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<em>James Dyce Alger</em> was born on 25 March 1912 in Brockton, Massachusetts, close to the ancestral home of the Algers since their arrival from England in the 1600’s. One of his forebearers was Cyrus Alger, owner of an iron foundry in Boston which cast several of the large cannons displayed at Trophy Point. Jim was the sixth James Alger in this old New England family. His mother’s parents came from Scotland, near the town of Dyce.</p>
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Jim, an only child, spent his early years in Bridgewater, Massachusetts; graduated from Gould Academy in Bethel, Maine; and attended prep school at Swavely in Manassas, Virginia, prior to attending West Point in 1931.</p>
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As a cadet, Jim’s urbane and debonair manner, displayed most prominently in his contacts with the fairer sex, early on earned him the sobriquet of “Gentleman Jim.” He was a natural athlete who made Corps squads in basketball and track, and played a good game of tennis on the side. His Yankee industry and frugality were tempered with a keen sense of humor which allowed him to laugh even at himself. Although a cadet lieutenant when the bulk of his classmates, under a newly instituted promotion system, were first class “bucks,” Jim never distanced himself from them, nor sought to advance his fortunes at their expense.</p>
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On graduation, Jim selected Cavalry as a branch and was ordered to Fort Bliss, Texas as his first station. While there, he earned his spurs as a bright, young officer under demanding troop commanders, engaged in a range of equestrian sports, was a leader among the 8th Cavalry bachelors, and charmed the ladies of El Paso. After three years on the Mexican border, Jim was ordered to the Philippines for duty with the 26th Cavalry (Philippine Scouts). While there, he sharpened his polo playing skills, and was a member of the regimental team which included Trap Trapnell ‘27, Ham Howze ‘30, and Ralph Haines ‘35. The team achieved considerable success against higher goal opponents, but is perhaps best remembered as a quartet who later wore a total of fourteen stars.</p>
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On a polo playing trip to Manila, Jim met Consuelo Zobel de Ayala y Montojo, member of a Spanish family prominent for generations in the business, social, and cultural life of the Philippines. Consuelo was a charming young lady who had gone to school in Madrid and Paris, and was conversant in five languages. After a courtship conforming to strict Spanish standards, Jim and Consuelo were married in July 1940, only a few days before Jim’s scheduled return to the US. The wedding was a resplendent one with the Philippine President, Manuel Quezon; the US High Commissioner, Frances Sayre; and General and Mrs. MacArthur among the attendees. Jim and Consuelo had their honeymoon on the United States Army Transport Grant. After a 42-day trip across the Pacific and through the Panama Canal, they arrived in New York where Jim introduced Consuelo to his mother, visited briefly in New England, and headed for Fort Knox, Kentucky, where Jim was retreaded into a tanker and given command of a tank company in the newly constituted 1st Armored Regiment.</p>
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Jim did well as a tanker and was given command of a tank battalion after less than a year as a company commander and while still in the grade of captain. After Pearl Harbor, he received rapid promotion to major and lieutenant colonel.</p>
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Jim deployed with his battalion to Northern Ireland and entered combat at Sidi Bou Zid in Tunisia against the veteran Panzer forces of Field Marshal Rommel. Jim’s tank was hit by an 88mm shell; he was severely wounded but blown free of the burning tank. Consuelo was subsequently informed by the Red Cross that he had been picked up by the Germans and was alive.</p>
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On Jim’s return to the States in May 1945, he was decorated for his work behind enemy lines, given a catch-up course at the Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, and made a regimental commander in the Armored Training Center at Fort Knox. He returned to Europe as the US liaison officer at the British Fighting Vehicle Research, Design, and Proving Establishment at Chobham, England. In January 1948, Jim was ordered to attend the second class at the Armed Forces Staff College in Norfolk, Virginia. Afterward, he and Consuelo merely moved across Hampton Roads for duty with the Office of the Chief of Army Field Forces. General Willis D. Crittenberger plucked Jim from that job to be his senior aide on the United Nations Military Staff Committee and the Inter-American Defense Board, which he chaired. He was next selected to attend the first post-World War II course at the Army War College, his third major service college in six years. He was clearly being groomed for higher things.</p>
