Carter Bowie Magruder – General, United States Army

From a contemporary press report

Carter Bowie Magruder, 87, a retired Army General who capped a brilliant career in logistics by commanding United Nations and US forces in Korea from 1959 to 1961, died of lung ailments Mar 14, 1988 at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.

General Magruder, a resident of Arlington, Virginia, was born in London, where his father had been sent as an official of the US Public Health Service. He was a student at the University of Virginia when the United States entered World War I and he left college to join the Army. He was commissioned a second lieutenant in the infantry in 1918.

The following year, the future General was appointed to the US Military Academy at West Point, New York. He graduated in 1923 and was commissioned in the field artillery. In 1932, he received a master’s degree in mechanical engineering from Purdue University.

In the years before World War II, he served at various posts in this country and in Hawaii, then a territory, and he attended the Command & General Staff College and Army War College. In July 1941, he was assigned to the Office of the Assistant Chief of Staff for Logistics on the War Department General staff in Washington, DC. This began his career in supplies and logistics. He became head of the planning division of the Army Service Forces and helped organize logistic support for the US military effort around the world. In 1944, he went to Italy as assistant Chief of Staff for logistics at Allied headquarters.

He remained in Europe after the war and was chief logistics officer of the Army’s European command. From 1949 to 1953, he was a staff officer in Washington, DC again. In this period he also was part of the delegation that negotiated the Japanese and Austrian peace treaties.

In 1953 General Magruder went to Korea as commander of the 24th Infantry Division. In 1954, he was promoted to Lieutenant General and took over command of the US IXth Corps. From 1955 to 1959, he was assistant Chief of Staff of the Army for logistics, the Army’s top supply officer.

In 1959, General Magruder was promoted to 4-star rank and returned to Korea to take command of all UN and US forces, including the US 8th Army. He retired from that post in 1961. His medals included 3 awards of the Distinguished Service Medal.

In retirement, he was a consultant on logistical matters for the Defense Dept and various industries. A resident of Washington, DC area since early 1940s, he was a member of the Army-Navy Country Club and the Order of the Cincinnati. 1900-1988. Buried in Section 7-A of Arlington National Cemetery. His wife, Luella Johnson Magruder (1907-1991) 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