Brehon B. Somervell
Encyclopedia
Brehon Burke Somervell was a General in the United States Army
and Commanding General of the Army Service Forces
in World War II
. As such he was responsible for the U.S. Army's logistics. Following his death, the Washington Post lauded him as "one of the ablest officers the United States Army has produced."
Somervell graduated near the top of his United States Military Academy
class of 1914 and was commissioned in the United States Army
Corps of Engineers
. During World War I
he served with the Pancho Villa Expedition
in Mexico
and the American Expeditionary Force
in France
in logistical
posts. He was also decorated for gallantry in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive
.
After the war he served in various engineering assignments. From 1936 to 1940 Somervell was head of the Works Project Administration in New York City
, where he was responsible for a series of Great Depression
relief works, including the construction of LaGuardia Airport
.
As head of the Construction Division of the Quartermaster Corps in 1941, Somervell took charge of the construction of a series of camps to house the large numbers of draftees
who entering into the Army. Once again, Somervell was able to deliver vital projects on time. The most enduring of these projects was the Pentagon
, which is today one of the most recognizable buildings in the world. From 1942 to 1945, Somervell commanded the Army Service Forces, the logistical arm of the United States Army.
, the only child of William Taylor Somervell, a physician, and wife Mary née Burke, a schoolteacher. The two of them opened Belcourt Seminary, a girls' finishing school
in Washington, D.C.
, in 1909.
Somervell was appointed to the United States Military Academy
at West Point, New York
by Congressman Charles C. Reid
of Arkansas
. He entered West Point in 1910 and graduated sixth out of the 106 cadets in the class of 1914. Like other high-ranking cadets of the period, he was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant
in the Corps of Engineers
.
when World War I
broke out. Reporting to the U.S. Embassy in Paris for volunteer duty, he became an assistant to the military attaché
. He took charge of refugee funds and dispensed $1,000,000 to help American citizens to get back home.
On return to the United States, he was posted to an engineer battalion at Washington Barracks, DC
. Scoring high marks in his Garrison Officers' School examinations, he was promoted to 1st Lieutenant
on 28 February 1915. During the Punitive Expedition
into Mexico
in 1916, he was for a time depot manager at Columbus, New Mexico
, the main logistical base of the expedition. Later, he joined the expedition in Mexico, working on roads and as a supply officer.
Somervell returned to Washington Barracks to attend the Engineer School
but his course was interrupted by the declaration of war by the United States
on Germany
on 6 April 1917. The course was abruptly terminated and Somervell, along with hundreds of other junior officers, was ordered to appear before an examination board that would determine his fitness for promotion. Following a favorable report from the board, Somervell was promoted to captain on 15 May 1917. He helped organize the 15th Engineers, a rail transport
unit, at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
. In July 1917 this became the first engineer regiment to be sent overseas, arriving in England
in July 1917 and France
later that month. The 15th Engineers worked on a several construction projects, including a munitions dump at Mehun-sur-Yèvre
and an advanced depot and regulating station at Is-sur-Tille
. Somervell got his projects completed by working his men around the clock and deploying every available resource regardless of the cost. For his role, Somervell was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal. He was promoted to major
on 15 August 1917 and lieutenant colonel
on 1 October 1918. While visiting some friends at the 89th Division, he volunteered his services to its chief of staff, Colonel
John C. H. Lee
, who accepted him as a temporary replacement for his Assistant Chief of Staff, G-3,Under the continental staff system adopted by the US Army during World War I, staff functions were numbered: G-1 for personnel
; G-2 for intelligence
; G-3 for operations
; and G-4 for logistics
. The Assistant Chief of Staff, G-4 headed the G-4 section of the headquarters. The term G-4 was used to designate both that officer and the section that he headed. See Staff (military) for more details. in charge of operations, who had been captured a few days before. For leading a three-man patrol to inspect damage to a bridge some 600 yards (548.6 m) in front of American lines, Somervell was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross
. He was one of only nine officers to have been awarded both the Distinguished Service Cross and the Distinguished Service Medal in that conflict. A few days later Lee arranged for Somervell to be permanently assigned to the 89th Division.
businessman, who was there as a YMCA
volunteer. The two were married in August 1919. They had three children together, all daughters. While in Germany, Somervell also met Walker D. Hines, a prominent New York
corporate lawyer, whom he assisted with a survey of shipping and navigation on the Rhine River. Somervell reverted to the permanent rank of major on 1 July 1920.
Returning to the United States
in July 1920, Somervell was posted to the Office of the Chief of Engineers
in Washington, D.C.
His war record earned him a place at the Command and General Staff College
at Fort Leavenworth
, reserved for the Army's best and most promising officers. He once again ranked near the top of his class. After graduation he was posted to the 1st New York Engineer District but soon obtained leave to assist Hines with a special study of navigation on the Rhine and Danube
Rivers on behalf of the League of Nations
, essentially a continuation of the work that the two men had done in 1920. He then attended the Army War College
from 1925 to 1926.
From 1926 to 1930 he was District Engineer, Washington, D.C.
