Thomas S. Timberman

Thomas S. Timberman (21 March 1900 – 2 August 1989) was a career officer in the United States Army. A veteran of World War II, he attained the rank of major general, and his commands included the 1st Infantry Division, 2nd Infantry Division, and United States Army Security Agency. Timberman's decorations included multiple awards of the Army Distinguished Service Medal and Legion of Merit.

A native of Jamesburg, New Jersey, Timberman was raised and educated in Jamesburg. He attended Rutgers University during World War I and joined the Student Army Training Corps, but the war ended a few months after he joined, so he was discharged in December 1918. He received an appointment to the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1919. After graduating in 1923, he began his career in the Infantry. Timberman's early assignments included aide-de-camp to Harold Benjamin Fiske, whose daughter he married in 1929. He also served in China and became proficient in the Chinese language. During World War II, he served in command and staff assignments in the China Burma India theater (CBI) and South East Asia Command.

After the Second World War, Timberman was part of the Marshall Mission that unsuccessfully attempted to prevent a communist takeover of China by creating a post-war unity government. He went on to command the 1st Infantry Division and the American Sector of Berlin during the Cold War. In 1950, he was an army representative on the joint State and Defense committee that did the initial planning and coordination of the U.S. response at the beginning of the Korean War. Later assignments included command of the 2nd Infantry Division, member of the Joint Strategic Survey Committee, and command of the United States Army Security Agency.

After retiring, Timberman was a consultant for the Research Analysis Corporation, a government-funded enterprise that conducted data analysis and operations research to understand issues of concern to the army and develop solutions. He resided in Chevy Chase, Maryland and died in Bethesda, Maryland on 2 August 1989. Timberman was buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

Early life

Thomas Sherman Timberman was born in Jamesburg, New Jersey on 21 March 1900, a son of Alvah B. Timberman and Anne B. (Flanagan) Timberman. He was raised and educated in Jamesburg, and was a 1918 graduate of Jamesburg High School. Among his classmates who also attained general officer rank were Hoyt Vandenberg, who served as Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force, and Royal B. Lord, a primary planner for the Services of Supply in Europe during the Second World War.

Start of career After receiving his commission, Timberman was assigned to the 5th Infantry Regiment and posted to Fort Williams, Maine. In 1931, he graduated from the officer's course at the Infantry School. She died in 1983 and they were the parents of daughter Virginia and son Thomas. After completing the officers' course, Timberman was assigned to Beijing, where he was a student in the 15th Infantry Regiment's Chinese language course. In January 1942, Timberman was assigned to the general staff of the United States Department of War, where he joined the War Plans Division as chief of the Asiatic Theater Operations Section. From July 1951 to December 1952, Timberman performed Cold War duty as commander the 1st Infantry Division in West Germany. Captain, 1 August 1935 Lieutenant Colonel, 6 June 1942 Brigadier General (Army of the United States), 18 January 1944 Brigadier General, 11 March 1953 Major General (Retired), 1 April 1960