Damon Mott Gunn – Colonel, United States Army

From a contemporary press report:

Colonel Damon Mott Gunn, 84, who retired from the Army’s Judge Advocate General’s office in 1953 and then practiced corporate law for 25 years before retiring again in the late 1970s, died of a kidney ailment November 5, 1983 at Sibley Memorial Hospital in Washington, D.C.  He lived in Washington.

Colonel Gunn was a native of Buckingham, Iowa. He graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York, in 1923, and served on active duty for the next 30 years. In addition to West Point, he was also a graduate of the Yale University Law School and earned a master’s degree in taxation law at George Washington University.

During WWII, Colonel Gunn served in Mediterranean and European theaters. He participated in the Nuremberg War Crimes trials after the war. His medals included the Legion of Merit, and the Bronze Star, Purple Heart and Soldier’s medals. Was a member of the Army & Navy Club, and the Kenwood and Army Navy country clubs. Survivors include his wife, the former Helen Montgomery, of Wash, DC; a son, Robert, of Chicago, and 5 grandchildren. Another son, Alan Montgomery Gunn, Lieutenant (jg), was killed in the crash of his Naval aircraft in the Atlantic.  His body was not recovered and an “In Memory Of” notation appears on his parents gravestone.

Military History: 

Chicago, Illinois, Headquarters 6th Cavalry, July 1940; Major (JAGD 1 July 1940); Colonel, AUS, 24 June 1942; July 1942, England; 11 October 1943, North Africa, Judge Advocate II Corps; 9 November 1942 to 2 January 1943, Tunisia, Judge Advocate II Corps and Civil AffairsOfficer, 3 January to 20 May 1943; Silicy, Judge Advocate and Coordinator for Civil Affairs, 22 August 1943; England, Civil Affairs and G-5 First Army, 6 June 1944 (Normandy, France, Belgium, Bulge, Germany);8 May 1945, Washington, D.C., Acting Director War Crimes OJAGO, 30 October 1945 to 15 March 1946; Legal Officer Civil Affairs Division WDSS, 16 April 1946 (Lieutenant Colonel, JAGD, 12 June 1946); to 31 March 1947; Civil Legislation Branch, 1 April to 1 December 1947; JAG;Representative to Unification Control OCS, 2 December 1947 (Colonel, JAGD, 11 March 1948) to 4 April 1949; European Theater of Operations, Judge Advocate European Command, 7 May 1949 to present. Croix de Guerre With Palm (France); Legion of Honor,Chevalier (France); Ordre de la Couronne de Chene (Luxembourg); order of the Crown (Belgium). American: Legion of Merit, Bronze Star.

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