Engineer District. As such he became involved in a conflict between proponents of the development of hydroelectric power through damming the Great Falls of the Potomac River
and the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission
. Despite his advocacy, the falls remain undammed to this day. On 1 September 1930, Somervell was transferred to the Lower Mississippi Valley Division as Assistant Chief Engineer. The next year he became assistant to, and then the District Engineer of the Memphis District. In 1933, he teamed up with Hines again, for an economic survey of Turkey
, which culminated in a seven-volume report. Named as District Engineer for Ocala, Florida
, Somervell got behind a project to build the Cross Florida Barge Canal
. Somervell was chosen to head the project but although President
Franklin D. Roosevelt
allocated emergency funds for the canal in 1935, opponents of the canal protested that it would cause seawater to seep into the groundwater, and work was stopped a year later. In the meantime, he was promoted to lieutenant colonel
on 1 August 1935.
In 1935, Somervell was appointed as head of the Works Project Administration in New York City
. Over the next three and a half years he spent $10,000,000 a month on Great Depression
relief works. He worked with the local politicians and labor leaders. He upheld the right of workers to form unions and improved relations with left-wing groups, once declaring that "I wouldn't know a Red if I saw one, and wouldn't do anything about it if I did". The biggest project was the construction of LaGuardia Airport
. Somervell established a reputation as a man who could handle projects involving hundreds of thousands of people and hundreds of millions of dollars.
on 29 January 1941. His immediate concern was the construction of a series of camps— which were scheduled for completion by April 1941—to house the large numbers draftees
who were then entering the Army. Reasoning that time was more important than money, Somervell pushed the project through to completion. By February, he was responsible for a work force 485,000 people employed on military construction projects. The job was completed on time but over $100 million over budget. He was also responsible for constructing new facilities to hold stores and munitions, for which $700 million was allocated by December 1940. By December, 375 projects had been completed and 320 were still under way, with a total value of $1.8 billion.
The best known of these projects was the Pentagon
, an enormous office complex to house the War Department's
40,000-person staff together in one building. On the afternoon of Thursday, 17 July 1941, Somervell summoned George Bergstrom
and Major
Hugh Casey
. Bergstrom was a former president of the American Institute of Architects
; Casey a Corps of Engineers officer seconded to the Construction Division. The two had previously worked together closely on the design of cantonments. Somervell gave them until 9am on Monday morning to design the building, which he envisaged as a modern, four-story structure with no elevators on the site of the old Washington Hoover Airport
. Over that "very busy weekend", Casey, Bergstrom and their staff roughed out the design for a four-story, five-sided structure with a floor area of 5100000 square foot—twice that of the Empire State Building
. The estimated cost was $35 million. President
Roosevelt
subsequently moved the site of the building, over Somervell's objections, in order to prevent it being constructed in front of Arlington National Cemetery
. Somervell still pursued his own designs, making important changes, including the addition of a fifth story. The outbreak of war led to a new urgency, and by May 1942, some 13,000 workers were working around the clock on the building, which was completed in early 1943 at a cost of $63 million, the overrun being caused by the emphasis on speed and the addition of the extra floor. For his work with the Construction Division, Somervell was awarded an oak leaf cluster
to his Distinguished Service Medal.
Somervell hoped to become Chief of Engineers
but was "not really in the running", being too junior in rank. Instead, the job went to Brigadier General Eugene Reybold
, the Assistant Chief of Staff, G-4 on the War Department General Staff. Somervell's post was abolished on the transfer of the Construction Division to the Corps of Engineers
. Reybold, who considered Somervell "a firecracker but ruthless" who "didn't care who he hit",selected Brigadier General Thomas M. Robins to head the new Corps of Engineers Construction Division.
Somervell instead received Reybold's former assignment, with promotion to the temporary rank of major general
on 28 January 1942. The posting was unusual because Somervell had never previously served on War Department General Staff. As Assistant Chief of Staff, G-4, Somervell pressed for the adoption of a comprehensive Army Supply Program that would set targets and priorities for all Army production. Such a program could be used as the basis for requests for appropriations, for expenditures, and for allocating scare materials.
Within weeks Army Chief of Staff
, General
George Marshall, implemented sweeping changes to the War Department
designed to reduce the number of people reporting to him so as to free his time for planning and conducting a global war. Three huge new commands were created by Executive Order Number 9082 of 28 February 1942, "Reorganizing the Army and the War Department": the Army Air Forces
under Lieutenant General Henry H. Arnold
, the Army Ground Forces
under Lieutenant General Lesley J. McNair
and the Services of Supply
, under Somervell. As such, he was not only promoted to the rank of lieutenant general
over the heads of many more senior officers, but some of them, including Reybold, now found themselves his subordinates. He was answerable to two men: Marshall, and Under Secretary of War Robert P. Patterson
. Somervell built up a good working relationship with both. Senator
Harry S. Truman
of the United States Senate Committee on Military Affairs declared that "I will say this for General Somervell, he will get the stuff, but it is going to be hell on the taxpayer. He has a WPA attitude on the expenditure of money." The Services of Supply
were renamed the Army Service Forces
in March 1943, as the term "supply" was felt to be too narrow a description of the broad range of logistic activities carried out by the organization. As head of Army Service Forces, Somervell became responsible for the implementation of the Army Supply Program.
