After the attack on Pearl Harbor, he was promoted to brigadier general. He was decorated with the Distinguished Service Cross and the French Croix de Guerre with Gilt Star.Īfter the war he taught mathematics at V.M.I. Shortly after graduating from the Virginia Military Institute and receiving his Army commission, General Handy was sent to Europe and fought in World War I with the Rainbow, or 42nd, Division at Chateau-Thierry and in the Argonne. In 1920, he married Alma Hudson of Virginia, who died in 1972. General Handy was born in Spring City, Tenn., on March 11, 1892, the son of a Methodist minister. Three years later his position was incorporated into the Supreme Headquarters, Allied Powers Europe, and he became deputy supreme commander of the new organization. Clay as chief of the United States European Command in 1949. General Handy succeeded General Lucius D. It was, he said, ''just a matter of form.'' Characteristically, he regarded this matter-of-factly. I want a piece of paper.'' So the order was written and General Handy signed it. ''If I'm going to kill 100,000 people,'' General Spaatz said, ''I'm not going to do it on verbal orders. Carl Spaatz, the commander of the United States Strategic Air Forces in the Pacific, said he wanted his orders in writing. In 1971, he moved to San Antonio, where his daughter, Mary Handy Parker, had settled.Īt the height of the general's 38-year military career, an American magazine reporter wrote that General Handy had impressed fellow officers as having ''a combination of brains and common sense, a phenomenal memory and a keen knowledge of human psychology.'' 'As Homespun as Denim'Ī newspaper reporter wrote, ''He is as homespun as denim and as easy to meet as a neighbor.'' As the United States was preparing to drop atomic bombs on Japan, General Handy found himself serving as the acting chief of staff in the absence of General Marshall. General Handy, a tall, lean, sandy-haired artillery officer, retired from the Army in 1954 and worked in Washington for a Defense Department consulting firm for 15 years. Eisenhower in World War II and later as commander of all American troops in Europe, died Wednesday at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Tex., after a long illness. Handy, who served as Deputy Chief of Staff to Gen. Handy died on April 12, 1982, and was buried in Arlington National Cemetery next to his wife, Alma Hudson Handy (1890–1970).Gen. Handy retired from the army in 1954 to Washington, D.C., later residing in San Antonio, Texas. He moved down to Deputy Supreme Commander in 1952 when Matthew Ridgway was named Supreme Allied Commander, Allied Powers. Clay’s successor as Commander-in-Chief of United States European Command. Two years later, in September 1949, he was Lucius D. Marshall’s absence, and transmitted the order for use of the atomic bomb.įollowing the war, Handy remained Deputy Chief of Staff, and in September 1947 he assumed command of Fourth United States Army at Fort Sam Houston, Texas. In August 1945 he was acting Chief-of-Staff, due to George C. In October 1944 he became Deputy Chief-of-Staff of the Army, receiving his fourth star in March 1945. In September 1944 he was promoted to temporary lieutenant general. In December 1941 Handy was promoted to temporary brigadier general, and temporary major general in June 1942 when he became Assistant Chief-of-Staff in charge of Operations Division, succeeding Dwight Eisenhower. Thomas Troy Handy (Ma– April 12, 1982) was a United States Army four-star general who served as Deputy Chief of Staff, United States Army from 1944 to 1947 Commanding General, Fourth United States Army from 1947 to 1949 Commander in Chief, United States European Command from 1949 to 1952 Commander in Chief, United States Army Europe/Commander, Central Army Group in 1952 and Deputy Commander in Chief, United States European Command from 1952 to 1954.
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