Rank Major general | Name Bryant Moore | |
 | ||
Born June 6, 1894
Ellsworth, Maine ( 1894-06-06 ) Died February 24, 1951(1951-02-24) (aged 56)
near Yeoju County, South Korea Allegiance United States of America Commands held Superintendent of the United States Military Academy Battles/wars World War I
World War II
Korean War | ||
Service/branch United States Army | ||
Major General Bryant Edward Moore (June 6, 1894 – February 24, 1951) was a United States Army officer who commanded the 8th Infantry Division during and after World War II, and the IX Corps in the Korean War.
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Early life and military career
Moore was born in Ellsworth, Maine on June 6, 1894 to Nettie Haley Moore and Edward Grafton Moore. He had three siblings: John Leroy Moore, Margaret Moore Coolidge and James Moore. His father ran and then later owned Moore's Pharmacy on the corner of Water Street and Main Street in Ellsworth. The family home was on State Street, located on the hill across from the First Congregational Church. He graduated from Ellsworth High School and was educated at the Sorbonne in Paris, France and at the United States Military Academy (USMA) at West Point, New York, where he graduated in the class August of 1917.l
World War II
In the early days of World War II, Colonel Moore commanded the 164th Infantry Regiment on Guadalcanal. After promotion to the general officer rank of brigadier general, he later fought with the 104th Infantry Division as the assistant division commander (ADC). The 104th was commanded by Major General Terry Allen. He was later promoted again and commanded the 8th Infantry Division in Europe. Under his command, the division liberated the Neuengamme concentration camp. In late 1945 he commanded the 88th Infantry Division in Austria until it was deactivated in 1947.
Postwar
In the immediate post-war period, he commanded the occupation of Yugoslavia, holding Trieste, successfully keeping out Tito's troops. From 1949 until 1951, Moore was superintendent of the United States Military Academy at West Point.
During the Korean War, under General Matthew Ridgway, one of his classmates from the West Point class of 1917, he led the IX Corps in Operations Thunderbolt, Killer and Ripper. It was during these operations that Moore's helicopter crashed into the Han River near Yeoju. He died a few hours later from an apparent heart attack after having gotten help for the surviving pilot and crew, on February 24, 1951. The account of his service to America was entered into the United States Congressional Record by Maine Senator Margaret Chase Smith. Moore was promoted to the rank of four-star general posthumously.
He was buried at the USMA at West Point on the Hudson River in New York, his body being one of the first to be repatriated to American soil during a war.
Bryant Moore married the former Margaret "Peggy" King, also from Ellsworth, and they had two daughters, Margaret and Barbara.
Moore was well known for his diplomatic abilities as well as being fluent in French and an expert in military strategy and military science.