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In my opinion Bill Hoge’s service in war and peace has been unequalled by anyone in the Army in its diversity, the challenges it posed and the value to the Service and the country. He has known so many people and influenced so many lives, both civilian and military...I can say it, and not just as an old and dear friend, that he was the best man I have ever known, and the best soldier.</div>
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<em>—Major General Thomas D. Finley</em></div>
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<em>William Morris Hoge</em> was born 13 January 1894 in Booneville, Missouri, where his father was principal of Kemper Military School. At the age of eight the family moved to Lexington, Missouri, where his father became the co-owner of Wentworth Military Academy.</div>
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Bill graduated from Wentworth in 1911 as the top ranking cadet. Though not an army family, Bill and his two brothers all graduated from West Point: Ben in 1914, and Kenneth in 1920.</div>
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Perhaps Bill’s fondest memories of West Point were of football where he played halfback and fullback with the teams of 1913, 1914, and 1915. Through all his years he maintained an active interest in Army football.</div>
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Graduating in a class of 125, he did not consider himself eligible for the Engineers. His blue uniforms had already been ordered with the Cavalry stripe, but he selected Engineers more or less on a dare. When commissioned in the Engineers, he was full of consternation and considered transferring to the Cavalry, but a former instructor convinced him to stay with the Engineers.</div>
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His first assignment was with the 1st Engineers on the Mexican Border. He married his childhood sweetheart, Nettie Fredendall of Lexington, Missouri, on 1 May 1917. They joined the 7th Engineers at Fort Leavenworth in May, where he took command of a company. In February 1918 the regiment sailed for France.</div>
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In France he was promoted to major and took command of a battalion; serving in the St. Mihiel and Meuse-Argonne offensives. He was presented the Distinguished Service Cross by General Pershing personally. The citation reads:</div>
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“For extraordinary heroism in action near Breulles, France, November 4, 1918. After personally and voluntarily reconnoitering the site of a pontoon bridge over the Meuse in daylight and under direct shell fire. Major Hoge commanded the movement of a train of heavy wagons under enemy observation to this location. Major Hoge then supervised the construction of the bridge and the successful crossing of the train.”</div>
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From his own official report of 16 December 1918 the bridge construction was under direct enemy machine gun fire.</div>
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One of Bill’s best traits was a fierce loyalty to his subordinates. He was always sincerely convinced that with one or two exceptions his men were the finest soldiers in the entire United States Army; or any other army for that matter. He had absolute confidence in them under any circumstances and he was determined to see that their services were properly recognized.</div>
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Between the wars he graduated from Massachusetts Institute of Technology with a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering, and graduated from Command and General Staff School with placement on the General Staff eligible list. In 1935 he moved to the Philippines to command the 14th Engineer Battalion, Philippine Scouts. During the tour in the Philippines, his battalion constructed roads and bridges on Bataan, which was then mostly impassable jungle. During this time General MacArthur was activating the Philippine Army and he requested Bill to serve as Chief of Engineers of the new force.</div>
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In February of 1942 he was assigned the mission of constructing a military road across Northwest Canada to Alaska—the ALCAN Highway. Civilian engineers in the area said it couldn’t be done in one season. He did it, using in his words, “six machines of 1,000 men each.” By September 1942. 1,030 miles of road had been cut through the virgin forest over uncharted land and convoys were moving supplies to Alaska.</div>
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After a brief time with the 9th Armored Division, he was sent to England to command the Provisional Engineer Special Brigade Group which was to get assault troops ashore on Omaha Beach. His son, who saw him there wrote, “I saw him on the beach on the morning of D-1. He was surrounded by a circle of officers and noncoms. They all had problems and they all wanted decisions. By God, they were getting decisions. Someone would ask him what to do about something, he’d think for a few seconds, and then he’d tell them. That was it. No staff work, he was coordinating the whole thing in his head. It’s a good thing nothing happened to him that day, because he was sorting out the beachhead, and I don’t suppose anyone else could have done it.”</div>
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In October 1944 he returned to the 9th Armored Division and his old command, Combat Command B, (CCB). It was in this capacity that he teamed with Brigadier General Bruce Clarke in the stubborn defense of St. Vith during the Battle of the Bulge. Neither general was in command, but true soldiers that they were, they worked together, coordinating all their moves. General Matthew Ridgeway, commanding the Corps at the time wrote:</div>