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Jim went from academic surroundings to the Office of the Secretary of Defense, and from there to Korea to serve successively as chief of staff of the 45th Infantry Division and the Korean Military Advisory Group through two combat campaigns. On his return to the US, Jim served a tour as chief of staff of the 4th Armored Division at Fort Hood, Texas, followed by an assignment in the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel on the Army General Staff in Washington. In 1957 Jim was sent to Germany as assistant division commander of the 3rd Armored Division and promoted, as one of the first in his class, to brigadier general. In 1959, he moved to Headquarters, Allied Land Forces Central Europe, in Fontainebleau, France, to assume the duties of Assistant Chief of Staff, G-3.</p>
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In July 1961, Jim returned to the US to receive his second star and be given command of II Corps at Camp Kilmer, New Jersey, charged with supervising the training of Reserve components. In 1963, he became assistant Deputy Chief of Staff for Military Operations, Department of the Army. He was then sent to command US Army Forces Southern Command in the Canal Zone, a most fortuitous assignment in which Jim received the Distinguished Service Medal for extraordinary achievement. He did much to restore goodwill between US and the Republic of Panama, which had been disrupted by major disturbances; he increased significantly the military posture and capabilities of US Army Forces in the Canal Zone; he reorganized and greatly expanded the Jungle Operations Center to train thousands of students for Vietnam; and he was a very effective roving ambassador in improving the US image throughout all of Latin America.</p>
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Jim returned to Washington to receive his third star and chairmanship of the Inter-American Defense Board. He re-energized that board, eliminating “siesta time” and guiding the delegates of the twenty member nations to come to grips with the complex and sensitive issues related to the security and defense of the Western Hemisphere. After three years as chairman of the board, Jim retired, receiving his second Distinguished Service Medal. Consuelo, too, received a hearty round of applause at Jim’s retirement ceremony.</p>
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Jim’s retirement from the US Army certainly did not mean total retirement for him. He plunged into a range of business, civic, and philanthropic activities, which would have exhausted most of us. He was president of ALDA Properties, a land development company in New Mexico; vice-president and treasurer of CONAL Corporation, a Delaware-based firm; member of the Board of Trustees of Gould Academy; member of the Bethel Historical Society; member of the National Councils of the Boy Scouts of America and the Philippines; and Honorary Commander and active lifetime member of the 1st Armored Division Association. Jim and Consuelo maintained residences in Manila, Honolulu, Ranchos de Taos, New Mexico, Bryant Pond, Woodstock, and Bethel, Maine, commuting among them to get the best climate in each.</p>
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Jim established a fund at Gould Academy, the income from which was used to assist young men and women in attending one of the service academies. After his death, the Waimanolo Polo Club in Hawaii named a polo cup after him, which Consuelo presents annually.</p>
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Jim was very active in class affairs and was to be one of the hosts at a ‘35 mini-reunion in Hawaii when he was stricken suddenly with a massive heart attack, having enjoyed radiant good health all his life. Others carried on, and the Class assembled in Hawaii despite the tragedy of Jim’s death, paying special tribute to him and making Consuelo an honored guest. He was buried in a widely-attended funeral with full military honors in the Punchbowl in Honolulu. Consuelo was flooded with an avalanche of letters from relatives, friends, and admirers. Among them was this tribute from General Clyde Eddleman, USMA ‘24, former Commander in Chief, US Army Europe and Vice Chief of Staff: “Through the years I admired and respected Jim Alger as an officer and a gentleman. He was not only capable, but he represented everything West Point inculcated in us during our four years as cadets: dignity, appearance, honesty, leadership, and a host of other qualities. He was a real soldier.”</p>
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We who are his classmates, heartily agree. Jim will be one of the most-missed in our Class at all future gatherings.</p>
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<em>A classmate and devoted friend</em></p>
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