William M. Hoge

General William Morris Hoge (13 January 1894 – 29 October 1979) was a highly decorated senior United States Army officer who fought with distinction in World War I, World War II, and the Korean War, with a military career spanning nearly 40 years.

Early life and military career

William M. Hoge was born on the campus of Kemper Military School in Boonville, Missouri, where his father William McGuffey Hoge served as principal. In 1905, the family moved to Lexington, Missouri, where his father bought an ownership interest and served as principal and superintendent at Wentworth Military Academy. After graduating from Wentworth in 1911 and taking a postgrad year in New York, he received an appointment to the United States Military Academy (USMA) at West Point, New York. He graduated 29th in a class of 125 in June 1916, then was commissioned into the Engineer Branch of the United States Army. His fellow graduates were men such as Wilhelm D. Styer, Dwight Johns, Thomas D. Finley, Stanley E. Reinhart, Louis E. Hibbs, Horace L. McBride, Robert Neyland, Fay B. Prickett and Calvin DeWitt Jr., all of whom would rise to the rank of brigadier general or higher in their military careers.

Hoge commanded a company of the 7th Engineer Regiment, 5th Division, at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, from 1917 to 1918, during World War I. During the war, Hoge served overseas in France, where he received the Distinguished Service Cross personally from General John J. Pershing, commander-in-chief of the American Expeditionary Forces on the Western Front, for heroic action under fire as a battalion commander during the Meuse–Argonne offensive. The citation for his DSC reads as follows:

He was also awarded the Silver Star, "for gallantry in action", during the war.

In popular culture In the 1969 film The Bridge at Remagen, the character of Brigadier General Shinner (played by E. G. Marshall) was based on Hoge.

Awards and decorations His awards and decorations include:

Hoge Barracks, the transient housing operation at Fort Leavenworth, is named in his honor.