Arrowsmith entered the Army in 1918 as a 2nd Lieutenant. He was promoted to 1st Lieutenant in 1919, while he was stationed at Camp Fremont, Calif. During the 1920's he was detailed to the 3rd Engineer Regiment, Schofield Barracks, Hawaii, the 2nd Cincinnati Engineer District, and the 13th Engineer Regiment, Fort Humpreys, Va. From 1930 to 1933 he was assigned to the San Francisco Engineer District, and promoted to Captain in 1933. He was detailed to the Office of the Corps of Engineers in Washington, D.C. from April 1933 to July 1938, when he was assigned to the Missouri River Division, COE. He was promoted to Major in 1940, and Lieutenant Colonel in 1942, when he was sent to Camp Blanding, Fla. as commander of the 45th Engineer General Service Regiment. In Nov. 1942 he went with these troops to India, where he supervised construction of the Ledo Road. He received a temporary promotion in July 1943 to Brigadier General, but was demoted to Colonel in Jan. 1944. In Feb. 1944 he was detailed to the XXI Corps as Corps Engineer at Camp Polk, La., later accompanying these troops into France and Germany.
From Sept. 1945 to Nov. 1947 he was assigned to the U.S. Office of Military Government for Germany. From Jan. 1948 to Oct. 1949 he was commanding officer of the Engineer Research and Development Laboratories at Fort Belvoir. In Nov. 1949 he received his last assignment as a Deputy Chief in the Army Security Agency. He retired from the military in May 1953 as a Brigadier General.
From the description of The John C. Arrowsmith papers, 1928-1981. (US Army, Mil Hist Institute). WorldCat record id: 27899774