According to military historian John D. Millett
, who served on Somervell's Army Service Forces staff, Somervell was "impatient, tense, and decisive". Some saw him as an "empire-builder". Millett noted the opinion of an observer that:
A 1943 attempt by Somervell to abolish the Technical Services failed amid the furor and panic created by false rumors that he was being considered for the post of Chief of Staff if Marshall was sent to Europe to command the Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force
. Somervell sometimes pushed extravagant white elephant
projects, such as Canol
, which he continued long after the strategic imperative behind it had faded.
Somervell understood logistics and its paramount importance in modern warfare, and he spared no effort to ensure that the American fighting man had all he needed for victory. When Somervell's retirement was announced in December 1945, Secretary of War Robert P. Patterson
issued a press release that read:
His wife Anna had died in January, 1942 and he had married Mrs. Louise Hampton Wartmann, a former student at Belcourt, in March 1943. Somervell accepted an offer to become president of Koppers
, a Pittsburgh-based company that mined coal and manufactured and sold coal-based products. Applying the same managerial techniques that he had employed in the Army, he thoroughly reorganized the company, and doubled revenues and tripled profits over the next five years.
Somervell suffered a series of health problems in the 1950s. He had an appendectomy in 1953 and a hernia
operation in 1954. He suffered a severe heart attack in September 1954 and returned to his home Ocala to recuperate. In early 1955 he decided to resign as president and withdraw from day-to-day operations. He had a second, fatal heart attack at his home on 13 February 1955. He was buried in Arlington National Cemetery
, not far from his "brain child", the Pentagon. Unfortunately, his other great creation, the Army Service Forces did not survive, being abolished in May 1946. The Washington Post lauded him as "one of the ablest officers the United States Army has produced." The , a US Army Reserve logistics support vessel that can carry up to 2000 short tons (1,814.4 t) of cargo, is named in his honor.
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
and Commanding General of the Army Service Forces
Army Service Forces
The Army Service Forces were one of the three autonomous components of the Army of the United States during World War II, the others being the Army Air Forces and Army Ground Forces. They were created on February 28, 1942 by Executive Order Number 9082 "Reorganizing the Army and the War Department"...
in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. As such he was responsible for the U.S. Army's logistics. Following his death, the Washington Post lauded him as "one of the ablest officers the United States Army has produced."
Somervell graduated near the top of his United States Military Academy
United States Military Academy
The United States Military Academy at West Point is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located at West Point, New York. The academy sits on scenic high ground overlooking the Hudson River, north of New York City...
class of 1914 and was commissioned in the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
Corps of Engineers
United States Army Corps of Engineers
The United States Army Corps of Engineers is a federal agency and a major Army command made up of some 38,000 civilian and military personnel, making it the world's largest public engineering, design and construction management agency...
. During World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
he served with the Pancho Villa Expedition
Pancho Villa Expedition
The Pancho Villa Expedition—officially known in the United States as the Mexican Expedition and sometimes colloquially referred to as the Punitive Expedition—was a military operation conducted by the United States Army against the paramilitary forces of Mexican insurgent Francisco "Pancho" Villa...
in Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
and the American Expeditionary Force
American Expeditionary Force
The American Expeditionary Forces or AEF were the United States Armed Forces sent to Europe in World War I. During the United States campaigns in World War I the AEF fought in France alongside British and French allied forces in the last year of the war, against Imperial German forces...
in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
in logistical
Military logistics
Military logistics is the discipline of planning and carrying out the movement and maintenance of military forces. In its most comprehensive sense, it is those aspects or military operations that deal with:...
posts. He was also decorated for gallantry in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive
Meuse-Argonne Offensive
The Meuse-Argonne Offensive, or Maas-Argonne Offensive, also called the Battle of the Argonne Forest, was a part of the final Allied offensive of World War I that stretched along the entire western front.-Overview:...
.
After the war he served in various engineering assignments. From 1936 to 1940 Somervell was head of the Works Project Administration in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, where he was responsible for a series of Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
relief works, including the construction of LaGuardia Airport
LaGuardia Airport
LaGuardia Airport is an airport located in the northern part of Queens County on Long Island in the City of New York. The airport is located on the waterfront of Flushing Bay and Bowery Bay, and borders the neighborhoods of Astoria, Jackson Heights and East Elmhurst. The airport was originally...
.
As head of the Construction Division of the Quartermaster Corps in 1941, Somervell took charge of the construction of a series of camps to house the large numbers of draftees
Conscription in the United States
Conscription in the United States has been employed several times, usually during war but also during the nominal peace of the Cold War...
who entering into the Army. Once again, Somervell was able to deliver vital projects on time. The most enduring of these projects was the Pentagon
The Pentagon
The Pentagon is the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense, located in Arlington County, Virginia. As a symbol of the U.S. military, "the Pentagon" is often used metonymically to refer to the Department of Defense rather than the building itself.Designed by the American architect...
, which is today one of the most recognizable buildings in the world. From 1942 to 1945, Somervell commanded the Army Service Forces, the logistical arm of the United States Army.
Early life
Brehon Burke Somervell was born on 9 May 1892 in Little Rock, ArkansasLittle Rock, Arkansas
Little Rock is the capital and the largest city of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 699,757 people in the 2010 census...
