Robert S. Beightler
Robert Sprague Beightler (March 21, 1892 – February 12, 1978) was a United States Army two-star general and Ohio political insider, engineer, and business owner.In the early 19th century, those ancestors were some of the first pioneers of the western United States, first settling in eastern Ohio, and eventually in Marysville.[6] Beightler was raised in a devout Presbyterian family that stressed church, community, service, duty, and patriotism.He was an excellent student, and avid hunter, having been quoted saying "from the time I was knee high to a grasshopper, (I had a rifle in my hands).While there he studied civil engineering, was active in Sigma Alpha Epsilon, trained as a cadet, and was manager of the basketball team.[7] While he was in college, he met his future wife Anna Lawrence Porter, who was a student at Ohio Wesleyan University.[12] Beightler was moved to Camp Mills on Long Island in preparation for deployment to France in the European theater of World War I.Upon arriving in France, Beightler's regiment undertook basic training operations, including learning the French language.His daughter was over a year old after he left the military, and the young family moved to Columbus to be closer to Beightler's employment.He went on to Command and General Staff School in Leavenworth, Kansas, to complete a course on National Guard Officers where he was first in his class.[16] In 1940, Beightler was appointed commanding General of the 37th Infantry Division,[15] and immediately began exhaustive training and preparation of the soldiers.The 37th participated in the Louisiana Maneuvers, in which future senior military leaders Dwight Eisenhower, George Patton, Omar Bradley, and Leslie McNair were present.He was a staunch conservative in the classical liberal sense, believing in the freedom of the States and a skeptic of the federal government.[24] In the spring of 1945 the Ohio Republican Party attempted to draft Beightler to run for governor against Frank Lausche in 1946.In Taft's reply on November 24, 1950, he implied to Beightler that Eisenhower was incompetent and likely to be influenced by money and political endorsements.[23] Beightler had two children with Anne, Robert Jr., who attended the United States Military Academy at West Point, and Marjorie.Robert Jr. served in the Philippines during World War II as a platoon leader in the 511th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 11th Airborne Division.Despite both father and son fighting in their respective divisions in the Battle of Manila, neither would meet in combat until April in northern Luzon.[31] In 2007, the Union County, Ohio Chamber of Commerce declared September 28 to be Major General Robert S. Beightler Day.
Robert S. Beightler Jr.MarysvilleWorthingtonUnited StatesUnited States ArmyMajor General37th Infantry DivisionBorder WarPancho Villa ExpeditionWorld War IWorld War IIOperation CartwheelBougainville campaignNew Georgia campaignPhilippines campaignBattle of ManilaBattle of BaguioOccupation of JapanKorean WarDistinguished Service CrossDistinguished Service MedalSilver StarPurple HeartLegion of MeritCombat Infantryman BadgegeneralNational GuardWilliam Sprague IVSprague familyMarysville, OhioFranklin B. SpragueOliver Hazard PerryWilliam Sprague IIIBerks County, PennsylvaniaAmerican RevolutionAmerican Civil WarJohn W. BrickerPresbyterianMarysville High SchoolOhio State UniversitySigma Alpha EpsilonOhio National Guard4th Ohio InfantryWoodrow WilsonPancho VillaJohn J. Pershingadjutant166th U.S. Infantry RegimentCamp MillsLong IslandFranceInterstate Highway SystemLouisiana ManeuversPearl HarborPacific theater33rd Divisionliberate Baguio CityBilibid PrisonMuntinlupaMedal of HonorDeputy Military GovernorRyukyus Islands CommandWalter Reed Medical CenterWashington D.C.Robert A. TaftMarble Cliff, Ohio1940 Republican National ConventionFrank LauscheClarence J. BrownDouglas MacArthurGen. Douglas MacArthurWorthington, OhioRobert Jr.United States Military Academy511th Parachute Infantry Regiment11th Airborne Divisionoak leafScottish RiteLegion of HonorUniversity of the RyukyusUnion County, OhioTed StricklandGeorge VoinovichBronze StarMexican Border Service MedalWorld War I Victory Medalbattle claspsArmy of Occupation of Germany MedalAmerican Defense Service MedalAmerican Campaign MedalAsiatic-Pacific Campaign MedalWorld War II Victory MedalPhilippine Liberation MedalLynne Rienner PublishersCommanding General 37th Infantry DivisionU.S. governors of the Ryukyu IslandsSimon Bolivar Buckner Jr.Roy GeigerJoseph StilwellWilliam W. EaglesJosef R. SheetzRobert B. McClureFar East CommandMatthew RidgwayMark W. ClarkJohn E. HullMaxwell D. TaylorLyman LemnitzerDavid Ayres Depue OgdenJames Edward MooreDonald Prentice BoothPaul CarawayAlbert Watson IIFerdinand Thomas UngerJames Benjamin LampertShannon Boyd-Bailey McCune