Samuel D. Rockenbach

Samuel Dickerson Rockenbach (27 January 1869 – 16 May 1952) was a United States Army officer and father of the Tank Corps.

Biography He was born in Lynchburg, Virginia on January 27, 1869, the son of Frank J. Rockenbach and Jane Nicolson Rockenbach. He attended the Virginia Military Institute, where he graduated third in the class of 1889 and was designated a distinguished graduate.

In 1898, Rockenbach married Emma Baldwin, who was the daughter of Theodore Anderson Baldwin. He served repeatedly with Brigadier General John J. Pershing, including serving as quartermaster during the Pancho Villa Expedition.

During World War I In December 1917, eight months after the American entry into World War I, he was appointed by Pershing, now the Commander-in-Chief of the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) on the Western Front, to command the Tank Corps.

In 1918, Rockenbach organized, trained, equipped, and deployed the first American tank units to the European Western Front during World War I.

After World War I He remained chief of the Tanks Corps until 1920. He directed the tank school at Fort Meade, Maryland until 1924.

From 1928 to his retirement in 1933, he commanded the Second Artillery Brigade at Fort Sam Houston, Texas.

In addition, he was a recipient of the French Croix de Guerre and Officer of the Legion of Honor awards, and the Commander of the Order of the Bath from Great Britain.