, the only child of William Taylor Somervell, a physician, and wife Mary née Burke, a schoolteacher. The two of them opened Belcourt Seminary, a girls' finishing school
Finishing school
A finishing school is "a private school for girls that emphasises training in cultural and social activities." The name reflects that it follows on from ordinary school and is intended to complete the educational experience, with classes primarily on etiquette...
in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, in 1909.
Somervell was appointed to the United States Military Academy
United States Military Academy
The United States Military Academy at West Point is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located at West Point, New York. The academy sits on scenic high ground overlooking the Hudson River, north of New York City...
at West Point, New York
West Point, New York
West Point is a federal military reservation established by President of the United States Thomas Jefferson in 1802. It is a census-designated place located in Town of Highlands in Orange County, New York, United States. The population was 7,138 at the 2000 census...
by Congressman Charles C. Reid
Charles C. Reid
Charles Chester Reid was a U.S. Representative from Arkansas.Born in Clarksville, Arkansas, Reid attended the public schools and the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville 1883-1885....
of Arkansas
Arkansas
Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...
. He entered West Point in 1910 and graduated sixth out of the 106 cadets in the class of 1914. Like other high-ranking cadets of the period, he was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
in the Corps of Engineers
United States Army Corps of Engineers
The United States Army Corps of Engineers is a federal agency and a major Army command made up of some 38,000 civilian and military personnel, making it the world's largest public engineering, design and construction management agency...
.
World War I
Somervell traveled to Europe for his two months' graduation leave and was in ParisParis
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
when World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
broke out. Reporting to the U.S. Embassy in Paris for volunteer duty, he became an assistant to the military attaché
Military attaché
A military attaché is a military expert who is attached to a diplomatic mission . This post is normally filled by a high-ranking military officer who retains the commission while serving in an embassy...
. He took charge of refugee funds and dispensed $1,000,000 to help American citizens to get back home.
On return to the United States, he was posted to an engineer battalion at Washington Barracks, DC
Fort Lesley J. McNair
Fort Lesley J. McNair is a United States Army post located on the tip of a peninsula that lies at the confluence of the Potomac River and the Anacostia River in Washington, D.C. To its west is the Washington Channel, while the Anacostia River is on its south side...
. Scoring high marks in his Garrison Officers' School examinations, he was promoted to 1st Lieutenant
Lieutenant
A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
on 28 February 1915. During the Punitive Expedition
Punitive expedition
A punitive expedition is a military journey undertaken to punish a state or any group of persons outside the borders of the punishing state. It is usually undertaken in response to perceived disobedient or morally wrong behavior, but may be also be a covered revenge...
into Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
in 1916, he was for a time depot manager at Columbus, New Mexico
Columbus, New Mexico
Columbus is a village in Luna County, New Mexico, United States. The population was 1,765 at the 2000 census. The town is named after 15th century explorer Christopher Columbus.-History:...
, the main logistical base of the expedition. Later, he joined the expedition in Mexico, working on roads and as a supply officer.
Somervell returned to Washington Barracks to attend the Engineer School
Engineer Officer Basic Course
The Engineer Basic Officer Leader Course Phase B is located at the United States Army Engineer School in Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, and is approximately seventeen weeks long and the second part of the Basic Officer Leaders Course...
but his course was interrupted by the declaration of war by the United States
Declaration of war by the United States
A declaration of war is a formal declaration issued by a national government indicating that a state of war exists between that nation and another. For the United States, Article One, Section Eight of the Constitution says "Congress shall have power to ... declare War"...
on Germany
German Empire
The German Empire refers to Germany during the "Second Reich" period from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871, to 1918, when it became a federal republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of the Emperor, Wilhelm II.The German...
on 6 April 1917. The course was abruptly terminated and Somervell, along with hundreds of other junior officers, was ordered to appear before an examination board that would determine his fitness for promotion. Following a favorable report from the board, Somervell was promoted to captain on 15 May 1917. He helped organize the 15th Engineers, a rail transport
Rail transport
Rail transport is a means of conveyance of passengers and goods by way of wheeled vehicles running on rail tracks. In contrast to road transport, where vehicles merely run on a prepared surface, rail vehicles are also directionally guided by the tracks they run on...
unit, at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
. In July 1917 this became the first engineer regiment to be sent overseas, arriving in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
in July 1917 and France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
later that month. The 15th Engineers worked on a several construction projects, including a munitions dump at Mehun-sur-Yèvre
Mehun-sur-Yèvre
Mehun-sur-Yèvre is a commune in the Cher department in central France.-Population:-References:*...
and an advanced depot and regulating station at Is-sur-Tille
Is-sur-Tille
Is-sur-Tille is a commune in the Côte-d'Or department of Burgundy France.-Geography:Located about twenty kilometers north of Dijon. To the west is a heavily forested limestone plateau with an elevation of over 400 meters. To the east is a humid clay plain sloping gently to the southeast of the...
