Background
Robert Lawrence Eichelberger was born March 9, 1886 to parents George Maley Eichelberger and Emma Ring Eichelberger in Urbana, Ohio. He graduated Urbana High School class of 1903 then enrolled in Ohio State University and joined Phi Gamma Delta fraternity. In 1904, he asked his father's friend, Congressman William R. Warnock for an appointment to West Point and was accepted.
In June 1905 he entered the
U.S. Military Academy (USMA) at West Point class of 1909. As a cadet, he was a poor student and graduated 68th in the class of 103 cadets and was commissioned in the U.S. Army as a 2nd Lieutenant with service number O-2624 and assigned to the 25th Infantry then transfered to the 10th Infantry at Fort Benjamin Harrison in Indiana.
Border War
During March
1911 sent to San Antonio, Texas as part of the maneuver division during the border war with Mexico. During September 1911 sent to the Panama Canal Zone and met Emmaline (Em) Gudger who he married on April 3, 1913. During March 1915 assigned to the 22nd Infantry at Fort Porter, NY and was again sent to the border with Mexico. On July 1, 1916 promoted to the rank of 1st Lieutenant. During September 1916, he became Professor of Military Science and Tactics at at Kemper Military School in Boonville, Missouri.
World War I
In April 1917 promoted to the rank of Captain. In June 1917 assigned to 20th Infantry at Fort Douglas, Utah. In September 1917 assigned to the 43rd Infantry at Camp Pike in Arkansas. In February 1918 assigned to the War Department General Staff in Washington, D.C. and became an assistant to Brigadier General William S. Graves. On June 3, 1918 promoted to the rank of Major. In July 1918 moved with General Graves to the 8th Division in Palo Alto, California and became his chief of staff, G-3 operations.
American Expeditionary Force Siberia (AEFS)
The 8th Division planned to deploy to France but instead was sent across the Pacific to Siberia during the Russian Civil War as the the American Expeditionary Force Siberia (AEFS). On August 15, 1918 departs San Francisco as the division's G-2 intelligence officer and overseas was appointed to a ten-nation Inter-Allied Military Council with other Allied powers. For his service in Siberia, he earned the Distinguished Service Cross (DSC).
On July 1, 1920 promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel.
On August 1, 1938 promoted to the rank of Colonel.
On July 10, 1941 promoted to the rank of Major General.
During 1940, became the Superintendent of the United States Military Academy at West Point and made reforms to modernize activities and aquired nearby Stewart Field to qualify cadets as pilots. In March 1942 became the commander of the 77th Infantry Division. In June 1941 became the commander of I Corps and sent overseas to Australia to serve under General Douglas MacArthur. On October 21, 1942 promoted to the rank of Lieutenant General.
On November 30, 1942 at the Governor General's Residence in Port Moresby on the front veranda, General Douglas MacArthur gave orders to Lt. General Robert L. Eichelberger for the Buna operation including the candid remark: "Bob…I want you to take Buna, or not come back alive." In New Guinea, he commanded the U.S. Army during the Battle of Buna and Battle of Gona.
On Septmeber 1, 1943 promoted to the rank of Brigadier General. During 1944, particiapted in the U.S. Army landings at Hollandia and Biak Island. In August 1944, assigned B-17F "Miss Em" 41-24353 as his personal transport. Nicknamed "Miss Em" by Eichelberger in honor of his wife, Emaline whose nickname was "Em" with the nose art of a rose.
On October 4, 1944 promoted to the rank of Major General and became the commander of the 8th Army for the liberation of the Philippines and participated in the landings in the southern Philippines campaign landing at Mindoro, Panay, Negros, Cebu and Bohol. Next, the 8th Army was assigned to Operation Coronet for the planned invasion of Japan and was scheduled to land in the Tokyo area on March 1, 1946.
On September 2, 1945 Eichelberger was part of the surrender ceremony with other American and Allied military leaders aboard USS Missouri (BB-63) in Tokyo Bay.
On September 10, 1945 Eichelberger landed at Atsugi Airfield commanding the 8th Army during the U.S. occupation of Japan and stated: "This is the beachhead
where I was supposed to land. General MacArthur gave me this
area. I never expected to reach it in a plane without a shot
being fired at me."
Postwar
On December 31, 1948 promoted to the rank of Lieutenant General and retired after forty years of military service in the U.S. Army. A number of articles for the Saturday Evening Post ghostwritten by Milton MacKaye detailed his service in World War II and were later expanded into a memoir, Our Jungle Road to Tokyo. In 1951 he was a Hollywood technical consultant for the films Francis Goes to West Point (1952) and The Day the Band Played (1952). Afterwards, wrote articles for Newsweek about the Far East then lectured. On July 19, 1954, U.S. Congress promoted Generals who had commanded Army level or higher to the rank of four star General. During 1960, he campaigned for Richard Nixon. He wrote papers about his service that were later published after his death as "Dear Miss Em: General Eichelberger's War in the Pacific 1942–1945".
Memorials
Eichelberger passed away on September 26, 1961 at age 75 in Asheville, North Carolina. On September 29, 1961 he was buried with full military honors at Arlington National Cemetery at Section 2, Lot 4737-C-L.
Awards
For his military service, Distinguished Service Cross (DSC) with oak leaf cluster, Army Distinguished Service Medal with two oak leaf clusters, Silver Star with one oak leaf cluster and the Legion of Merit.
Relatives
Emmaline Adelaide “Emma” Gudger Eichelberger (wife died 1972)
References
Our Jungle Road to Tokyo (1950) by Robert L. Eichelberger
Dear Miss Em: General Eichelberger's War in the Pacific 1942–1945 (1972)
Hall of Valor - Robert Lawrence Eichelberger (DFC citation, DFC OLC citation, ADSM medal, ADSM OLC citation, ADSM OLC citation, Navy DSM citation, Silver Star citation, Silver Star OLC citation, Silver Star OLC citation, Legion of Merit citation)
Arlington National Cemetery (ANC Explorer) - Robert Lawrence Eichelberger (grave photos)
FindAGrave - GEN Robert Lawrence Eichelberger (photo, grave photo)
