US Army Training Center - Yearbook (Fort Leonard Wood, MO)

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MAJOR GENERAL JAMES G. CHRISTIANSEN Commanding General l A n ,ig . Q lviaior General James G. Chrisfiansen came fo assume command of Forf Leonard Wood direcf from fhe office of fhe Chief of Engineers in Washingfon, D.C. He was assigned 'rhere in l95l following a fwo-year four as engineer of fhe Far Easf Command wifh sfafion af Tokyo. A nafive of Porfland, Oregon, fhe presenf posf and bfh Armored Division commander was graduafed from fhe U.S. Milifary Academy af Wesf Poinf and commissioned a second lieufenanf in fhe Corps of Engineers November I, I9I8. His firsf assignmenf was af Camp A.A. Humphreys, Va., where he affended fhe Engineer School. Affer an observafion four of bafflefields in France, Belgium and Germany, he refurned fo fhe School and complefed fhe basic and civil engineer courses in I92I. A series of bofh sfafeside and overseas assignmenfs finally led fo General Chrisfiansen's en- france fo fhe Army War College in Washingfon from which he graduafed in June, l94O The general fhen became assisfanf fo fhe Disfricf Engineer af Memphis, Tenn., and a monfh lafer refurned for dufy in General Headquarfers of fhe Army. During World War Il, General Chrisfiansen was assigned fo fhe Army Ground Forces where he became Chief of Sfaff, and. for a brief period, commanding general. In Sepfember, l945, he was assigned fo Headquarfers, Army Forces Wesfern Pacific in fhe Philippines. The following December he assumed command of fhe Milifary Police Command of AFWESPAC and lafer became Depufy Commander and Chief of Sfaff. - General Chrisfiansen refurned fo fhe Unifed Sfafes in May, I947, and assumed command of fhe 2nd Armored.Division af Camp Hood, Texas, fhe following Sepfember. He served in fhaf capacify unfil reassigned fo fhe Far Easf Command in Augusf, I949. . ,fs ' :- .I , 53' I '-.11 '4 R, J' 1594 L .'-' d . i , -i ffa ,-

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jihi5l66NruNENT PUBIRE Lismnv l Genealogy 8a Local History Library .VI ,,, , , Q North independence Branch Hi nwa 24813 'n 9 V PFI Q Aljndependence, MO 64050 M R2i5Qe6NTiN5IQ?'bUeL1c'LilaEaAfiQ 1 l 5 filllvlIllIllIllIllIlllllllllllllllllllllllHIIUIHl e , 3oooo11451as54 Qanolher, -6l'l1' --il has been proven Hme and again-you are lhe besl fighlinq men in 1. . he world. ' Mejor General I JAMES G CHRISTIANSEN Commanding General

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BRIGADIER GENERAL BRANNER P. PURDUE Assisfanf Division Commander Brigadier General Branner P. Purdue became Assisfanf 6+h Armored Division commander af Forf Leonard Wood following an assignmenf af Eorf Benning, Georgia. While fhere he served as Assisfanf Direcfor of lnsfrucfion in fhe Academic Deparfmenf, Company D Prior fo his assignmenf af Eorf Benning, General Purdue served as Depufy Chief of Sfaff, Headquarfers U.S- Army, Alaslca. Among highlighfs of his career, General Purdue served as observer wifh fhe Brifish Eighfh Army during fhe summer of I942 when Eield Marshall Erwin Rommel's forces drove fhe Brifish back from fhe Gazala line fhrough Tobrulc and Mersa Mafruh fo fhe EI Alamein line. s He was also commanding officer of fhe l2fJfh lnfanfry Regimenf while if was in acfion during World War ll. ln I944, 'rhe I2Ofh Regimenf was acfive in 'lhe penefrafion of fhe Siegfried Line in fhe area norfh of Aachen. , Ofher assignmenfs during fhe general's milifary career include posfs as commanding officer of fhe 6fh Tank Desfroyer Group in I942 and l943g Direcfor of fhe Tacfics Deparfmenf af fhe Tank Desfroyer School, Camp Hood, Texas, in I943-44: and commanding officer of 'rhe 303rd lnfanfry Regimenf sfafioned af Eorf Leonard Wood and San Luis Obispo, California, in I944. A nafive of Eayeffeville, Arkansas, General Purdue was graduafed from fhe Unifed Sfafes Milifary Academy in I925 and lafer affended primary flying school. Erom i926-I'-729 he served as an infanfry unif officer and lafer as commander for a period of fen years. During World War ll, General Purdue parficipafed in fhe following maior compaigns: Norfh- ern France, Rhineland, Ardennes and Cenfral Europe. , g