A U.S. general whose offensive command was bound to racial prejudice
“Don't let a bunch of Chinese laundrymen stop you.”
Edward Almond was a United States Army general who served in two world wars and Korea, leaving a record that combines an aggressive command style with racial prejudice. In World War II he commanded the largely African American 92nd Infantry Division, then blamed its combat performance on the soldiers' race and opposed using Black troops in combat. In Korea, as Douglas MacArthur's chief of staff, he was placed in command of X Corps after the Inchon landing force was formed, contributing to the capture of Inchon and Seoul. His wide dispersal of forces in the northeast and underestimation of Chinese strength helped deepen X Corps' crisis in late 1950.
Activities and affiliations
Career Timeline
- 1915Graduated from Virginia Military Institute
- 1918Commanded the 12th Machine Gun Battalion, 4th Division, in France
- 1942–1945Commanding general, 92nd Infantry Division, in the Italian campaign
- 1946–1949Personnel chief, then chief of staff, Far East Command in Tokyo
- 1950–1951Commanding general, X Corps, directing Inchon and northeast operations
- 1951–1953Commandant, U.S. Army War College; retired in 1953
Related historical events
- 1914–1918First World WarMachine-gun battalion commander in FranceIn 1918, he commanded the 12th Machine Gun Battalion of the 4th Division in France.
- 1943–1945The Italian Campaign and the Fall of Mussolini92nd Infantry Division commander in ItalyFrom 1942 to 1945, he commanded the 92nd Infantry Division in the Italian campaign.
- 1950–1953The Korean WarInchon landing force commanderAs MacArthur's chief of staff, he commanded the X Corps in the Inchon landing operation.
Post-retirement advocacy for racial segregation
Almond retired from the Army on January 31, 1953, and became an insurance executive. He did not, however, withdraw from the politics of racial segregation after leaving the military, and that stance became a matter of public activity. In 1956 he was a delegate to a pro-segregationist conference. There, participants proclaimed Chief Justice Earl Warren, who had written the majority opinion in Brown v. Board of Education, an enemy of the United States; speakers claimed the country faced a "Marxist-Zionist" takeover and equated desegregation with communism.
This activity shows that the position Almond had taken in World War II, when he blamed the 92nd Infantry Division's performance on the race of its soldiers and advised the Army against using African Americans as combat troops, carried over into his civilian years. While many of his contemporaries shared his views, Almond is judged to have failed to adapt to a changing world. After his death he was buried at Arlington National Cemetery, where his son, Captain Edward M. Almond Jr., killed in action in France, is also interred.