Willis Dale Crittenberger

Lieutenant General Willis Dale Crittenberger (December 2, 1890 – August 4, 1980) was a senior officer of the United States Army. He was a career soldier who served with distinction during the Italian campaign of World War II

Early life and military career

Crittenberger was born in Baltimore, Maryland on December 2, 1890. After growing up in Anderson, Indiana, he was appointed to the United States Military Academy (USMA) at West Point, New York, in 1909, graduating 24th in his class four years later on June 12, 1913, with the West Point class of 1913, two years ahead of fellow cadet, friend and infantry officer, Dwight D. Eisenhower. Crittenberger was then commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Cavalry Branch of the United States Army and his first posting was with the 3rd Cavalry Regiment, then stationed at Fort Hood, Texas.

Between the wars Unable to see service overseas in World War I, where he remained in the United States training recruits, Crittenberger's advanced military education included the United States Army Cavalry School at Fort Riley, Kansas, in 1924, the United States Army Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas in 1925

World War II With the onset of the United States entry into World War II, Crittenberger, with the rank of brigadier general (having been promoted on July 10, 1941), Devers had in fact requested Crittenberger's services and thought highly of him, writing, "I consider Crittenberger to be one of my best commanders."

Crittenberger relinquished command of XIX Corps, briefly, to Major General Woodruff, who soon handed over to Major General Charles H. Corlett, a classmate from the West Point class of 1913, and departed England for the Mediterranean Theater of Operations (MTO), assuming command of IV Corps from Major General Alexander Patch, another West Point classmate, in Italy on March 20, 1944. Held in reserve during the early stages of the Italian campaign, IV Corps replaced the VI Corps, under Major General Lucian Truscott, in the front line after the liberation of the Italian capital of Rome in early June. Crittenberger's corps, coming under command of Lieutenant General Mark W. Clark's American Fifth Army (which, together with the British Eighth Army, formed part of the Allied Armies in Italy/AAI, later redesignated as the 15th Army Group, commanded by British General Sir Harold Alexander) later fought on through the Gothic Line, in some of the toughest and most difficult fighting of the Italian campaign.

Chaplain Paul J. Maddox conducting Easter sunrise services for men of IV Corps, Castelluccia, Italy, April 1, 1945. In front is the commander of IV Corps, Major General Willis D. Crittenberger.

Having the 1st Brazilian Infantry and the 6th South African Armoured Divisions in its ranks, in addition to the United States 1st Armored, the 92nd Infantry and the 10th Mountain Divisions, Crittenberger's IV Corps were in combat for over 390 days, 326 of them engaged in continuous combat. Crittenberger commanded IV Corps, still part of the Fifth Army, now commanded by Lieutenant General Lucian Truscott (like Crittenberger, a cavalryman whom Crittenberger had taught while he was an instructor at the U.S. Army Cavalry School), after Lieutenant General Clark was promoted to the command of 15th Army Group, as the western arm of the Allied thrust through northern Italy (codenamed Operation Grapeshot) to the Po River, capturing large numbers of German troops, and which ultimately ended with the surrender of the remaining German forces in Italy on May 2, 1945.

Family

Crittenberger married Josephine Frost Woodhull (1894–1978) on June 23, 1918. Two of his three sons served in the United States Armed Forces and died in combat. Corporal Townsend Woodhull Crittenberger (born May 13, 1925) was killed in action during the Rhine River crossing on March 25, 1945, during the final days of World War II, aged just 19. Colonel Dale Jackson Crittenberger (USMA 1950) (born May 27, 1927) commanding the 3rd Brigade of the 9th Infantry Division during the Vietnam War was killed in a mid-air collision on September 17, 1969, while directing combat operations, aged 42. Dale served as a White House military aide to President Eisenhower in 1959 and as a newly promoted major received his new badge of rank from his father's old friend, the President.

A third son, Willis D. Crittenberger Jr. (USMA 1942) also served in the United States Army in World War II with the 10th Armored Division, rising from lieutenant to lieutenant colonel during the war, retiring as a major general. He later was a spokesman for the Daughters of the American Revolution.

Lieutenant General Willis Dale Crittenberger died in Chevy Chase, Maryland, on August 4, 1980, at the age of 89. He was buried at Arlington National Cemetery, Virginia with his wife and sons, Townsend and Dale.

Decorations

Army Distinguished Service Medal with Oak Leaf ClusterBronze Star Medal with two Oak Leaf ClustersMexican Border Service MedalWorld War I Victory MedalAmerican Defense Service MedalAmerican Campaign MedalEuropean–African–Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with four Service StarsWorld War II Victory MedalNational Defense Service MedalOfficer of the Legion of Honor (France)Croix de Guerre (France)Order of Abdon Calderón (Ecuador)Orden de Merito Militar (Peru)

Books The final campaign across Italy; 1952 – His memoirs as commander of US Army IV Corps Some thoughts on civil defense; 1954 4pgs Essay Debrief report; 1967 Dept. of the Army – Headquarters, II Field Force Vietnam Artillery 21pgs report