George Ralph Meyer – Major General, United States Army

Born at Montgomery, Minnesota, November 27, 1886, he was a student at the University of Minnesota, 1904-05. He graduated from the United States Naval Academy (no, this is not a typo – he is one of the few Army generals to have graduated from Annapolis) in 1910, from the Command and General Staff College, 1925, the Army War College, 1935, the Navy War College, 1936.

He married Virginia Roget Robb, October 11, 1911. He was a Midshipman, U.S. Navy and resigned from that service in March 1911.  In August 1911, he was appointed a Second Lieutenant, Coast Artillery Corps, U.S. Army, and advanced through the grades to Brigadier General, August 1941, and to Major General, April 2, 1943.

He served in Hawaii during World War II and with the Army Ground Forces in Germany, returning to the U.S. in October 1920. He was an instructor, Coast Artillery School and at the Command and General Staff School. In April 1940, he was appointed Chief of Staff, IX Corps, in maneuvers in both Texas and Louisiana. He was commander, Pacific Brigade of the Panama Coast Artillery command since February 18, 1943. He was decorated with the Officer of the Order of Leopold II (Belgium). He was a contributor to ornithology journals and service publications.

He died in 1961 and was buried in Section 2 of Arlington National Cemetery. His wife, Virginia Roget Robb Meyer (1890-1944), is buried with him.

Michael Robert Patterson

Michael Robert Patterson was born in Arlington and is the son of a former officer of the US Army. So it was no wonder that sooner or later his interests drew him to American history and especially to American military history. Many of his articles can be found on renowned portals like the New York Times, Washingtonpost or Wikipedia.

Reviewed by: Michael Howard