Alonzo Patrick Fox

Alonzo Patrick Fox
Fox as assistant division commander of the 102nd Infantry Division during World War II.
BornNovember 11, 1895 (1895-11-11)
Saint Louis, Missouri, United States
DiedDecember 19, 1984 (1984-12-20) (aged 89)
Washington, D.C., United States
Buried
Arlington National Cemetery, Virginia, United States
Allegiance United States
Service / branch United States Army
Years of service1917–1957
Rank Lieutenant General
Service number0-8434
Unit Infantry Branch
CommandsArmy Pictorial Service
War Department Personnel Center, Fort Sam Houston, Texas
Office of Economic and Industrial Affairs, Supreme Command Allied Powers
Battles / warsWorld War I
World War II
Korean War
AwardsArmy Distinguished Service Medal
Silver Star
Legion of Merit
Bronze Star
Alma materSt. Louis University (BCS, 1917)
United States Army Command and General Staff College
Other workDeputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for National Security Council Affairs

Alonzo Patrick Fox (November 11, 1895 – December 19, 1984) was a career officer in the United States Army. He attained the rank of lieutenant general, and was prominent in the 1950s as military advisor to the Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs. Following his military retirement, Fox served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for National Security Council Affairs. He was the father-in-law of Alexander Haig.

Early life

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Alonzo P. "Pat" Fox was born in St. Louis, Missouri on November 11, 1895, a son of Thomas L. Fox and Mary A. (Van Tournehout) Fox.[1] He attended the parochial schools of St. Louis, and was a 1914 graduate of St. Louis Academy (now St. Louis University High School).[1] He then attended St. Louis University, from which he graduated with a Bachelor of Commercial Science degree in June 1917.[2] Fox was not present for his graduation ceremony because he started his initial military training earlier that month.[3]

While in college, Fox attended several United States Training Camps that were organized as part of the pre-World War I Preparedness Movement.[4] In May 1917, his application for a commission was approved, and in June he began attendance at the Fort Riley, Kansas Citizens' Military Training Camp (CMTC).[5] Assigned to the camp's Fourth Company, Fox completed the officer candidate course in August 1917 and received his commission as a second lieutenant of Infantry in the Organized Reserve Corps.[5]

Military career

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World War I

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After receiving his commission following U.S. entry into World War I, Fox was stationed at Camp Funston, Kansas as a member of the 164th Depot Brigade.[6] He was promoted to temporary first lieutenant in December 1917 and temporary captain in August 1918.[7]

Interwar years

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Alonzo Patrick Fox (second from the left) as an ROTC instructor at the University of Maine in the mid-1930s

Fox was discharged from the wartime National Army, effective April 1920, and was commissioned as a first lieutenant in the regular army, effective July 1, 1920.[7] On July 2, he was promoted to captain in the regular army.[7] In July 1921, he was assigned to the 46th Infantry Regiment, and later that month he was an instructor at the CMTC which took place at Fort Snelling, Minnesota.[7][8] In December 1921, he was transferred to the 3rd Infantry Regiment.[7]

In 1921 Fox graduated from the Infantry School Basic Course.[7] Fox served in the Philippines from 1923 to 1924.[1] After his return to the United States, he served as aide-de-camp to Major General Robert Lee Howze, commander of the Fifth Corps Area at Fort Knox, Kentucky.[9] After this service, he was assigned to duty in the Washington, DC office of the chief of the Signal Corps.[10] In 1927, he was assigned to the 25th Infantry Regiment and posted to Fort Huachuca, Arizona.[10] Fox's next assignment was officer in charge of the Army Pictorial Service In Washington, DC, where he developed the plan for replacing silent film production and distribution with new film technology that included sound.[11][12] In the 1920s, the army emphasized polo, with senior commanders believing that the game improved leadership traits in officers by training them to make quick decisions while under stress, and Fox played on several intramural teams.[13]

In 1932, Fox graduated from the Infantry School Advanced Course, and he served as assistant deputy chief of staff for logistics (G-4) on the staff of the Hawaiian Department from 1932 to 1935.[1][14][15] In the mid-1930s Fox served as an assistant professor of military science for the Army Reserve Officers' Training Corps program at the University of Maine at Orono.[16][17] Fox graduated from the United States Army Command and General Staff College in 1938.[18] From 1938 to 1942, Fox served as an instructor at the Fort Benning Infantry School.[19]

