Simon Bolivar Buckner, Jr.

For the former Confederate Army general and Kentucky governor, see Simon Bolivar Buckner.

Simon Bolivar Buckner, Jr.
Simon Bolivar Buckner, Jr. in Okinawa.
Born	July 18, 1886(1886-07-18)
Died	June 18, 1945(1945-06-18) (aged 58) Okinawa
Allegiance	United States of America
Service/branch	United States Army
Years of service	1908–45
Rank	General (posthumous)
Commands held	Alaska Defense Command Tenth United States Army
Battles/wars	World War II Aleutian Islands Campaign Battle of Okinawa  †
Awards	Army Distinguished Service Medal; Purple Heart

General Simon Bolivar Buckner, Jr. (July 18, 1886 – June 18, 1945) was an American lieutenant general during World War II. He served in the Pacific Theater of Operations and commanded the defenses of Alaska early in the war. After that assignment, he was promoted to command 10th Army, which conducted the amphibious assault (Operation Iceberg) on the Japanese island of Okinawa. He was killed during the closing days of the Battle of Okinawa by enemy artillery fire, making him the highest-ranking U.S. military officer to have been killed by enemy fire during World War II, and among the highest-ranking military officers to die during the war. Buckner was posthumously promoted to the rank of a full four-star general on July 19, 1954 by a Special Act of Congress (Public Law 83-508)

Early career

He was the son of Delia (Claiborne) and Confederate General Simon Bolivar Buckner, Sr. who was later Governor of Kentucky 1887–1891.

Buckner was raised in the rural hills of western Kentucky near Munfordville, and attended Virginia Military Institute. He later won an appointment to West Point (class of 1908) from President Theodore Roosevelt. He served two tours of duty in the Philippines. During World War I, he served as a temporary major, drilling discipline into budding aviators.

Inter-war period

Between the wars, Buckner returned to West Point as an instructor (1919–1923) and again as instructor and Commandant of Cadets (1932–1936). Though recognized as tough and fair, his insistence on developing cadets past conventional limits caused one parent to quip, "Buckner forgets that cadets are born, not quarried." He was also an instructor at the General Service Schools at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, and was executive officer at the Army War College in Washington, D.C.

Alaska

Prior to Pearl Harbor, Buckner was promoted to Brigadier General and assigned to fortify and protect Alaska as commander of the Army's Alaska Defense Command. Though comparatively quiet, there was some action with the attack on Dutch Harbor (3–5 June 1942), the Japanese seizure of the islands Kiska and Attu (June 1942), Battle of Attu (Operation Landcrab, May 1943), and "invasion" of Kiska (August, 1943) (see Aleutian Islands campaign). By 1943, Buckner was a Major General.

Battle of Okinawa

Lt. General Simon B. Buckner, Jr. (foreground, holding camera), photographed with Major General Lemuel C. Shepherd, Jr., USMC, on Okinawa.

The last picture of Lieutenant General Buckner (right), taken just before he was killed by a Japanese artillery shell.

In July 1944, Buckner was sent to Hawaii to organize the 10th Army, which was composed of both Army and Marine units. The original mission of the 10th Army was to prepare for the invasion of Taiwan; however, this operation was canceled, and Buckner's command was instead ordered to prepare for the Battle of Okinawa. This turned out to be the largest, slowest, and bloodiest sea-land-air battle in American military history. According to an eyewitness account, on June 18, 1945, Buckner had arrived in his command jeep which was flying its standard 3 star flag, to inspect a forward observation post. Visits from the general were not always welcome as his presence frequently drew enemy fire, which usually happened as General Buckner was departing. However, on the 18th Buckner had arrived with his standard bright three stars showing on his steel helmet and a nearby Marine outpost sent a signal to Buckner's position stating that they could clearly see the general's three stars on his helmet. Told of this Buckner replaced his own helmet with an unmarked one. However, the Imperial Japanese Army artillery (Type 96 15 cm Howitzer) position had already observed General Buckner and commenced fire upon his position and exploding shrapnel tore into his chest. Buckner was carried by stretcher to a nearby aid station where he died on the operating table. Colonel Clarence R. Wallace and PFC Harry M. Sarkisian were at his side when he died. He was succeeded in command by Marine General Roy Geiger. Total American deaths during the battle of Okinawa were 12,513.

Buckner is interred in the family plot at Frankfort Cemetery in Frankfort, Kentucky.

Legacy

Named in honor of Buckner:

• Fort Buckner, an Army sub-post of the Marine Corps' Camp Foster on Okinawa, is home to the 58th Signal Battalion and includes a small memorial to its namesake.
• Nakagusuku Bay on the East side of Okinawa was briefly nicknamed "Buckner Bay" in the 1940s.
• West Point's Camp Buckner, where yearlings (incoming sophomores) go through Cadet Field Training (CFT).
• Several places built in Alaska during Cold War-related military construction, including:
  • Buckner Gymnasium (also Fieldhouse and Physical Fitness Center) at Fort Richardson (now part of Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson) in Anchorage, Alaska, a post which the general established during World War II.
  • The Buckner Building in Whittier, Alaska, once the largest building in Alaska by square footage.
  • Buckner Drive in the Nunaka Valley subdivision of Anchorage, originally built as military housing.

Bibliography

• Sarantakes, Nicholas (Editor) (2004). Seven Stars, The Okinawa Battle Diaries of Simon Bolivar Buckner Jr. and Joseph Stilwell. Texas A & M University Press, College Station. ISBN 1-58544-294-1. 
• Sledge, Eugene B. (1990). With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19506-714-2. 
• "Buck's Battle". Time Magazine. 1945-04-16. http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,775571,00.html. Retrieved 2008-08-31. 

External links

• Papers of Simon Bolivar Buckner Jr., Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library
• Family Home Page
• His monument at Kuniyoshi, Itoman city Okinawa, where he died.
• Simon Bolivar Buckner, Jr. at Find a Grave

Military offices
Preceded by Newly activated organization	Commanding General of the Tenth United States Army 1944-1945	Succeeded by Roy Geiger