Hobart R. Gay
Hobart Raymond Gay | |
|---|---|
 General Hobart R. Gay | |
| Nickname(s) | Hap |
| Born | May 16, 1894 Rockport, Illinois, U.S. |
| Died | August 19, 1983 (aged 89) El Paso, Texas, U.S. |
| Place of burial | |
| Allegiance | United States of America |
| Service |  United States Army |
| Years of service | 1917–1955 |
| Rank |  Lieutenant General |
| Commands | U.S. Fifteenth Army U.S. 1st Armored Division Military District of Washington 1st Cavalry Division (United States) U.S. VI Corps U.S. III Corps U.S. Fifth Army Anti-aircraft and Guided Missile Center |
| Battles / wars | World War II Korean War |
| Awards | Army Distinguished Service Cross (2) Army Distinguished Service Medal (2) Silver Star (3) Legion of Merit (2) Bronze Star (2) |
| Alma mater | Knox College (BS) |
| Other work | Superintendent of the New Mexico Military Institute |
Hobart Raymond Gay (May 16, 1894 – August 19, 1983), nicknamed Hap, was a United States Army lieutenant general.
Career
He was first commissioned into the Army Reserve as a 2nd lieutenant following his graduation from Knox College in 1917. He played as a halfback on the Knox College football team and earned a Bachelor of Science degree.[1][2]
On October 26, 1917, Gay was commissioned into the Regular Army. He was promoted to 1st lieutenant on October 26, 1917, and captain in July 1920. In his early career, he was a cavalry officer. As a captain, he tutored author Robert A. Heinlein in equitation and musketry.[3] He transferred to the Quartermaster Corps June 11, 1934, and was promoted to major on August 1, 1935. He was promoted to lieutenant colonel on August 18, 1940, and colonel on December 24, 1941.
World War II
General Gay was awarded the Silver Star in December 1942 for gallantry in action on November 8, 1942, in Casablanca. He was chief of staff of the I Armored Corps, commanded by General George S. Patton, in North Africa at the time. Gay would continue to serve as Patton's chief of staff until Patton's death in December 1945.
Gay was promoted to brigadier general on June 24, 1943. In the Sicily campaign he was assigned to the U.S. Seventh Army as chief of staff. He became chief of staff, Third Army, in February 1944. In this capacity, Gay was a key member of Patton's command staff during the Third Army's drive into Germany following the Normandy invasion.
When Patton took command of the U.S. Fifteenth Army in October 1945, Gay was again his chief of staff. He and Patton went pheasant hunting on December 9, 1945. Patton and Gay were seated in the back seat of the staff car, en route to the hunting lodge. There was a traffic accident, during which Patton sustained spinal injuries which later cost him his life. General Gay was uninjured.
Post-World War II
After Patton's death, Gay assumed command of Fifteenth Army in January 1946 for a period of one month. He then became commander of the U.S. 1st Armored Division until its return to the United States later in 1946. He then assumed command of the Second Constabulary Brigade. He served in Europe until 1947, when he returned to the United States. Gay then commanded the Military District of Washington until September 1949.[citation needed]
Korean War
In September 1949, Gay took command of the 1st Cavalry Division in Osaka, Japan. He brought the 1st Cavalry to Korea, where it was in action on July 19, 1950, joining in the general South Korean-U.S. retreat before the North Korean invasion force.[4]: 197
Over three days in late July, the division's 7th Cavalry Regiment and U.S. warplanes killed a large number of South Korean refugees at No Gun Ri, an event first confirmed by The Associated Press in 1999[5] and later acknowledged in a U.S. Army investigation.[6] The South Korean government in 2005 certified the names of 163 No Gun Ri dead and missing and 55 wounded, and said many more likely were killed.[7] On July 26, the day the No Gun Ri killings began, Gay told rear-echelon reporters he was sure most refugees fleeing south were North Korean infiltrators. Two days earlier, word had been sent from his operations staff to fire on all refugees trying to cross U.S. lines. Gay later described refugees as "fair game," and the U.S. ambassador in South Korea said such a policy had been adopted theater-wide.[5][8] On August 4, 1950, after U.S. forces withdrew across the Naktong River, Gay ordered the blowing of the Waegwan bridge, killing hundreds of refugees trying to cross.[4]: 251
His 1st Cavalry Division then played a crucial, costly role in the successful last-ditch defense of the Pusan Perimeter, and joined in the breakout of U.S. and South Korean units headed north in September in conjunction with the landing of U.S. forces at Inchon. Gay's troops then led the strike across the 38th Parallel and into Pyongyang, capturing the North Korean capital on October 19–20. Two weeks later, his 8th Cavalry Regiment was hit hard by newly arriving Chinese Communist forces at Unsan, north of Pyongyang, with one battalion left trapped when Gay's rescue efforts were ordered halted by his superior, I Corps commander Major General Frank W. Milburn. The Chinese drove the 1st Cavalry Division and other U.S. forces from North Korea in December, and in early 1951 Gay, along with other top officers in Korea, was relieved of his command.[9]
Gay was appointed deputy commander of the U.S. Fourth Army in February 1951. In July 1952 he was appointed commander of U.S. VI Corps at Camp Atterbury, Indiana and in April, 1953 made commanding general of U.S. III Corps at Fort MacArthur, California. He moved to Fort Hood in Texas when the III Corps was reassigned there.
