Terry de la Mesa Allen , Sr . Major General Terry de la Mesa Allen , Sr . ( April 1 , 1888 – September 12 , 1969 ) was a division - level United States Army officer during World War II . Allen was a decorated World War I veteran who commanded the 1st Infantry Division in North Africa and Sicily during 1942 - 43 . He was later selected to lead the 104th Infantry Division as divisional commander , a post he held until the end of the war . Early years . Allen was born in Fort Douglas , Utah , to Col . Samuel Allen and Consuelo " Conchita " Alvarez de la Mesa . Allen ' s family had a long line of military tradition . Besides his father , Allen ' s maternal grandfather was Colonel Carlos Alvarez de la Mesa , a Spanish national who fought at Gettysburg for the Union Army in the Spanish Company of the " Garibaldi Guard " of the 39th New York State Volunteers , during the American Civil War . Allen grew up in various military bases because of his father ' s military career and in 1907 , received an appointment to the United States Military Academy ( West Point ) in New York . Command style . From all reports , General Allen was not only respected but was warmly regarded by his 1st Division troops , particularly the enlisted soldiers . Like Patton , he generally placed his headquarters as far forward as possible to the front line . However , unlike the latter he did not bother greatly with his military appearance , frequently going without clean uniforms and haircuts . He was also reportedly the only American general in the European and North African theaters who preferred to sleep on the ground , rather than on a cot or in a bed . However , despite a casual attitude toward his own personal appearance , Allen did not tolerate slovenliness or incompetence in the troops under his command . Allen expected his soldiers to keep their weapons and equipment in perfect working order . He trained them constantly to keep them combat ready . As war correspondent Ernie Pyle would later write , " Major General Terry Allen was one of my favorite people . Partly because he didn ' t give a damn for hell or high water ; partly because he was more colorful than most ; and partly because he was the only general outside the Air Forces I could call by his first name . If there was one thing in the world Allen lived and breathed for , it was to fight . He had been all shot up in the last war , and he seemed not the least averse to getting shot up again . This was no intellectual war with him . He hated Germans and Italians like vermin . " In preparing his division for its first encounter with the enemy , Allen emphasized realistic training exercises , weapons practice , and physical conditioning in the field in place of drill and military ceremony . He felt that the more time his men spent in training realistically , the better prepared they would be for combat with the German army . Allen had a distinct preference for night assaults , which he believed caused fewer casualties , and much time and effort was devoted to company - and battalion - size night movements . Military career . There were certain factors which affected Allen ' s performance at West Point and which would lead up to his dismissal . One of them was that he began to stutter and soon fell behind in his classes . Another was that he was held back a grade in his second year because he failed mathematics . Finally , he failed an ordnance and gunnery course . Allen enrolled and attended the Catholic University of America in Washington , D . C . , and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1912 . He joined the Army once more and after passing the competitive Army officers exam , was commissioned a Second Lieutenant and assigned to Fort Myer in Virginia . In 1913 , he was reassigned to the 14th Cavalry at Eagle Pass , Texas , and served there until 1917 . During this time , he pursued and captured ammunition smugglers and served on border duty . He was promoted twice : on July 1 , 1916 , to First Lieutenant and on May 15 , 1917 , to Captain . World War I . On June 7 , 1918 , a year and two months after the United States declared war against Germany and entered World War I , Allen was sent to France and assigned to the 315th Ammunition Train . Allen showed up at a school for infantry officers the day before a class graduation . When the commandant of the school began to hand out certificates to the graduates , Allen lined up with them . When confronted with him , the commandant said , " I don ' t remember you in this class . " " I ' m Allen . Why don ' t you ? " was his reply . Without further ado , Allen was given the certificate and became a temporary major . Allen was assigned to the 3rd Battalion , 358th Infantry Regiment , 90th Division which he led into battle at St . Mihiel and Aincreville . During one battle Allen received a bullet through his jaw and mouth and as a result of the wound never stuttered again . He was awarded a Silver Star and