Walter L. Reed

Walter Lawrence Reed (4 December 1877 – 1 May 1956) was a major general in the United States Army who served as Inspector General of the Army from 1 December 1935 to 23 December 1939. His father was Army Medical Corps officer Major Walter Reed, namesake of the Walter Reed Army Medical Center. He was born in Fort Apache, Arizona, and moved to Washington, D.C., where he spent most of his early life. Reed fought in the Spanish–American War and traveled across the country and to the Panama Canal Zone. He then began working as an inspector during World War I and became the inspector of Base Section Number 5 in February 1919 then worked in the American Expeditionary Forces office. For his work he earned the Distinguished Service Medal. Reed attended various military schools before returning to the Inspector General's department. In 1935 he became the inspector general of the United States Army. He retired in 1940, but was recalled to active duty during World War II, filling a role in the War Department until 1946. Reed died in the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in 1956.

Early life Reed was born in Fort Apache, Arizona, on 4 December 1877, He had two sisters, Emilie and Susie. He traveled with his family, being educated in the District of Columbia Public Schools and at the Randolph Macon Academy. Reed then worked in Washington, D.C. for several years as the bookkeeper of a fuel dealer. in 1901. They had two children, Landon Carter and Mary Berkeley.

In February 1901, the regiment left Cuba, and at Fort Robinson in Nebraska he was made quartermaster and commissary of the 2nd Battalion. In March, the unit was deployed to the Philippines, participated in the Lake Lanao operations, and was garrisoned at Cotabato City. At Cotabato City, Reed served as provost and town treasurer. He was then reassigned to Company G on ll December 1902 and returned to the Presidio of San Francisco in February 1903. Reed was promoted to first lieutenant in January 1904 and took command of Company M in April. In June he took command of Company A at Fort Lawton in Washington.

Over the next seven years, Reed attended the School of the Line in 1921, the General Staff School in 1922, the Army War College in 1923, and the Naval War College in 1924. He was then an instructor at the Naval War College until June 1928 when he was assigned as the executive officer of the 29th Infantry Division at Fort Benning, Georgia. In May 1930, Reed was made a full colonel. He received command of the 12th Infantry Regiment at Fort Howard in Maryland in January 1933. In 1945, Reed received an oak leave cluster in lieu of a second Distinguished Service Medal "for exceptionally meritorious and distinguished services to the Government of the United States, in a duty of great responsibility." He retired on 25 June 1946, and lived in Washington, DC until his death on 1 May 1956. Reed is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.