Simon Bolivar Buckner , Jr . Simon Bolivar Buckner , Jr . ( July 18 , 1886 – June 18 , 1945 ) was an American lieutenant general during World War II . He served in the Pacific Theater of Operations and commanded the defences of Alaska early in the war . Following that assignment , he was promoted to command the 10th Army , which conducted the amphibious assault ( Operation " Iceberg " ) on the Japanese island of Okinawa . He was killed during the closing days of the Battle of Okinawa by enemy artillery fire , making him the highest - ranking U . S . military officer to have been lost to enemy fire during World War II . Buckner was posthumously promoted to the rank of full four - star general on July 19 , 1954 by a Special Act of Congress ( Public Law 83 - 508 ) Early life and education . Buckner was the son Confederate General Simon Bolivar Buckner , Sr . and his wife Delia Claiborne . His father was Governor of Kentucky from 1887 to 1891 , and was a minor party ' s candidate for U . S . Vice President in 1896 . Buckner was raised near Munfordville , Kentucky , and attended the Virginia Military Institute . He was appointed to West Point ( class of 1908 ) by President Theodore Roosevelt . He served two military tours in the Philippines . During World War I , he served as a temporary major , drilling discipline into aviator cadets . Career . Inter - war period . Between the wars , Buckner returned to West Point as an instructor ( 1919 – 1923 ) . He was appointed Commandant of the Virginia Military Institute in 1929 under retired Major General John A . Lejeune , who was the superintendent . He was promoted to Lieutenant colonel in 1932 and returned to West Point to serve as Commandant of Cadets ( 1933 – 1936 ) . Though recognized as tough and fair , his insistence on developing cadets past conventional limits caused one parent to remark , " " Buckner forgets that cadets are born , not quarried . " " He was also an instructor at the General Service Schools at Fort Leavenworth , Kansas , and was executive officer at the Army War College in Washington , D . C . . He was promoted to colonel in 1937 and commanded the 66th Infantry for part of that year . Buckner became commander of the 22nd Infantry Regiment in 1938 . When the 6th Infantry Division was reactivated in late 1939 , he became its divisional chief of staff . Alaska . Buckner was promoted to Brigadier General in 1940 and was assigned to fortify and protect Alaska as commander of the Army ' s Alaska Defense Command . He was promoted to Major General in August 1941 . Though comparatively quiet , there was some combat when World War II commenced . The Japanese attacked Alaska in the attack on Dutch Harbor 3 – 5 June 1942 , and seized the islands Kiska and Attu as a diversion . The Battle of Attu , Operation Landcrab , occurred in May 1943 , and Kiska was invaded in August , 1943 . This constituted the Aleutian Islands campaign . In 1943 , he was promoted to Lieutenant General . Battle of Okinawa . In July 1944 , Buckner was sent to Hawaii to organize the 10th Army , which was composed of both Army and Marine units . The original mission of the 10th Army was to prepare for the invasion of Taiwan ; however , this operation was canceled , and Buckner ' s command was instead ordered to prepare for the Battle of Okinawa . This turned out to be the largest , slowest , and bloodiest sea - land - air battle in American military history . According to an eyewitness account , on June 18 , 1945 , Buckner had arrived in his command jeep which was flying its standard 3 star flag , to inspect a forward observation post . Visits from the general were not always welcome as his presence frequently drew enemy fire , which usually happened as General Buckner was departing . Buckner had arrived with his standard bright three stars showing on his steel helmet and a nearby Marine outpost sent a signal to Buckner ' s position stating that they could clearly see the general ' s three stars on his helmet . Told of this , Buckner replaced his own helmet with an unmarked one . However , a small flat trajectory Japanese artillery projectile of unknown caliber ( estimated 47mm ) struck a coral rock outcropping next to the general and fragments entered his chest . Buckner was carried by stretcher to a nearby aid station , where he died on the operating table . He was succeeded in command by Marine General Roy Geiger . Total American deaths during the battle of Okinawa were 12 , 513 . Buckner was interred in the family plot at Frankfort Cemetery in Frankfort , Kentucky . Personal life . Buckner was married to Adele Blanc Buckner ( 1893 – 1988 ) . They had three children : Simon Bolivar Buckner III , Mary Blanc Buckner , and William Claiborne Buckner . Legacy . Named in honor of Buckner :