Frank Ross McCoy – Major General, United States Army

Born at Lewistown, Pennsylvania, on October 29, 1874, he graduated from West Point in 1897, from the Army War College in 1908, received an L.L.D. degree from Princeton , Yale, Columbia, Brown and Clark Universities, and Washington & Jefferson College.

He was commissioned a second lieutenant, cavalry, 1897 and advanced through the grades to Major General, aide to President Theodore Roosevelt, 1906. He was wounded in action at San Juan Hill in the Spanish-American War, and fought the Moros in the Philippines Insurrection.

He joined the General Headquaters, American Expdittionary Force (AEF) in June 1917 as Assistant to the Chief of Staff in France. He commanded the 63rd Infantry Brigade in some of the last battles of World War I in France. In 1929, he was named Chairman of the Commission of Inquiry and Conciliation (Bolivia and Paraguay) which settled the Gran Chavo War. He retired as a Major General in 1938 while commanding the 1st U.S. Army and II Corps Area, Governors’ Island, New York. In 1939 he was President of the prestigious Foreign Policy Association and during World War II was President of the Military Commission which tried and convicted German sabotuers who landed in the United States.

He died in Washington, D.C. on June 4, 1954 and was buried in Section 21 of Arlington National Cemetery. His wife, Frances Field Judson McCoy (1898-1973) 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