. Somervell got his projects completed by working his men around the clock and deploying every available resource regardless of the cost. For his role, Somervell was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal. He was promoted to major
Major (United States)
In the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, major is a field grade military officer rank just above the rank of captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel...
on 15 August 1917 and lieutenant colonel
Lieutenant Colonel (United States)
In the United States Army, United States Air Force, and United States Marine Corps, a lieutenant colonel is a field grade military officer rank just above the rank of major and just below the rank of colonel. It is equivalent to the naval rank of commander in the other uniformed services.The pay...
on 1 October 1918. While visiting some friends at the 89th Division, he volunteered his services to its chief of staff, Colonel
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
John C. H. Lee
John C. H. Lee
John Clifford Hodges Lee was a US Army General. He graduated 12th out of 103 graduates from the United States Military Academy in 1909.He served in World War I, World War II and rose to the rank of Lieutenant General....
, who accepted him as a temporary replacement for his Assistant Chief of Staff, G-3,Under the continental staff system adopted by the US Army during World War I, staff functions were numbered: G-1 for personnel
Human resources
Human resources is a term used to describe the individuals who make up the workforce of an organization, although it is also applied in labor economics to, for example, business sectors or even whole nations...
; G-2 for intelligence
Military intelligence
Military intelligence is a military discipline that exploits a number of information collection and analysis approaches to provide guidance and direction to commanders in support of their decisions....
; G-3 for operations
Military operation
Military operation is the coordinated military actions of a state in response to a developing situation. These actions are designed as a military plan to resolve the situation in the state's favor. Operations may be of combat or non-combat types, and are referred to by a code name for the purpose...
; and G-4 for logistics
Military logistics
Military logistics is the discipline of planning and carrying out the movement and maintenance of military forces. In its most comprehensive sense, it is those aspects or military operations that deal with:...
. The Assistant Chief of Staff, G-4 headed the G-4 section of the headquarters. The term G-4 was used to designate both that officer and the section that he headed. See Staff (military) for more details. in charge of operations, who had been captured a few days before. For leading a three-man patrol to inspect damage to a bridge some 600 yards (548.6 m) in front of American lines, Somervell was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross
Distinguished Service Cross (United States)
The Distinguished Service Cross is the second highest military decoration that can be awarded to a member of the United States Army, for extreme gallantry and risk of life in actual combat with an armed enemy force. Actions that merit the Distinguished Service Cross must be of such a high degree...
. He was one of only nine officers to have been awarded both the Distinguished Service Cross and the Distinguished Service Medal in that conflict. A few days later Lee arranged for Somervell to be permanently assigned to the 89th Division.
Between the wars
The 89th Division returned to the United States in May 1919 but Somervell remained behind as Assistant Chief of Staff, G-4, in charge of supply, of the U.S. Third Army, and the American Forces in Germany, as it was re-designated on 2 July 1919. There, he met Anna Purnell, the daughter of a ChicagoChicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
businessman, who was there as a YMCA
YMCA
The Young Men's Christian Association is a worldwide organization of more than 45 million members from 125 national federations affiliated through the World Alliance of YMCAs...
volunteer. The two were married in August 1919. They had three children together, all daughters. While in Germany, Somervell also met Walker D. Hines, a prominent New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
corporate lawyer, whom he assisted with a survey of shipping and navigation on the Rhine River. Somervell reverted to the permanent rank of major on 1 July 1920.
Returning to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in July 1920, Somervell was posted to the Office of the Chief of Engineers
Chief of Engineers
The Chief of Engineers commands the US Army Corps of Engineers. As a staff officer at The Pentagon, the Chief advises the Army on engineering matters and serves as the Army's topographer and the proponent for real estate and other related engineering programs....
in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
His war record earned him a place at the Command and General Staff College
Command and General Staff College
The United States Army Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas is a graduate school for United States Army and sister service officers, interagency representatives, and international military officers. The college was established in 1881 by William Tecumseh Sherman as a...
at Fort Leavenworth
Fort Leavenworth
Fort Leavenworth is a United States Army facility located in Leavenworth County, Kansas, immediately north of the city of Leavenworth in the upper northeast portion of the state. It is the oldest active United States Army post west of Washington, D.C. and has been in operation for over 180 years...
, reserved for the Army's best and most promising officers. He once again ranked near the top of his class. After graduation he was posted to the 1st New York Engineer District but soon obtained leave to assist Hines with a special study of navigation on the Rhine and Danube
Danube
The Danube is a river in the Central Europe and the Europe's second longest river after the Volga. It is classified as an international waterway....
Rivers on behalf of the League of Nations
League of Nations
The League of Nations was an intergovernmental organization founded as a result of the Paris Peace Conference that ended the First World War. It was the first permanent international organization whose principal mission was to maintain world peace...
, essentially a continuation of the work that the two men had done in 1920. He then attended the Army War College
U.S. Army War College
The United States Army War College is a United States Army school located in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, on the 500 acre campus of the historic Carlisle Barracks...
from 1925 to 1926.
From 1926 to 1930 he was District Engineer, Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
Engineer District. As such he became involved in a conflict between proponents of the development of hydroelectric power through damming the Great Falls of the Potomac River
Great Falls of the Potomac River
The Great Falls of the Potomac River are located at the fall line of the Potomac River, upstream from Washington, D.C. Great Falls Park, operated by the National Park Service, is located on the southern banks in Virginia, while Chesapeake and Ohio Canal parkland is located along the northern banks...
and the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission
Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission
The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission is a bi-county agency that administers parks and planning in Montgomery and Prince George's Counties in Maryland.-History:...
