August Schomburg – Lieutenant General, United States Army

Courtesy of the United States Army

Biography of Lieutenant Genreal August Schomburg

General Schomburg was born in Denver, Colorado, July 3, 1908. Following graduation from West Denver High School in 1926, he attended the Colorado School of Mines for a year before entering the U. S. Military Academy. He was graduated from the Academy June 11, 1931, with a degree in Military Science and was commissioned a second lieutenant of Infantry in the Regular Army.

During the early years of his military career he served various Infantry assignments. In 1937 he transferred to Ordnance and attended the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, receiving his Master of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering. He attended the Ordnance School at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland and remained at the Proving Ground serving successively as Adjutant before going to the staff of the Ordnance Research and Development Center for tours as Chief, Small Arms Section; Executive Officer, Proving Center and Commanding Officer of the Ordnance Winter Proving Center in Canada.

In April 1944 he was called to the War Department General Staff, where he was assigned to G-3 until February 1946. The following three years he spent at Ottawa, Canada as Assistant Military Attaché, U. S. Embassy, and Liaison Officer with the Canadian Army.

In September 1949 he was assigned to Watertown Arsenal, Watertown, Massachusetts, where he remained until July 29, 1952 as Director of Research, Development and Engineering. The following year he spent as a student at the Industrial College of the Armed Forces, Fort McNair, Washington, DC, graduating in June 1953.  He was named Chief, Procurement Branch, G-4, Logistics, for United States Army in Europe, in 1953, with headquarters at Heidelberg, Germany.

On April 27, 1956, General Schomburg was appointed Chief, Research and Development Division, Office, Chief of Ordnance. General Schomburg became Deputy Chief of Ordnance on 2 May 1958. He commanded the U.S. Army Ordnance Missile Command, predecessor to the U.S. Army Missile Command (later merged with the U.S. Army Aviation and Troop Command to form the U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command in 1997), from February 1960 to May 24, 1962. He died in January 1972 and was buried in Arlington National Cemetery. He was inducted into the Ordnance Corps Hall of Fame in 1985.

General Schomburg was awarded the Legion of Merit with Oak Leaf Cluster and the Commendation Ribbon with Oak Leaf Cluster.

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