1. George Grunert was a United States Army cavalry officer who worked his way up through the ranks from private to retirement as a lieutenant general.
15 Facts About George Grunert
1. 2.
George Grunert was born in White Haven, Pennsylvania, on July 21,1881, a son of David Grunert and Henrietta Grunert.
3.
In 1919, Grunert attended the Army War College then at Washington Barracks, now Fort Lesley J McNair, in Washington, DC He served with the 1st Infantry Division at Camp Dix, then to Washington, DC, to serve in the office of the Army Chief of Staff.
4.
George Grunert returned to the field as a lieutenant colonel of the 10th Cavalry Regiment at Fort Huachuca in Arizona in 1925.
5.
In 1936, George Grunert was posted to the Philippines as commanding officer of the 26th Cavalry Regiment.
6.
George Grunert received his promotion to brigadier general in December 1936 in preparation for his command of the 23rd Brigade, a brigade of the Philippine Division composed of Philippine Scouts.
7.
George Grunert was promoted to major general in 1939 and, in October, returned to the Philippines to command the Philippine Division.
8.
From May 1940 to November 1941 George Grunert commanded the Philippine Department, directing the United States Army supervision and control over the Philippine defense force until Douglas MacArthur came out of retirement to assume command in July 1941.
9.
MacArthur abolished the Philippine Department as a redundant command echelon in November 1941 and George Grunert returned to the United States.
10.
George Grunert held interim command over the First Army until January 1944 while Lieutenant General Omar Bradley completed assembling and staffing its new headquarters in England for the Normandy landings.
11.
George Grunert continued command of Eastern Defense Command, which assumed the duties of Central Defense Command, and Second Service Command for the New York area until his retirement in July 1945.
12.
In June 1944, George Grunert was appointed by Secretary of War Henry Stimson as the presiding officer of a secret panel that investigated the army response to events prior to the attack on Pearl Harbor.
13.
George Grunert died at Brooke Army Hospital in San Antonio, Texas, on January 12,1971, at age 89 and was buried at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery.
14.
George Grunert was survived by his wife Florence Reynolds, daughter Mary and son-in-law, then First United States Army commander, Lieutenant General Jonathan O Seaman at Fort Meade, Maryland.
15.
George Grunert was a veteran of World War II and Korea and preceded his father in death.