a Purple Heart for his actions . Allen remained with the American Expeditionary Forces in France until the Armistice with Germany ( Compiègne ) . He then served with the Army of Occupation in Germany until 1920 when he returned to the United States . Pre World War II . After Allen returned to the United States , his temporary rank of Major was reverted to Captain until July 1 , 1920 , when he was fully promoted to Major . He served in Camp Travis and later in Fort McIntosh , both located in Texas . In 1922 , Allen was assigned to the 61st Cavalry Division , at New York City . He continued to take military related courses , among them : an advanced course in Cavalry School , Fort Riley , Kansas ; a two year program at Fort Leavenworth ' s Command & General Staff School ; a course in the Infantry School at Fort Benning and an interim course in infantry command with other divisions . In 1928 , he married Mary Frances Robinson of El Paso , Texas with whom in 1929 he had a son , Terry de la Mesa Allen , Jr . On August 1 , 1935 , Allen was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel and became an instructor at the Cavalry School at Fort Riley in Kansas . He wrote and published " " Reconnaissance by horse cavalry regiments and smaller units " " in 1939 . On October 1 , 1940 , General George Marshall promoted him to Brigadier General ( without ever holding the rank of Colonel ) and in 1942 , he was promoted to Major General and given command of the 1st Infantry Division . World War II . In 1942 , the 1st Infantry Division was sent to Britain where they underwent further combat training , which included training in amphibious warfare . General Allen and his second in command , Brigadier General Theodore Roosevelt Jr . ( son of former U . S . President Theodore Roosevelt ) distinguished themselves as combat leaders . Allen ' s brash and informal leadership style won him much respect and loyalty from the men in his division , who wholeheartedly adopted his emphasis on aggressiveness and combat effectiveness rather than military appearances . Another notable officer under his command , was his chief of staff , Colonel ( later general ) Norman Cota , who would later be remembered for his inspiring leadership on Omaha Beach during the invasion of Normandy on June 6 , 1944 . The Big Red One and Operation Torch . The division participated in the invasion of North Africa . The division landed in Oran , Algeria on November 8 , 1942 , as part of Center Task Force of Operation Torch under the command of Major General Lloyd Fredendall . Elements of the division then took part in combat at Maktar , Medjez el Bab , Kasserine Pass , Gafsa , El Guettar , Béja , and Mateur , from January 21 , 1943 to May 9 , 1943 , helping secure Tunisia . In July , 1943 , the division supported other units in the invasion of Sicily and took part in Operation Husky . In a 3 March 1943 letter to George C . Marshall , Eisenhower expressed his confidence in the 1st Infantry Division ' s two leaders : " Terry Allen seems to be doing a satisfactory job ; so is Roosevelt . " In spite of Allen ' s successes , General Omar Bradley was highly critical of both Allen and Roosevelt ' s wartime leadership style . " While the Allies were parading decorously through Tunis , " Bradley wrote , " Allen ' s brawling 1st Infantry Division was celebrating the Tunisian victory in a manner all its own . In towns from Tunisia all the way to Arzew , the division had left a trail of looted wine shops and outraged mayors . But it was in Oran . . . that the division really ran amuck . The trouble began when SOS ( Services of Supply ) troops , long stationed in Oran , closed their clubs and installations to our combat troops from the front . Irritated by this exclusion , the 1st Division swarmed into town to ' liberate ' it a second time . " Bradley continued : " Despite their [ prodigious ] talents as combat leaders , neither Terry Allen nor Brigadier General Theodore Roosevelt , the assistant division commander , possessed the instincts of a good disciplinarian . They looked upon discipline as an unwelcome crutch to be used by less able and personable commanders . " Despite this , Bradley admitted that " none excelled the unpredictable Terry Allen in the leadership of troops . " Campaign in Sicily . Bradley ' s resentment of Allen stands in marked contrast to that of General George S . Patton . Although Patton and Allen frequently argued and even insulted each other , particularly when discussing tactics and leadership styles , the former recognized Allen ' s competence in building a fighting division . When Patton heard General Eisenhower deliver a lecture on the ' poor discipline ' of Allen ' s 1st Division , he contradicted Eisenhower : " I told him he was mistaken and that anyhow no one whips a dog before putting him into a fight . " Nor did personalities dissuade Patton from fighting to get the 1st Infantry Division to carry out the Gela landings , which Patton had correctly surmised would be the most difficult of the Allied assault landings in Sicily . When Patton learned that the 36th ( National Guard ) Division was to be used instead at Gela , Patton protested to Eisenhower that " I want those [ 1st Infantry Division ] sons of bitches . I won ' t go without them ! " Patton got his way . With the commander of the U . S . 