DeWitt, John L., 1880-1962

John Lesesne DeWitt (1880-1962) was born at Fort Sydney, Nebraska. After two years of study at Princeton University, he enlisted with the infantry and served in the Spanish-American War. During World War I, he was deputy chief of staff for supply of I Corps in 1918 and of First Army from 1918 to 1919. He served as quartermaster general of the Army, from 1930 to 1934, at the statutory rank of major general. He reverted to brigadier general in March 1934. He achieved the rank of major general again, however, in December 1936 and lieutenant general in December 1939. From December 1939 until September 1943, he commanded the Fourth Army. At the same time, he served as commander of Western Defense Command in San Francisco, California, from March 1941 to September 1943. During World War II, he oversaw the relocation of Japanese Americans to internment camps in the Southwestern and Midwestern United States. From 1943 to 1945, he was commandant of the Army and Navy Staff College. He retired in June 1947. Congress appointed him to the rank of general in 1954, in honor of his World War II service. He died on June 20, 1962.