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“On the outer periphery was CCB, 9th Armored Division, under General Hoge. He stood at the point of greatest pressure, the point of greatest danger. And in the event of withdrawal, his force would have to bear the savage attrition of fighting the rear guard action. I had known Bill since our cadet days at West Point. I knew what a calm, courageous, imperturbable fellow he was. I knew that nothing would ever flurry him.”</div>
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Of this same action, General Gavin said:</div>
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“The fighting at St. Vith did more to turn back the German attack than anything else that took place in the Battle of the Bulge, including Bastogne. The best panzer equipped divisions were thrown at St. Vith, and it held.”</div>
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For this action Bill Hoge was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal with the citation:</div>
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“The superior judgment and tactical leadership displayed by him throughout the operation and the discipline and combat efficiency of his command reflect the highest credit...”</div>
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After withdrawing from St. Vith, his mission accomplished, his CCB was attached to General Ridgway’s XVIII Corps. Ridgway needed an experienced general officer to assist him in commanding the Corps on a 65 mile front in such a fast moving situation. He selected Bill Hoge for this important task...</div>
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“Because here was a man in whom I had absolute implicit confidence, in his personal courage, in his professional competence and in his stability of character.”</div>
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In March 1945 lead elements of Bill’s CCB came upon a railway bridge over the Rhine at Remagen. The decision to sieze that bridge required great moral courage. His assigned mission was to sweep the west bank of the Rhine clear of Germans. The Rhine is a formidable obstacle at Remagen with sleep rocky hills rising from its banks. The bridge had been prepared for demolition and the Germans had a Flak Battalion on the mountain just downstream from the bridge. Bill Hoge did not have time to go all the way back for a change of orders. He got General Leonard’s (Commanding General, 9th Armored Division) approval and sent his infantry across. It was a dangerous gamble; failure or even success could have lost him his command. For his audacity at Remagen, Bill Hoge was awarded an Oak Leaf Cluster to the Distinguished Service Medal.</div>
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After the bridgehead was consolidated on 21 March, he was given command of the 4th Armored Division and on 2 May promoted to major general.</div>
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After World War II he commanded the Engineer Center at Fort Belvoir and later was commanding general of United States troops in Trieste. In March 1951 the commanding general IX Corps in Korea was killed. General Ridgway as Commanding General Eighth Army asked Department of the Army for one of three generals as a replacement. In his words:</div>
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“Bill Hoge was number one on the list. He was sent and his performance as Commanding General, IX Corps, was superior in every way, as I knew it would be.” After Korea, Bill Hoge commanded Fourth Army in San Antonio; Seventh Army in Germany, and retired from active duty as Commander in Chief, United States Army, Europe, in January 1955 having been retained on active duty a year beyond his normal retirement.</div>
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Following retirement, he and his wife Nettie returned to their childhood home in Lexington, Missouri. But Bill Hoge was not ready to sit back; so in February 1957 he was appointed Chairman of the Board for Interlake Iron Company in Cleveland. He remained with the company for ten years as chairman and consultant. His wife Nettie died in July 1959. Her death was a blow from which he never completely recovered.</div>
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Finally, his health failing, he moved in October 1975 to be with his son on his farm in Kansas. Death came suddenly on 29 October 1979 to claim this fine soldier and servant of his country.</div>
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Throughout his life Bill had a deep love for outdoor sports, hunting, riding, fishing. He usually had one or two dogs, even in combat, and until the last few years of his life he seldom failed to take the dog for a daily walk. He was an excellent shot and some of his happiest days were spent quail hunting. He often spoke of what fine brave little birds they are, and would stop shooting when he had enough for a meal. He loved horses and rode as often as possible. He retained horses at Fort Belvoir when he commanded that post and used them for inspections. He said he always saw a lot more when he rode a horse.</div>
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“He excelled in every field of endeavor in which he partook over a period of 50 years or more. During the many years that I knew him I cannot recall any time that he discussed his own accomplishments. Proud of them, I’m sure he was; but content to let the record speak for itself. In staff and command meetings he was brief and to the point. He was a wonderful commander to serve under—both respected and admired; a true friend and soldier, outstanding engineer, capable in business and a true patriot of our country.”</div>
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<em>—General Clyde Eddleman</em></div>
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<em>—George F. Hoge and William Hoge Jr.</em></div>