7th Army occupied with the German evacuation from Messina and responding to official inquiries concerning his slapping of an enlisted soldier , Bradley used the opportunity to ask General Dwight D . Eisenhower permission to relieve both Allen and Roosevelt of their commands . Bradley ostensibly justified his request by stating that a change of senior command was needed in the 1st Division after the failure of the initial assault on Troina by the 1st Infantry Division . In reality , the first assault on Troina had been carried out by the 39th Infantry Regiment , a 9th Infantry Division regiment that had been temporarily attached to Allen ' s 1st Infantry Division a few days prior to the attack . However , it served as a convenient pretext to relieve Allen , whose cocky and independent command style , while demonstrably effective , clashed with Bradley ' s idea of a commander . Even worse , in Bradley ' s mind , was that " the whole division had assumed Allen ' s cavalier attitude . " On August 7 , 1943 , Allen was succeeded as 1st Infantry Division commander by Major General Clarence R . Huebner 104th Infantry Division . Allen , who was featured on the cover of Time Magazine on August 9 , 1943 , was reassigned to command the 104th Infantry Division , known as the Timberwolf Division . Despite being relieved of command of the 1st Infantry Division , Allen continued his own style of leadership . Former 104th Infantry Division veterans remembered him as being " Confident , stubborn , determined , and aggressive . " At the same time , Allen gave orders that he would not tolerate unshaven or slovenly troops - what he termed " Mauldins " in the Timberwolf Division . While training the 104th in Arizona and Colorado , Allen stressed his own principles for combat success : " find ' em , fix ' em , fight ' em " . . . " take the high ground " . . . " inflict maximum damage to the enemy with minimum casualties to ourselves , night attack , night attack , night attack . " The division extensively practiced night offensive operations to achieve maximum surprise and disruption of the enemy while reducing casualties from enemy artillery and machine gun fire . Some 34 , 000 men served with the division under Allen , fighting for 195 consecutive days after landing in France on September 7 , 1944 . The division ' s first action came in October 1944 during the taking of Achtmaal and Zundert in the Netherlands . It then advanced through the Siegfried line to the Rhine River , crossing the Inde river into Cologne . Throughout his command of the division , Allen continued to display his independence and a hearty contempt for ' chickenshit ' regulations that interfered with combat readiness , a trait which no longer seemed to infuriate his superior officers . After the Division had secured its new lines , General Bradley arrived in Cologne to meet with Allen , stating " Terry , I ' m pleasantly surprised to see these young Timberwolves of yours already ranked along with the First and the Ninth as the finest assault divisions in the ETO . " Allen responded : " Brad , the First and the Ninth are in damned fast company . " The division later assisted in the encirclement of the Ruhr pocket . Finally , it made a 350 - mile sweep to the Mulde River in the heart of Germany . During the fighting in France and Germany , the 104th Infantry Division displayed its night fighting prowess in several successful operations . In June 1946 , the 104th Infantry Division was deactivated upon its return to the United States at the end of the war . Later years . Allen retired from the Army on August 31 , 1946 . For a number of years he served as a representative for various insurance companies in El Paso and was active in civic affairs and in veteran organizations . In October 1967 , Allen ' s son , Lieutenant Colonel Terry de la Mesa Allen , Jr . , was killed in the Vietnam War , while commanding the 2nd Battalion , 28th Infantry Regiment , a unit of the 1st Infantry Division , which his father had commanded in World War II . Major General Terry de la Mesa Allen , Sr . , died of natural causes on September 12 , 1969 , in El Paso , Texas , at the age of 81 . He was buried , alongside his son , in the Fort Bliss National Cemetery with full military honors . The United States Military Academy presents the " General Terry de la Mesa Allen Award " to the student with the highest rating in Military Science . Military awards and recognitions . Among Major General Terry de la Mesa Allen , Sr . ' s military awards and recognitions are the following : Foreign Decorations