. Despite his advocacy, the falls remain undammed to this day. On 1 September 1930, Somervell was transferred to the Lower Mississippi Valley Division as Assistant Chief Engineer. The next year he became assistant to, and then the District Engineer of the Memphis District. In 1933, he teamed up with Hines again, for an economic survey of Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
, which culminated in a seven-volume report. Named as District Engineer for Ocala, Florida
Ocala, Florida
Ocala is a city in Marion County, Florida. As of 2007, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau was 53,491. It is the county seat of Marion County, and the principal city of the Ocala, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area, which had an estimated 2007 population of 324,857.-History:Ocala...
, Somervell got behind a project to build the Cross Florida Barge Canal
Cross Florida Barge Canal
The Cross Florida Barge Canal was a canal project to connect the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean across Florida for barge traffic. Two sections were built but the project was cancelled, mainly for environmental reasons. It is now a protected green belt corridor, one mile wide...
. Somervell was chosen to head the project but although President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...
allocated emergency funds for the canal in 1935, opponents of the canal protested that it would cause seawater to seep into the groundwater, and work was stopped a year later. In the meantime, he was promoted to lieutenant colonel
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
on 1 August 1935.
In 1935, Somervell was appointed as head of the Works Project Administration in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. Over the next three and a half years he spent $10,000,000 a month on Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
relief works. He worked with the local politicians and labor leaders. He upheld the right of workers to form unions and improved relations with left-wing groups, once declaring that "I wouldn't know a Red if I saw one, and wouldn't do anything about it if I did". The biggest project was the construction of LaGuardia Airport
LaGuardia Airport
LaGuardia Airport is an airport located in the northern part of Queens County on Long Island in the City of New York. The airport is located on the waterfront of Flushing Bay and Bowery Bay, and borders the neighborhoods of Astoria, Jackson Heights and East Elmhurst. The airport was originally...
. Somervell established a reputation as a man who could handle projects involving hundreds of thousands of people and hundreds of millions of dollars.
Construction Division
In December 1940, Somervell became head of the Construction Division of the Quartermaster Corps, and was promoted to the temporary rank of brigadier generalBrigadier general (United States)
A brigadier general in the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, is a one-star general officer, with the pay grade of O-7. Brigadier general ranks above a colonel and below major general. Brigadier general is equivalent to the rank of rear admiral in the other uniformed...
on 29 January 1941. His immediate concern was the construction of a series of camps— which were scheduled for completion by April 1941—to house the large numbers draftees
Conscription in the United States
Conscription in the United States has been employed several times, usually during war but also during the nominal peace of the Cold War...
who were then entering the Army. Reasoning that time was more important than money, Somervell pushed the project through to completion. By February, he was responsible for a work force 485,000 people employed on military construction projects. The job was completed on time but over $100 million over budget. He was also responsible for constructing new facilities to hold stores and munitions, for which $700 million was allocated by December 1940. By December, 375 projects had been completed and 320 were still under way, with a total value of $1.8 billion.
The Pentagon
The Pentagon is the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense, located in Arlington County, Virginia. As a symbol of the U.S. military, "the Pentagon" is often used metonymically to refer to the Department of Defense rather than the building itself.Designed by the American architect...
, an enormous office complex to house the War Department's
United States Department of War
The United States Department of War, also called the War Department , was the United States Cabinet department originally responsible for the operation and maintenance of the United States Army...
40,000-person staff together in one building. On the afternoon of Thursday, 17 July 1941, Somervell summoned George Bergstrom
George Bergstrom
George Edwin Bergstrom was an American architect most noted for his design work on the Pentagon in Arlington County, Virginia.-Background:...
and Major
Major (United States)
In the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, major is a field grade military officer rank just above the rank of captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel...
Hugh Casey
Hugh John Casey
Hugh John Casey was a Major General in the United States Army. A 1918 graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, Casey served in Germany during the Occupation of the Rhineland...
. Bergstrom was a former president of the American Institute of Architects
American Institute of Architects
The American Institute of Architects is a professional organization for architects in the United States. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach to support the architecture profession and improve its public image...
; Casey a Corps of Engineers officer seconded to the Construction Division. The two had previously worked together closely on the design of cantonments. Somervell gave them until 9am on Monday morning to design the building, which he envisaged as a modern, four-story structure with no elevators on the site of the old Washington Hoover Airport
Hoover Field
Hoover Field was the first airport to serve the city of Washington, D.C. It was constructed as a private airfield in 1925, but opened to public commercial use on July 16, 1926...
. Over that "very busy weekend", Casey, Bergstrom and their staff roughed out the design for a four-story, five-sided structure with a floor area of 5100000 square foot—twice that of the Empire State Building
Empire State Building
The Empire State Building is a 102-story landmark skyscraper and American cultural icon in New York City at the intersection of Fifth Avenue and West 34th Street. It has a roof height of 1,250 feet , and with its antenna spire included, it stands a total of 1,454 ft high. Its name is derived...
