from Ossining High School in 1905.

Twaddle attended Syracuse University beginning in 1906, where he played left guard on the football team. In 1910, he graduated with an electrical engineering (E.E.) degree.

After graduating from college, Twaddle lived in Cleveland, Ohio and worked as an engineer for the National Electric Light Association.

Start of career After receiving his commission, Twaddle was assigned to the 14th Infantry Regiment at Columbus Barracks, Ohio. In 1914, Twaddle was a member of Company B, 14th Infantry when it was posted to Fort Gibbon, Alaska, and Twaddle was assigned as acting post quartermaster. In 1917, Twaddle married Sara Maud Udell of Brooklyn.

After the war, he was assigned to command the convalescent center for wounded and ill soldiers at Fort Dix, New Jersey. In addition to attending several army schools as a student in the early 1920s, Twaddle carried out duties including instructor and observer for units of the National Guard during their summer annual training periods. In the mid-1920s, he served on the general staff at the United States Department of War. In 1927, he was assigned to the faculty of the United States Army Command and General Staff College. When the 29th Infantry Regiment was formed at Fort Sill in 1933 using personnel from the 38th Infantry, Twaddle was assigned as the 29th's executive officer (second in command). In 1936, he was assigned to the 2nd Infantry Regiment at Fort Wayne, Michigan.

In August 1938, Twaddle was assigned to the War Department General Staff, on which he served until March 1942. As the army staff's recognized expert on individual soldier training, in July 1940, Twaddle testified to the United States Congress in support of the Selective Training and Service Act of 1940. With the U.S. anticipating entry into World War II, he estimated that if the act was passed, the United States would have 1.4 million service members in training by April 1941.

Later career

In May 1942, Twaddle was appointed to command the 95th Infantry Division, which he activated and led through its initial organization at Camp Swift, Texas. In December 1942, the 95th Division moved to Fort Sam Houston, where it continued its pre-combat training. After participating in the summer 1943 Carolina Maneuvers, in September the division relocated to Fort Polk, Louisiana. In early 1944, the 95th Division was posted to Fort Indiantown Gap, Pennsylvania, where it completed individual and unit training prior to departing the United States for combat in Europe.

Twaddle led the division to England in August 1944, where it underwent additional training prior to entering combat. After arriving in France in mid-September, the 95th Division bivouacked near Norroy-le-Sec, then went into defensive positions in the Moselle river bridgehead sector east of Moselle and south of Metz on October 19.

After the 95th Infantry Division's inactivation, Twaddle was assigned to command the Infantry Replacement Center at Camp Wolters, Texas. In early 1946, he was assigned to command the post at Fort Polk, Louisiana. In 1947, he was assigned to the staff of Fifth United States Army in Chicago. Twaddle retired effective June 30, 1948.

Retirement and death 95th Division Legacy Association 72nd Reunion in Section 2 of Arlington National Cemetery on October 20, 2022. In retirement, Twaddle was a resident of Kensington, Maryland. In the late 1940s and early 1950s, he founded and organized the 95th Infantry Division Association, of which he was elected president.

In September 1954, Twaddle was the subject of nationwide headlines after he publicly apologized at a 95th Division reunion for an incident which resulted in substantial casualties during combat. In November 1944, Company C of the division's 377th Infantry Regiment was directed to conduct a feint across the Moselle near Metz in order to conceal a real river crossing.

Infantry Field Officers Course (1921) United States Army Command and General Staff College (1923) United States Army War College (1925) Field Artillery Officer Advanced Course (1933) Chemical Warfare Field Officers Course (1935) Army Industrial College (1935)

Awards and legacy Awards Twaddle's awards and decorations included the Army Distinguished Service Medal, Silver Star, Legion of Merit, and Bronze Star Medal. His foreign decorations included the French Legion of Honor (Chevalier), Croix de Guerre with Palm, and Medal of Metz. In 1971, the U.S. Army began construction of a facility near Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma to serve as the division headquarters. Work was completed in 1974, and the site was christened the Twaddle Armed Forces Reserve Center. A monument to the 95th Division on the Walk of Honor at the National Infantry Museum in Georgia includes two memorial benches, one of which honors Twaddle.