World War II

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Fox with the 102nd Infantry Division during World War II

When the U.S. entered World War II, Fox was promoted to colonel and assigned as assistant chief of staff for operations (G-3) of X Corps during its organization and training in Sherman, Texas.[19] In March 1943, he was promoted to brigadier general and succeeded Lloyd D. Brown as assistant division commander of the 102nd Infantry Division.[20] In August, he led a contingent of the division's officers and noncommissioned officers from its Fort Dix training site to Omaha Beach in Normandy, where this advance party began to plan for reception of the organization's main body.[20] After the division was reunited in France, Fox served during its campaigns in northern France, the Rhineland and Central Europe.[20] He continued to serve as assistant division commander until June 1945, when he was succeeded by William S. Biddle.[20]

Post-World War II

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From 1945 to 1946, Fox served as commander of the War Department Personnel Center at Fort Sam Houston, Texas, where he was responsible for the demobilization and discharge of soldiers returning from World War II.[21]

In 1946, Fox was assigned to Supreme Command Allied Powers (SCAP) in Japan as director of the Office of Economic and Industrial Affairs.[22][23][24][25] In 1947, he was assigned to the SCAP headquarters as deputy chief of staff.[26] In March 1948, Fox made headlines when he provided committee testimony to the United States House of Representatives that assessed the Soviet Union's efforts to build a communist movement in Japan as ineffective, and predicted that Japan would soon be ready to transition to a republican form of government.[27]

Korean War

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When the United Nations Command was formed during the Korean War, Fox was named one of its deputy chiefs of staff. Fox participated in the Inchon landing in September 1950 and received the Silver Star.[28]

Post Korean War

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In 1951, Fox was named the Army's member of the Joint Strategic Survey Committee, a senior advisory group of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.[29] Fox served as military advisor to the Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs from 1955 to 1957.[30] Fox retired from the Army in July 1957.[31]

Awards

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Fox's decorations included multiple awards of the Distinguished Service Medal, the Silver Star, the Legion of Merit, and three Bronze Star Medals.[32] His foreign decorations included the French Croix de Guerre with palms, Dutch Order of Orange-Nassau, and Soviet Order of the Red Banner.[33][34]

Post-military work

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Fox's gravestone at Arlington National Cemetery

From 1957 to 1959, Fox served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for National Security Council Affairs.[35] In retirement, Fox resided in McLean, Virginia.[36]

Death and burial

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He died at Sibley Memorial Hospital in Washington, D.C., on December 19, 1984.[36] He was buried at Arlington National Cemetery, Section 2, Site 4735-G RH.[37]

