Clarence R . Huebner Clarence Ralph Huebner ( November 24 , 1888 – September 23 , 1972 ) was a highly decorated Lieutenant general of the United States Army during the World War II . World War I . A farm boy from Bushton , Kansas , who spent almost seven years serving from private to sergeant in the 18th Infantry , Huebner received a regular commission in November 1916 . During World War I , he led a company , battalion , and regiment of the 1st Infantry Division — the " Big Red One " — from the first American regimental assault at Cantigny through Soissons , Saint - Mihiel , and the Meuse - Argonne . For his service in this war , he received two Distinguished Service Cross es , a Distinguished Service Medal , and a Silver Star . In 1924 , he attended the Command and General Staff School at Fort Leavenworth and served on its faculty from 1929 to 1933 . World War II . The Big Red One . In 1943 , General Huebner relieved the popular commander of the 1st Infantry Division , General Terry Allen , in a move engineered by General Omar N . Bradley . While the 1st ID , aka " The Big Red One " had enjoyed considerable combat success under Allen ' s leadership , Bradley was highly critical of both Allen and Roosevelt ' s wartime leadership style , which favored fighting ability over drill and discipline : " 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 . " Despite this , Bradley admitted that " none excelled the unpredictable Terry Allen in the leadership of troops . " Upon assuming command , General Huebner immediately ordered a series of close - order drills , parades , and weapons instruction for the 1st ID , including its veterans , who had just finished a bloody series of engagements with German forces in Sicily . This did not endear him to the enlisted men of the division , who made no attempt to hide their preference for General Allen . As one of the men of the Big Red One said in disgust , " Hell ' s bells ! We ' ve been killing Germans for months and now they are teaching us to shoot a rifle ? It doesn ' t make any sense . " Supported by Bradley and Eisenhower , Huebner persisted , and the morale of the division gradually recovered . As the commander of the " Big Red One " in World War II , Huebner led the 1st in the assault on Omaha Beach , followed by a successful infantry attack at Saint - Lô . The 1st would later repel a German counteroffensive at Mortain , and pursue the German Army across France , culminating in the Battles of Aachen and the Huertgen Forest . V Corps command . In January 1945 Huebner took command of the V Corps , which he directed from the Rhine to the Elbe , where his troops made first contact with the Red Army . Postwar service . After World War II , Huebner was the last Military Governor ( acting ) of the American Zone in Germany from May 15 , 1949 , to September 1 , 1949 . He retired in 1950 . On September 1 , 1951 , he became director of New York State ' s Civil Defense Commission , a post he held until January 1961 . A strong advocate of the building of fallout shelters , General Huebner believed the US population would eventually be forced to live full - time in underground shelters and " would see the sunshine only by taking a calculated risk " . Huebner married Florence Barret in 1921 . Following her death in 1966 , Huebner married Anna Imelda Mathews in 1968 . She died in 1974 . All three are buried together in Arlington National Cemetery . Decorations . Lieutenant General Huebner received a lot of military awards for bravery or distinguished service during both World Wars . Here is his ribbon bar :