Gilbert R. Cook - Major General, United States Army

Gilbert R. Cook graduated from West Point in 1912, and his military career lasted about thirty six years.

During World War II he served as commander of the 21st Infantry Regiment (1941-42), assistant division commander of the 25th Infantry Division (1942), commander of the 104th Infantry Division (1942-43), and finally as commander of XII Corps and Deputy Commander of 3rd Army (1943-44). His role as a field commander was cut short in August 1944 when he was hospitalized for illness and later returned to the states for recuperation and less strenuous duty.

Documentation relating to World War II includes a sizeable quantity of personal correspondence, Cook’s 201 File, a diary, notebooks with speech, conference, and training notes, clippings, reports of operations of the XII Corps headquarters, and a report by the Pearl Harbor Review Board. Cook’s files contain correspondence with numerous military officers, including generals Patton, McNair, and Middleton, with comments on military tactics, training, and equipment. The Cook-Patton correspondence is particularly interesting, Patton comments on the Battle of the Bulge, the possible use of his tactics in the Pacific Theater, and the organization of armored and infantry divisions.

The early part of Cook’s military career is not well documented. The main source here is his 201 File which starts in 1917. Besides this file, there are a few clippings and a little correspondence from this era, plus some instructional materials which he evidently used while teaching at the Infantry School at Fort Benning, Georgia (1926-1930).

After Cook returned to the states in the fall of 1944 he was involved in a number of boards, groups, and studies which occurred in the mid and late 1940’s. He was a member of the Army’s Equipment Review Board in 1945. He was a member of the Chief of Staff’s Advisory Group (1946-1948), the Army Ground Force Postwar Planning Group, and the Haislip Review Board which studied such subjects as military organization, mobilization, universal military training,
and training. Reports, notes, memoranda, and correspondence dealing with the above activities are found in Cook’s files.

His 201 File, personal correspondence, and various printed materials help document the changes the postwar Army was undergoing and the different issues that were being discussed. Cook was called out of retirement to critique major war games in 1948 and 1955, and materials on these efforts are included in this collection.

There are a number of printed or published reports or studies in this collection on a variety of military topics. Items of interest include Eisenhower’s final report as Chief of Staff (February 7, 1948), reports on the Strategic Bombing Survey, and historical studies relating to the German invasion of Russia in World War II.

BIOGRAPHICAL DATA:

December 30, 1889 Born in Texarkana, Arkansas
June 12, 1912 Graduated from the United Stated Military Academy; Commissioned a Second Lieutenant of Infantry
1912-1915 18th Infantry Regiment, Fort Bliss, Texas
September 2, 1914 Married Doris Adair Frederick
1915-1916 27th Infantry Panama Canal Zone
July 1, 1916 Promoted to First Lieutenant
1916-1917 Fort Benjamin Harrison, Indiana, duty in mustering National Guard troops for border patrol duty
May 15, 1917 Promoted to Captain
1917-1918 Recruiting duty at Jafferson Barracks, Missouri
1918-1919 Served as Captain, Major (temp.), and Lieutenant Colonel (temp.) with 58th Infantry Regiment in France.
1919-1921 Instructor at the Infantry School, Fort Benning, Georgia
July 1, 1920 Promoted to Major (permanent rank)
1921-1923 8th Infantry Regiment, Coblenz, Germany
1923-1924 8th Infantry Brigade, Fort McPherson Georgia
1924-1925 Attended Command and General Staff School, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas
1925-1926 Served as Professor of Military Science and Tactics, Georgia School of Technology
1926-1930 Instructor at Infantry School, Fort Benning, Georgia
1930-1931 Attended Tank School, Fort George G. Meade, Maryland
1931-1932 Attended Army War College, Washington, D. C.
1932 Assigned to 12th Infantry at Fort Washington, Maryland
1932-1936 Served in Operations and Training division, g-3, War Department General Staff, Washington, D.C.
August 1, 1935 Promoted to Lieutenant Colonel
1936 Wife died
1936-1938 Commanding officer, Fort Washington, Maryland
1938-1941 Chief of Attack Section and later Chief of Command Section and General Staff School, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas
1941-1942 Commanding officer, 21st Infantry Regiment, Scholfield Barracks, Hawaii
April 1, 1942 Promoted to Lieutenant Colonel
1942 Assistant Division Commander of 25th Infantry Division, Hawaii
August 10, 1942 Promoted to Major General (temporary)
1942-1943 Commanding General, 104th Infantry Division, Camp Adair, Oregon
1943-1944 Commanding Ggeneral, XII Corps, Fort Jackson, South Carolina, Camp Forrest, Tennessee, England and France; also served as Deputy Commander for 3rd Army
August 1944 Hospitalized due to illness and returned to the United States
1944-1946 Assigned to Headquarters, Army Ground Forces; organized and headed the Postwar Equipment Review Board and the Ground forces
Postwar Planning Group and was Chief of Plans Section
May 1946 Retired from Army
June 1946-June 1948 Recalled from retirement and assigned to Chief of Staff’s Advisory Group, Washington, D.C.; Served as member ex-officio of War
Department Board for review of Policies and Programs
June 30, 1948 Retired from Army
1948 Served as advisor to Department of Army on Wargame Pedrone
June-Aug. 1955 Special consultant to the Department of Army on problems relating to the Joint War Game
September 19, 1963 Died in La Jolla California

COOK, GILBERT RICHARD

M/GEN USA
DATE OF BIRTH: 12/30/1889
DATE OF DEATH: 09/19/1963
BURIED AT: SECTION 4 SITE 3107 A E
ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY

COOK, DORIS FREDERICK W/O GILBERT R

DATE OF DEATH: 08/27/1936
BURIED AT: SECTION 4 SITE 3107-6
ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY
WIFE OF GR COOK, LIEUT COL INF GSC OFF CHF OF STAFF G-B US ARMY

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Michael Robert Patterson

Michael Robert Patterson was born in Arlington and is the son of a former officer of the US Army. So it was no wonder that sooner or later his interests drew him to American history and especially to American military history. Many of his articles can be found on renowned portals like the New York Times, Washingtonpost or Wikipedia.

Reviewed by: Michael Howard

Gilbert R. Cook – Major General, United States Army

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