Personal life

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Fox was married to Elizabeth Jordan (October 7, 1900 – February 20, 1964).[1] Their children included a son, Army Colonel Eugene A. Fox, and a daughter, Patricia Fox.[1] Patricia Fox was the wife of Alexander M. Haig Jr.[1][38]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g The American Catholic Who's Who. Vol. Fourteen. Grosse Point, MI: Walter Romig. 1961. p. 156 – via Google Books.
  2. ^ Bulletin of St. Louis University. St. Louis, MO: St. Louis University. February 1918. p. 59 – via Google Books.
  3. ^ "Eighteen St. Louis U. Graduates Given Degrees In Absence". St. Louis Globe-Democrat. June 17, 1917. p. 29 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "World War I Draft Registration Cards, Entry for Alonzo Patrick Fox". Ancestry.com. Lehi, UT: Ancestry.com, LLC. 1917. Retrieved February 14, 2024.
  5. ^ a b Rochester, E. S., ed. (August 27, 1917). "Appointments at Officers' Reserve Training Camp At Fort Riley, Kansas". The Official Bulletin. Washington, DC: Committee On War Information. p. 11 – via Google Books.
  6. ^ "Many Officers of 89th Division Are Promoted". The Topeka Daily Capital. January 7, 1918. p. 8 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ a b c d e f U.S. Army Adjutant General (1922). Official Army Register. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 1014 – via Google Books.
  8. ^ "Bjornstad Named Commander of Citizens' Military Training Camp". Minneapolis Tribune. July 24, 1921. p. 2 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "Post Inspection: Fifth Corps Area General To Visit Fort". The Kentucky Post. Cincinnati, OH. June 9, 1926. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ a b "Three Officers Transferred". The Evening Star. Washington, DC. May 1, 1927. p. 15 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "Picture Taking of Soldiers In Action". The Sacramento Bee. April 1, 1929. p. 24 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "Use of Sound Films Arranged For Training Purpose in Army". Evening Courier. Camden, NJ. October 24, 1930. p. 29 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ "Polo Series Here To Open April 20". The Evening Star. April 9, 1929. p. 32 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ U.S. Army Adjutant General (1949). U.S. Army Register. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 181 – via Internet Archive.
  15. ^ "HQ Detachment Stages Outing At Kawaihapai". The Honolulu Advertiser. October 14, 1934. p. 9 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ^ "Faculty Changes". The Maine Alumnus. Bangor, ME: General Alumni Association of the University of Maine. October 1935. p. 9 – via Google Books.
  17. ^ Yearbook of the University of Maine at Orono (PDF). Orono, ME: University of Maine at Orono. 1937. p. 30. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 22, 2010. Retrieved February 14, 2024 – via Wayback Machine.
  18. ^ U.S. Army Adjutant General (1937). U.S. Army Register. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 242 – via HathiTrust.
  19. ^ a b "Staff Changes Made In X-Army Corps". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. October 8, 1942. p. 11 – via Newspapers.com.
  20. ^ a b c d Mack, Allan H., ed. (1947). With the 102d Infantry Division Through Germany (PDF). Washington, DC: Infantry Journal Press. pp. 13, 33, 277 – via Internet Archive.
  21. ^ "'Black Hawks' Reach Goal". The Austin American. Associated Press. June 22, 1945. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.
  22. ^ Sheldon, Walter J. (1968). Hell or High Water: MacArthur's Landing at Inchon. New York, NY: The Macmillan Company. p. 95 – via Google Books.
  23. ^ Weintraub, Stanley (2001). MacArthur's War: Korea and the Undoing of an American Hero. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster. p. 357. ISBN 978-0-7432-0503-0 – via Google Books.
  24. ^ Cohen, Theodore (1987). Passin, Herbert (ed.). Remaking Japan: The American Occupation as New Deal. New York, NY: Free Press. p. 134. ISBN 978-0-0290-6050-6 – via Google Books.
  25. ^ "Gen. Fox, St. Louisan, Gets Post In Tokyo". St. Louis Globe-Democrat. August 14, 1946. p. 13 – via Newspapers.com.
  26. ^ "Gen. Fox Of St. Louis Named Deputy Under Mac Arthur". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Associated Press. August 28, 1947. p. 21 – via Newspapers.com.
  27. ^ "General Says Russian Propaganda In Japan Not Making Headway". The Boston Globe. Associated Press. March 30, 1948. p. 20 – via Newspapers.com.
  28. ^ "Gen. Alonzo P. Fox, Former St. Louisan, Gets Silver Star". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Associated Press. October 14, 1950. p. 5 – via Google Books.
  29. ^ James, Michael (May 6, 1951). "Formosa Raises its Hopes for Return to Mainland". The New York Times. p. E5 – via TimesMachine.
  30. ^ "Legion is Urged to Push Air Study". The New York Times. October 8, 1955. p. 9 – via TimesMachine.
  31. ^ "To Head Sixth Army". Kansas City Times. Kansas City, MO. Associated Press. April 23, 1957. p. 8 – via Newspapers.com.
  32. ^ "Military Awards, Alonzo Patrick Fox". The hall of Valor Project. Tysons, VA: Military Times. Retrieved February 16, 2024.
  33. ^ "Promoted: Maj. Gen. Alonzo P. Fox". St. Louis Star-Times. June 28, 1949. p. 10 – via Newspapers.com.
  34. ^ Empric, Bruce E. (2024), Uncommon Allies: U.S. Army Recipients of Soviet Military Decorations in World War II, Teufelsberg Press, p. 37, ISBN 979-8-3444-6807-5
  35. ^ U.S. House Committee On Foreign Relations (1958). Hearings Before the Committee On Foreign Relations, U.S. House of Representatives. Vol. Part XIII. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. pp. 74–75 – via Google Books.
  36. ^ a b "Retired General, Alonzo P. Fox Dies at Age 89". The Washington Post. December 18, 1984.
  37. ^ National Gravesite Locator Archived 2020-10-27 at the Wayback Machine, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
  38. ^ Weiner, Tim (February 20, 2010). "Alexander M. Haig Jr. Dies at 85; Was Forceful Aide to 2 Presidents". The New York Times. Retrieved February 14, 2024.
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