. The estimated cost was $35 million. President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
Roosevelt
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...
subsequently moved the site of the building, over Somervell's objections, in order to prevent it being constructed in front of Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington County, Virginia, is a military cemetery in the United States of America, established during the American Civil War on the grounds of Arlington House, formerly the estate of the family of Confederate general Robert E. Lee's wife Mary Anna Lee, a great...
. Somervell still pursued his own designs, making important changes, including the addition of a fifth story. The outbreak of war led to a new urgency, and by May 1942, some 13,000 workers were working around the clock on the building, which was completed in early 1943 at a cost of $63 million, the overrun being caused by the emphasis on speed and the addition of the extra floor. For his work with the Construction Division, Somervell was awarded an oak leaf cluster
Oak leaf cluster
An oak leaf cluster is a common device which is placed on U.S. Army and Air Force awards and decorations to denote those who have received more than one bestowal of a particular decoration. The number of oak leaf clusters typically indicates the number of subsequent awards of the decoration...
to his Distinguished Service Medal.
Somervell hoped to become Chief of Engineers
Chief of Engineers
The Chief of Engineers commands the US Army Corps of Engineers. As a staff officer at The Pentagon, the Chief advises the Army on engineering matters and serves as the Army's topographer and the proponent for real estate and other related engineering programs....
but was "not really in the running", being too junior in rank. Instead, the job went to Brigadier General Eugene Reybold
Eugene Reybold
Eugene Reybold was distinguished as the World War II Chief of Engineers who directed the largest United States Army Corps of Engineers in the nation's history....
, the Assistant Chief of Staff, G-4 on the War Department General Staff. Somervell's post was abolished on the transfer of the Construction Division to the Corps of Engineers
United States Army Corps of Engineers
The United States Army Corps of Engineers is a federal agency and a major Army command made up of some 38,000 civilian and military personnel, making it the world's largest public engineering, design and construction management agency...
. Reybold, who considered Somervell "a firecracker but ruthless" who "didn't care who he hit",selected Brigadier General Thomas M. Robins to head the new Corps of Engineers Construction Division.
Somervell instead received Reybold's former assignment, with promotion to the temporary rank of major general
Major general (United States)
In the United States Army, United States Marine Corps, and United States Air Force, major general is a two-star general-officer rank, with the pay grade of O-8. Major general ranks above brigadier general and below lieutenant general...
on 28 January 1942. The posting was unusual because Somervell had never previously served on War Department General Staff. As Assistant Chief of Staff, G-4, Somervell pressed for the adoption of a comprehensive Army Supply Program that would set targets and priorities for all Army production. Such a program could be used as the basis for requests for appropriations, for expenditures, and for allocating scare materials.
Army Service Forces
Chief of Staff of the United States Army
The Chief of Staff of the Army is a statutory office held by a four-star general in the United States Army, and is the most senior uniformed officer assigned to serve in the Department of the Army, and as such is the principal military advisor and a deputy to the Secretary of the Army; and is in...
, General
General (United States)
In the United States Army, United States Air Force, and United States Marine Corps, general is a four-star general officer rank, with the pay grade of O-10. General ranks above lieutenant general and below General of the Army or General of the Air Force; the Marine Corps does not have an...
George Marshall, implemented sweeping changes to the War Department
United States Department of War
The United States Department of War, also called the War Department , was the United States Cabinet department originally responsible for the operation and maintenance of the United States Army...
designed to reduce the number of people reporting to him so as to free his time for planning and conducting a global war. Three huge new commands were created by Executive Order Number 9082 of 28 February 1942, "Reorganizing the Army and the War Department": the Army Air Forces
United States Army Air Forces
The United States Army Air Forces was the military aviation arm of the United States of America during and immediately after World War II, and the direct predecessor of the United States Air Force....
under Lieutenant General Henry H. Arnold
Henry H. Arnold
Henry Harley "Hap" Arnold was an American general officer holding the grades of General of the Army and later General of the Air Force. Arnold was an aviation pioneer, Chief of the Air Corps , Commanding General of the U.S...
, the Army Ground Forces
Army Ground Forces
The Army Ground Forces were one of the three autonomous components of the Army of the United States during World War II, the others being the Army Air Forces and Army Service Forces. Throughout their existence, Army Ground Forces were the largest training organization ever established in the United...
under Lieutenant General Lesley J. McNair
Lesley J. McNair
General Lesley James McNair was an American Army officer who served during World War I and World War II. He was killed by friendly fire when a USAAF Eighth Air Force bomb landed in his foxhole near Saint-Lô during Operation Cobra as part of the Battle of Normandy.McNair, Frank Maxwell Andrews and...
and the Services of Supply
Services of Supply
The Services Of Supply or "SOS" branch of the Army of the USA was created on 28 February 1942 by Executive Order Number 9082 "Reorganizing the Army and the War Department" and War Department Circular No. 59, dated 2 March 1942. Services of Supply became one of the three autonomous components of the...
