page_title: Lesley J. McNair
section_title: Reputation
hierarchical_section_title: Lesley J. McNair / Legacy / Reputation
caption_attribution_description: English: News article describing Purdue University graduation in 1941.
context_page_description: Lesley James McNair was a senior United States Army officer who served during World War I and World War II. He attained the rank of lieutenant general during his life; he was killed in action during World War II, and received a posthumous promotion to general.
  A Minnesota native and 1904 graduate of the United States Military Academy, McNair was a Field Artillery officer with a background in the Ordnance Department. A veteran of the Veracruz occupation and Pancho Villa Expedition, during World War I he served as assistant chief of staff for training with the 1st Division, and then chief of artillery training on the staff at the American Expeditionary Forces headquarters. His outstanding performance resulted in his promotion to temporary brigadier general; at age 35, he was the Army's youngest general officer.
  McNair's experience of more than 30 years with equipment and weapons design and testing, his administrative skills, and his success in the areas of military education and training led to his World War II assignment as commander of Army Ground Forces. In this position, McNair became the "unsung architect of the U.S.
context_section_description: McNair was held in high regard by his contemporaries, as evidenced by performance appraisals that routinely gave him the highest possible ratings. Marshall also held McNair in high esteem, as demonstrated by the fact that McNair was a top stateside commander during World War II, was considered for a top command in Europe, and was ultimately selected to command the First United States Army Group as part of a deception plan that required a general with a good reputation and high name recognition for successful execution.  In addition, soon after McNair was assigned to serve as commandant of the Command and General Staff School, Marshall learned that he would become the Chief of Staff of the Army.  In a letter to McNair, Marshall wrote: "You at the head of Leavenworth are one of the great satisfactions I have at the moment in visualizing the responsibilities of the next couple of years." Mark W. Clark served under McNair as operations officer (G-3) at AGF Headquarters before ascending to the general officer ranks.  In his autobiography, Clark referred to McNair as "one of the most brilliant, selfless and devoted soldiers" he had ever encountered.
  McNair's primary legacy was his role as "the brains of the Army", in that his involvement in unit design (the triangular division), education (the Command and General Staff Officer Course), doctrine (updating the Field Service Manual and revising field artillery methods and procedures), weapons design and procurement (experimentation with field artillery, anti-tank weapons, and anti-aircraft weapons), and training of soldiers and units (as commander of Army Ground Forces), especially in the era between World Wars I and II, made him one of the primary architects of the Army as the United States employed it for World War II.
  Another enduring McNair legacy was his training method of beginning with basic soldier skills and then building through successive echelons until large units became proficient during exercises and war games that closely simulated combat.  These concepts remain the Army's core principles for planning, executing, and overseeing individual and collective training.
caption: News story on Purdue's 1941 graduation, including McNair's LL.D.
exif: {"Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)"}