22 Facts About Vernon Prichard

Major General Vernon Edwin "Prich" Prichard was an American football quarterback and United States Army officer.

Vernon Prichard played college football with Army and was selected as a first-team All-American in 1914.

Vernon Prichard became a career officer in the US Army and rose to the rank of major general.

Vernon Prichard was lifelong friends with West Point classmate Dwight D "Ike" Eisenhower.

Vernon Prichard served overseas during both World War I and World War II, and during the latter he commanded the 14th Armored Division in the United States from 1942 to 1944 and the 1st Armored Division from 1944 to 1945 during the Italian campaign.

The younger Vernon Prichard began his education at Morningside College in Sioux City, Iowa, where he played football and established a reputation as a passer.

In November 1910, while he was a student at Morningside, Vernon Prichard received word that he had been appointed to the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York.

Vernon Prichard enrolled at West Point on June 11,1911.

Vernon Prichard gained his greatest fame in football as the quarterback for the Army Black Knights football team from 1912 to 1914.

Vernon Prichard first gained national attention after an October 1913 game against Colgate University.

Cadet Vernon Prichard has played quarterback on the team for two seasons and got in every game except one on the army's schedule this season.

Vernon Prichard is a color sergeant in the cadet battalion and popular with his teammates and fellow cadets.

At West Point, Vernon Prichard was known to his fellow cadets by the nicknames "Prich" and "Nigger".

Vernon Prichard served at Eagle Pass, Texas, from September 1915 to April 1916 and participated in the Pancho Villa Expedition into Mexico from April to August 1916.

Vernon Prichard returned to West Point for temporary duty during the fall of 1916 but returned to Mexico from December through February 1917.

In May 1917, a month following the American entry into World War I, Vernon Prichard was promoted to the rank of captain of the Infantry Branch.

Vernon Prichard sailed for the Western Front via England on January 8,1918.

Vernon Prichard entered Germany with the Army of Occupation via Belgium and Luxembourg and served in Germany and France through June 1919.

Vernon Prichard identified Prichard as one of the officers with football background who had "measured up" during the war.

Vernon Prichard was killed in a yacht explosion in July 1949.

Vernon Prichard was part of a group that had boarded the yacht Halcyon for a picnic cruise on the Potomac River in Washington, DC The craft was within yards of the dock at the Corinthian Yacht Club when an explosion destroyed the vessel.

Vernon Prichard's funeral was held at the chapel of Fort Myer, adjacent to Arlington National Cemetery.