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Robert Lawrence Eichelberger (9 March 1886 – 26 September 1961) was a general officer in the United States Army, who commanded the Eighth United States Army in the Southwest Pacific Area during World War II. A 1909 graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, he saw service in Panama and on the Mexican border before joining the American Expeditionary Force Siberia in 1918. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for repeated acts of bravery in Siberia. After the war, he transferred to the Adjutant General's Corps. He attended the Command and General Staff College and the Army War College, and was Secretary of the War Department General Staff, working for the Chief of Staff of the United States Army, General Douglas MacArthur. In 1940, Eichelberger became the Superintendent of the United States Military Academy at West Point. He instituted a number of reforms, cutting back activities such as horseback riding and close order drill, and substituting modern combat training, in which cadets participated in military exercises alongside National Guard units. He acquired Stewart Field as a training facility, which gave cadets a chance to qualify as pilots while still at West Point. He became commander of the 77th Infantry Division in March 1942, and I Corps in June. In August 1942, Eichelberger was abruptly sent to the Southwest Pacific Area, where he led American and Australian troops in the bloody Battle of Buna–Gona. In 1944, he had notable victories at Hollandia and the Battle of Biak. As Commanding General of the newly formed Eighth Army, Eichelberger led the invasion of the Southern Philippines clearing the islands of Mindoro, Marinduque, Panay, Negros, Cebu and Bohol. By July 1945, his forces had defeated the Japanese on Mindanao. In August 1945, Eichelberger's Eighth Army began a three-year stint as part of the Occupation of Japan. He retired from the Army at the end of 1948. ==Early life== Robert Lawrence Eichelberger was born at Urbana, Ohio on 9 March 1886, the youngest of five children of George Maley Eichelberger, a farmer and lawyer, and Emma Ring Eichelberger. He grew up on the family farm that had been established by his grandfather. He graduated from Urbana High School in 1903, and entered Ohio State University, where he joined Phi Gamma Delta fraternity. In 1904, Eichelberger persuaded his father's former law partner, William R. Warnock, now the congressman for Ohio's 8th congressional district, to appoint him to the United States Military Academy at West Point. He entered West Point in June 1905. His class of 1909 was a distinguished one. Some 28 of them ultimately wore the stars of general officers, including Jacob L. Devers, John C. H. Lee, Edwin F. Harding, George S. Patton and William H. Simpson. Eichelberger was a poor student, as he had been at high school and Ohio State, but did become a cadet lieutenant, and graduated 68th in his class of 103. Eichelberger was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the 25th Infantry on 11 June 1909, but was transferred to the 10th Infantry at Fort Benjamin Harrison, Indiana, on 22 July. In March 1911, the 10th Infantry was despatched to San Antonio, Texas, where it became part of the Maneuver Division, which was formed to undertake offensive operations during the Border War with Mexico. Then, in September, it was sent to the Panama Canal Zone. It was in Panama that Eichelberger met Emmaline (Em) Gudger, the daughter of Hezekiah A. Gudger, the Chief Justice of the Panama Canal Zone Supreme Court. After a brief courtship, they were married on 3 April 1913. On returning to the United States in March 1915, Eichelberger was posted to the 22nd Infantry at Fort Porter, New York. It too was sent to the Mexican border, and was based at Douglas, Arizona, where Eichelberger was promoted to first lieutenant on 1 July 1916. In September, he became Professor of Military Science and Tactics at Kemper Military School in Boonville, Missouri. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Robert L. Eichelberger」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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