Post-Korean War
In September 1954 General Gay was made commander of U.S. Fifth Army in Chicago, Illinois. He was nominated by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in October 1954 for promotion to Lieutenant General (temporary).
Hobart R. Gay's career in the U.S. Army ended in 1955 as the Commanding General, Anti-aircraft and Guided Missile Center, Fort Bliss, Texas.
Later life and death
Following retirement, Gay became superintendent of the New Mexico Military Institute.
He died in El Paso, Texas and was interred at the Fort Bliss National Cemetery.[10]
Awards and decorations
His awards and decorations include:
- Decorations
  |
Distinguished Service Cross with bronze oak leaf cluster |
 |
Army Distinguished Service Medal with bronze oak leaf cluster |
 |
Silver Star with two bronze oak leaf clusters |
 |
Legion of Merit with bronze oak leaf cluster |
 |
Bronze Star with bronze oak leaf cluster |
 |
Air Medal with bronze oak leaf cluster |
|
Army Commendation Medal |
- Unit Award
|
Army Meritorious Unit Commendation |
- Service Medals
- Foreign Awards
|
Distinguished Service Order (United Kingdom) |
|
Legion of Honour (Chevalier) |
|
Legion of Honour (Officier) |
|
French Croix de guerre (device(s) unknown) |
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|
Order of the White Lion Class II (Czechoslovakia) |
|
Czechoslovakian War Cross |
|
Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation |
|
United Nations Korea Medal |
|
Korean War Service Medal |
Media portrayal
- In the original theatrical film Patton (1970), the character of Brigadier General Hobart Carver, played by Michael Strong, was based on Gay.In the 1986 telefilm The Last Days of Patton, General Gay was portrayed by Murray Hamilton.
References
- ^ "1965: Gen. Hobart Gay, Patton's Chief of Staff, Fought in 12 Campaigns". Tales from the Morgue. Retrieved 2020-06-01.
- ^ Greenwood, John (2008-09-26). Normandy to Victory: The War Diary of General Courtney H. Hodges and the First U.S. Army. University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 978-0-8131-2642-5.
- ^ Patterson, William Jr. (2010). Robert A. Heinlein: the authorized biography (volume 1). New York: Tom Doherty Associates. p. 46. ISBN 978-0765319623.
- ^ a b Appleman, Roy E. (1961). South to the Naktong, North to the Yalu (June–November 1950). Washington, D.C.: Office of the Chief of Military History, Department of the Army. Retrieved February 8, 2012.
- ^ a b "War's hidden chapter: Ex-GIs tell of killing Korean refugees". Associated Press. September 29, 1999.
- ^ Office of the Inspector General, Department of the Army. No Gun Ri Review. Washington, D.C. January 2001
- ^ Committee for the Review and Restoration of Honor for the No Gun Ri Victims (2009). No Gun Ri Incident Victim Review Report. Seoul: Government of the Republic of Korea. pp. 247–249. ISBN 978-89-957925-1-3.
- ^ Conway-Lanz, Sahr (2006). Collateral damage: Americans, noncombatant immunity, and atrocity after World War II. New York: Routledge. pp. 98–99. ISBN 0-415-97829-7.
- ^ Ohl, John Kennedy (1995). "Gay, Hobart R.". In Stanley Sandler (ed.). The Korean War: An Encyclopedia. New York and London: Garland Publishing. pp. 119–120. ISBN 0-8240-4445-2.
- ^ "Fort Bliss National Cemetery - Surname Gat-Gi - El Paso County, Texas". Interment.net. Retrieved 2017-03-25.
Further reading
- Who's Who in America, 1966–1967, Vol. 34. Chicago: Marquis Who's Who, p. 759.
External links
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
- 1894 births
- 1983 deaths
- United States Army generals
- United States Army personnel of World War I
- United States Army personnel of World War II
- United States Army personnel of the Korean War
- Recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross (United States)
- Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army)
- Recipients of the Silver Star
- Recipients of the Legion of Merit
- Recipients of the Croix de Guerre (France)
- Officiers of the Légion d'honneur
- Recipients of the Air Medal
- Companions of the Distinguished Service Order
- Grand Crosses of the Order of the White Lion
- Recipients of the Czechoslovak War Cross
- Knox College (Illinois) alumni
- Operation Overlord people
- Burials in Texas