, under Somervell. As such, he was not only promoted to the rank of lieutenant general
Lieutenant General (United States)
In the United States Army, the United States Air Force and the United States Marine Corps, lieutenant general is a three-star general officer rank, with the pay grade of O-9. Lieutenant general ranks above major general and below general...
over the heads of many more senior officers, but some of them, including Reybold, now found themselves his subordinates. He was answerable to two men: Marshall, and Under Secretary of War Robert P. Patterson
Robert P. Patterson
Robert Porter Patterson was the United States Under Secretary of War under President Franklin Roosevelt and the United States Secretary of War under President Harry S. Truman from September 27, 1945 to July 18, 1947....
. Somervell built up a good working relationship with both. Senator
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
Harry S. Truman
Harry S. Truman
Harry S. Truman was the 33rd President of the United States . As President Franklin D. Roosevelt's third vice president and the 34th Vice President of the United States , he succeeded to the presidency on April 12, 1945, when President Roosevelt died less than three months after beginning his...
of the United States Senate Committee on Military Affairs declared that "I will say this for General Somervell, he will get the stuff, but it is going to be hell on the taxpayer. He has a WPA attitude on the expenditure of money." The Services of Supply
Services of Supply
The Services Of Supply or "SOS" branch of the Army of the USA was created on 28 February 1942 by Executive Order Number 9082 "Reorganizing the Army and the War Department" and War Department Circular No. 59, dated 2 March 1942. Services of Supply became one of the three autonomous components of the...
were renamed the Army Service Forces
Army Service Forces
The Army Service Forces were one of the three autonomous components of the Army of the United States during World War II, the others being the Army Air Forces and Army Ground Forces. They were created on February 28, 1942 by Executive Order Number 9082 "Reorganizing the Army and the War Department"...
in March 1943, as the term "supply" was felt to be too narrow a description of the broad range of logistic activities carried out by the organization. As head of Army Service Forces, Somervell became responsible for the implementation of the Army Supply Program.
According to military historian John D. Millett
John D. Millett
John David Millett was the 16th president of Miami University in Oxford, Ohio and first chancellor of the Ohio Board of Regents. During his career he served as the Senior Vice President of the in Washington, DC...
, who served on Somervell's Army Service Forces staff, Somervell was "impatient, tense, and decisive". Some saw him as an "empire-builder". Millett noted the opinion of an observer that:
A 1943 attempt by Somervell to abolish the Technical Services failed amid the furor and panic created by false rumors that he was being considered for the post of Chief of Staff if Marshall was sent to Europe to command the Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force
Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force
Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force , was the headquarters of the Commander of Allied forces in north west Europe, from late 1943 until the end of World War II. U.S. General Dwight D. Eisenhower was in command of SHAEF throughout its existence...
. Somervell sometimes pushed extravagant white elephant
White elephant
A white elephant is an idiom for a valuable but burdensome possession of which its owner cannot dispose and whose cost is out of proportion to its usefulness or worth...
projects, such as Canol
Canol Road
The Canol Road was part of a project to build a pipeline and a road from Norman Wells, Northwest Territories to Whitehorse, Yukon during World War II. The pipeline no longer exists, but the long Yukon portion of the road is maintained by the Yukon Government during summer months...
, which he continued long after the strategic imperative behind it had faded.
Somervell understood logistics and its paramount importance in modern warfare, and he spared no effort to ensure that the American fighting man had all he needed for victory. When Somervell's retirement was announced in December 1945, Secretary of War Robert P. Patterson
Robert P. Patterson
Robert Porter Patterson was the United States Under Secretary of War under President Franklin Roosevelt and the United States Secretary of War under President Harry S. Truman from September 27, 1945 to July 18, 1947....
issued a press release that read:
Later life and legacy
Somervell retired from the Army on 30 April 1946 and moved to Ocala, Florida.His wife Anna had died in January, 1942 and he had married Mrs. Louise Hampton Wartmann, a former student at Belcourt, in March 1943. Somervell accepted an offer to become president of Koppers
Koppers
Koppers is a global chemical and materials company based in Downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States in an art-deco 1920s skyscraper, the Koppers Tower.-Structure:...
, a Pittsburgh-based company that mined coal and manufactured and sold coal-based products. Applying the same managerial techniques that he had employed in the Army, he thoroughly reorganized the company, and doubled revenues and tripled profits over the next five years.
Somervell suffered a series of health problems in the 1950s. He had an appendectomy in 1953 and a hernia
Hernia
A hernia is the protrusion of an organ or the fascia of an organ through the wall of the cavity that normally contains it. A hiatal hernia occurs when the stomach protrudes into the mediastinum through the esophageal opening in the diaphragm....
operation in 1954. He suffered a severe heart attack in September 1954 and returned to his home Ocala to recuperate. In early 1955 he decided to resign as president and withdraw from day-to-day operations. He had a second, fatal heart attack at his home on 13 February 1955. He was buried in Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington County, Virginia, is a military cemetery in the United States of America, established during the American Civil War on the grounds of Arlington House, formerly the estate of the family of Confederate general Robert E. Lee's wife Mary Anna Lee, a great...
, not far from his "brain child", the Pentagon. Unfortunately, his other great creation, the Army Service Forces did not survive, being abolished in May 1946. The Washington Post lauded him as "one of the ablest officers the United States Army has produced." The , a US Army Reserve logistics support vessel that can carry up to 2000 short tons (1,814.4 t) of cargo, is named in his honor.