[From June ‘96 EX-CBI ROUNDUP]
REMEMBER THESE CBI GENERALS ?
Major Gen. Gilbert X. Cheeves
Commanding General, SOS, CBI theater; Commander I-3 theater; Deputy Supreme Allied Commander, Southeast Asia Command.
Brig. Gen. Patrick J. Hurley
This General accompanied Donald Nelson, head of WPB, in a special mission in China which resulted in General Stillwell’s appointment as Commander in China.
Maj. Gen. Lewis A. Pick
Commanding General, Army Service Forces, India-Burma theater. Responsible for building and completion of Ledo Road.
General Joseph W. Stillwell
Commanding General China theater; Commanding General U.S. Armed Forces in Burma.
Lt. Gen. Dan I. Sultan
Deputy Commander, CBI theater; Commanding General I-B theater.
Lt. Gen. Albert C. Wedemeyer
Deputy Chief of Staff, Southeast Asia Command; Commanding General, U.S.F., China theater; Chief of Staff to Generalissimo Chiang kai-Shek.
Lt. Gen. Raymond A. Wheeler
Commanding General, SOS, CBI theater; Commander I-B theater: Deputy Supreme Allied Commander, Southeast Asia Command.
Brig. Gen. Paul F. Yount
Chief of Military Railway Services. India-Burma theater; Commanding General, Advance Section I-B theater.
[From January ‘92 EX-CBI ROUNDUP]
ABOUT CBI GENERALS
By
Earl O. Cullum
The ten senior U.S. Army officers in the CBI Theater in WWII were all WWI veterans, and eight of them were West Point graduates. Gen. Joseph W. Stillwell, born in 1883, was the oldest. Next were Lts. Gens. Raymond A. Wheeler and Dan I. Sultan, both born in 1885. Youngest among these ten were Lt. Gen. Albert C. Wedemeyer and
Maj. Gen. Clayton L. Bissell, both born in 1896. Maj. Gen. W.E.R. Covell was born in 1892, and the other four were born in 1890 - Lt. Gen. George E. Stratemeyer and Maj. Gens. Claire L. Chennault, Thomas G. Hearn and Howard C. Davidson. Four of the ten held theater commands - Stillwell, Sultan, Wedemeyer and Wheeler; and four held air commands - Stratemeyer, Bissell, Chennault and Davidson. Covell was CBI SOS Commander, and Hearn was CBI Chief-of-Staff. Only Bissell and Chennault were not West Point graduates.
The next ten in seniority, as listed in the Riley Sunderland/Charles F. Romanus
5-volume "Stillwell’s Personal File", included seven Major Generals and three senior Brigadiers. The oldest of these ten was Brig, Gen. John A. Warden, born in 1886. The youngest were Maj. Gens. Curtis E. LeMay (1906), Frank D. Merrill (1905) and Charles B. Stone (1904), the only three of the 20 seniors who were not World War I veterans. Three of this ten - Merrill, Stone and Brig. Gen. Earl L. Naiden were West Point grads. LeMay, Stone, Naiden, Maj. Gen. Kenneth B. Wolfe and Brig. Gen. Julian A. Haddon held air commands. Merrill commanded the Marauders and Warden a Base Section. Maj. Gen. Gilbert X. Cheves commanded China Theater SOS, and Vernon Evans was
1-B Theater Chief of Staff. Maj. Gen. Lewis A. Pick built the Ledo Road as Advance Section Commander.
Among other CBI Brigadier Generals in these volumes, in order of seniority, were the following:
Caleb V. Haynes
Benjamin G. Ferris
William H. Holcombe
Haydon L. Boatner
Edgar E. Glenn
Robert C. Oliver
William D. Old
William E. Bergin
Theodore F. Wessels
Thomas S. Arms
William H. Tunner
Earl S. Hoag
Edward H. Alexander
Eugene H. Beebe
Frank X. Dorn
Reuben C. Hood
Malcolm F. Lindsey
Thomas S. Timberman
Paul F. Yount
Clinton D. Vincent
George W. Sliney
John P. McConnell
Frederick S. Strong
Robert R. Neyland
Robert M. Cannon
John P. Willey
Francis G. Brink
Frederic W. Boye
Over half (15) on this list were West Point graduates. Twelve served during World War I. Eleven held air commands. Five were in Burma combat commands and four in training assignments. Four were in supply and four in staff assignments.
The senior on this list, Brig. Gen. Caleb V. Haynes, was with the 10th Air Force. The junior, Brig. Gen. Frederic W. Boye, was with Z-Force. The oldest officer on this list was Brig. Gen. Frederick S. Strong (1887), and the youngest was Brig. Gen. Clinton D. Vincent (1914).
This obviously is not a complete list of the CBI general officers, and surely there is such a list somewhere. Brig. Gen. Joseph A. Cranston of Intermediate Section was not included among those listed.
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