Roscoe Barnett Woodruff
Major General, U.S. Army

Roscoe Barnett Woodruff was born on 9 February 1891 in Oskaloosa, IA.

After his graduation and commissioning as a Second Lieutenant of Infantry in the U.S. Army, he served on the Mexican Border and with the 2nd Infantry Division (United States) in World War I.

As a Major, Woodruff attended various Service Schools and served as an Instructor in the Department of Tactics at West Point. In 1938, Lieutenant Colonel Woodruff served in the War Department General Staff Operations and Tactics Section.

World War II

Colonel Woodruff commanded the 2nd Infantry Division's 23rd Infantry Regiment posted at Fort Sam Houston, TX, from July 1941 to January 1942. His West Point classmate, Dwight Eisenhower also arrived there as the newly-appointed Chief of Staff of Third U.S. Army in June 1941 and was promoted to Brigadier General in September 1941. Both men were at Fort Sam Houston during the Japanese sneak attack at Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941.

With the nation at war, Woodruff was promoted to Brigadier General and made Assistant Division Commander of the 77th Infantry Division. From June 1942 to May 1943, Woodruff took full command of the Division during its pre-deployment training in Fort Jackson, SC, prior to its assignment to the Pacific Theater of Operation in the spring of 1944. In 1943, BG Woodruff took command of VII Corps in England. Eisenhower, now Supreme Allied Commander in Europe, initially selected Woodruff as one of three corps commanders along with Leonard T. Gerow and Willis D. Crittenberger, Commander of XIX Corps, for the 1944 D-Day invasion of France. All three men were well known and trusted by Eisenhower.

When Woodruff's West Point classmate, General Omar Bradley, was selected as commander for the invasion in October 1943, Bradley's concern was that Gerow and Woodruff both lacked experience in amphibious landings or combat command of divisions and corps. Gerow was retained, but Crittenberger was moved to command a reserve corps in the Italian campaign and Woodruff was shuffled off to command XIX Corps (Crittenberger's former command) for several weeks. Woodruff was then returned to the U.S. to command the 84th Infantry Division which was then in training at Camp Claiborne, LA, from March to June 1944.

In November 1944, Woodruff's chance at large-scale combat command finally came as Commander in the Southwest Pacific of the X Corps, 24th Infantry Division. His welcoming reception in Theater was celebrated at the Division's paratroop headquarters, fueled with five gallons of torpedo alcohol, furnished by Navy patrol boat sailors, as the key ingredient for liquid refreshments. He led his command in the five-month Battle of Mindanao to liberate that Island of Philippine archipelago from Japanese occupation in the closing phases of the Leyte Campaign.

In November 1945, Woodruff became commander of Eighth Army's I Corps, part of the allied occupation force, in southern Japan. From February 1948 to March 1951, Woodruff was Deputy Commanding General of First Army at Fort Jay, Governors Island, NY. Woodruff assumed the role of Commanding General from January to March 1949 upon the retirement of General Courtney Hodges and again from October to November 1950 after General Walter Bedell Smith was appointed Director of the Central Intelligence Agency. In 1951, he took command of XV Corps at Camp Polk (now Fort Polk), LA.

Woodruff retired as a Major General in January 1953 after 41 years of active duty and he and his wife, Alice Gray Woodruff retired to San Antonio, TX.

Medals and Awards

Army Distinguished Service Medal with Bronze Oak Leaf Cluster
Silver Star Medal with 2 Bronze Oak Leaf Clusters
Bronze Star Medal with Bronze Oak Leaf Cluster
Purple Heart
Air Medal with Award Numeral 2
Army Commendation Medal
Mexican Border Service Medal
World War I Victory Medal
American Defense Service Medal
American Campaign Medal
Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal
European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal
World War II Victory Medal
Army of Occupation Medal
National Defense Service Medal

Death and Burial

Major General Roscoe Barnett Woodruff died on 24 July 1975 in San Antonio, TX. He is buried at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery in San Antonio.