Lucian Truscott
General Lucian King Truscott Jr. (January 9, 1895 – September 12, 1965) was a highly decorated senior United States Army officer, who saw distinguished active service during World War II. Between 1943–1945, he successively commanded the 3rd Infantry Division, VI Corps, Fifteenth Army and Fifth Army, serving mainly in the Mediterranean Theater of Operations (MTO) during his wartime service. He and Alexander Patch were the only U.S. Army officers to command a division, a corps, and a field army in combat during the war. Early life and family Truscott was born in Chatfield, Texas on January 6, 1895, a son of Dr. Lucian King Truscott (1861–1922) and Maria Temple (Tully) Truscott (1866–1938). Raised primarily in Oklahoma, he attended grade school and a year of high school in the hamlet of Stella, near Norman. At age 16, he claimed to be 18 and a high school graduate to qualify for teacher training, attended the summer term of the state normal school in Norman, and received his teaching certification. He taught school and worked as a school principal before he decided to join the United States Army in 1917. Enlisting during the American entry into World War I, Truscott applied for officer training, falsely claiming to be a high school graduate who had completed the equivalent of a year of college. After completing the officer training camp at Fort Logan H. Roots, in October 1917 he was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Cavalry Branch of the U.S. Army. During the war, he remained in the United States to patrol the border with Mexico, and served with the 17th Cavalry Regiment at Camp Harry J. Jones, Douglas, Arizona. On March 27, 1919, Truscott married Sarah "Chick" Nicholas Randolph (1896–1974), a descendant of Thomas Jefferson Randolph and Thomas Nelson Jr. They were the parents of three children – Mary Randolph Truscott (1920–1991), Lucian King (1921–2000), and James Joseph (b. 1930–2020). Military career Truscott served in various cavalry and staff assignments between the wars, including completion of the Cavalry Officers Course, followed by assignment as a Cavalry School instructor. He also graduated from the United States Army Command and General Staff College, followed by assignment to its faculty. In the early 1930s, he commanded E Troop, 3rd Cavalry Regiment, which was stationed at Fort Myer, Virginia. On August 18, 1940 he was promoted to lieutenant colonel. World War II In March 1941, Truscott was appointed to the staff of Ninth Corps Area, at Fort Lewis, Washington. It was while he was in this assignment where he came into close contact with Dwight D. Eisenhower, then a colonel serving in the 3rd Infantry Division (then stationed at Fort Lewis) as a battalion commander. In 1942, Truscott, now a temporary colonel (having been promoted on December 24, 1941), was instrumental in developing an American commando unit patterned after the British Commandos. The American unit was activated by Truscott (newly promoted to the rank of brigadier general on June 19, 1942) as the 1st Ranger Battalion, and