William A. Beiderlinden

William A. Beiderlinden (March 4, 1895 – April 12, 1981) was a career officer in the United States Army. A veteran of World War I, the Occupation of the Rhineland, World War II, and the Korean War, he served from 1917 to 1955 and attained the rank of major general. As a general officer, Biderlinden served in high-profile command assignments including the 44th Division Artillery and Military Assistance Advisory Group Brazil, and his awards and decorations included the Army Distinguished Service Medal, Legion of Merit, Bronze Star Medal, Order of Military Merit (Grand Commander) (Brazil), and Order of Aeronautical Merit (Grand Commander) (Brazil).

A native of Springfield, Missouri, Beiderlinden graduated from Drury College in 1917 and served briefly in the Missouri National Guard while attending a Citizens' Military Training Camp. After receiving his commission as a first lieutenant in late 1917, he underwent artillery training in France, then served in combat with the 30th Separate Artillery Brigade. Following post-war occupation duty in Germany, Beiderlinden returned to the United States, where his assignments included battery command and assistant professor of military science at the University of Missouri. Beiderlinden continued in assignments of increasing rank and responsibility leading up to World War II, including a posting in the Philippines.

At the start of the Second World War, Beiderlinden served in several staff roles during the army's wartime expansion. After promotion to brigadier general in 1943, he commanded the 44th Division Artillery during combat in Europe. Following the war, he served at the Army Ground Forces headquarters and at Headquarters, Far East Command. During the early stages of the Korean War, he assumed responsibility for providing troop reinforcements during combat, as well as the evacuation of non-combatants.

In 1952, Beiderlinden was assigned to Brazil as head of the Joint Brazil-United States Military Commission and commander of Military Assistance Advisory Group Brazil. He retired in June 1955, and resided in McLean, Virginia. He died in McLean on April 12, 1981, and was buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

Early life William Arthur Beiderlinden was born in Springfield, Missouri on March 4, 1895, the son of William Otho Beiderlinden and Ella May (Stover) Beiderlinden. He was educated in the schools of Springfield, and graduated from Springfield High School (now Central High School) in 1913. He then studied Pre-medical at Drury College, from which he received his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1917. While in college, Beiderlinden was president of Lambda Epsilon, an honor society for science students, as well as an assistant in the Biology department.

In August 1917, Beiderlinden joined the military for World War I when he enlisted as a private in the Missouri National Guard's Truck Company 5, Motor Transport Train. At graduation in November 1917, Beiderlinden was appointed a first lieutenant of Field Artillery in the Organized Reserve Corps. Upon arriving in early 1918, he attended the U.S. Army's Field Artillery school in Saumur, followed by enrollment as a student at the Coast Artillery school in Angers. Beiderlinden and his wife were noted equestrians, and took part in several horse shows during the 1920s and 1930s. He was also a member of several polo teams when the army promoted the sport as a team building and leadership activity in the 1920s and 1930s.

From September 1925 to June 1926, Biderlinden was a student in the Battery Officers Course at the Fort Sill, Oklahoma Field Artillery School. In May 1931, he sustained a broken leg in another polo accident, which also required several weeks to convalesce. He remained in this assignment until 1934, when he was posted to the 24th Field Artillery Regiment, a Philippine Scouts unit assigned to Fort Stotsenburg. When his command was ordered to shell the city, Beiderlinden and his division commander, Major General William F. Dean, took the initiative to contact the burgomaster and attempt to persuade Nazi soldiers to abandon their positions. The negotiations focused on the importance of sparing Heidelberg University and other historic and culturally significant sites. As the conflict continued, he also initiated a rotation program that ensured continuity between soldiers departing Korea at the end of their duty and the replacements who took their place. In June 1951, Drury College named him a Distinguished Alumni. In May 1952, Beiderlinden became acting commander of Third Army, and he served until the arrival of a permanent replacement in September.

Beiderlinden served in Brazil from 1952 to 1955, holding the positions of head of the Joint Brazil-United States Military Commission and Military Assistance Advisory Group Brazil. He was commended for his work to improve U.S-Brazil military relations, and his success was recognized when Brazil's military awarded him honorary graduate status of that country's Escola Superior de Guerra. In addition, he received from Brazil the Order of Military Merit (Grand Commander) and Order of Aeronautical Merit (Grand Commander). They were married until his death, and were the parents of a daughter, Janet.