Leonard T . Gerow Leonard Townsend Gerow ( July 13 , 1888 – October 12 , 1972 ) was a United States Army general . Early life . Gerow was born in Petersburg , Virginia . The name Gerow is derived from the French name " Giraud " . Gerow attended high school in Petersburg and then attended the Virginia Military Institute . He was three times elected class president . He graduated as recipient of the " Honor Appointment " which , at the time , permitted one man in each VMI graduating class to become a Regular Army second lieutenant without further examination . He was commissioned a 2nd lieutenant in the army 29 September 1911 . Early military career . Prior to World War I , General Gerow served in a series of assignments as a company grade officer in the Infantry . In 1915 he won commendation for his work in the 1915 hurricane that struck Galveston , Texas . He served in Vera Cruz in the Mexican Campaign . He was promoted to first lieutenant on 1 July 1916 and later to captain on 15 May 1917 . From 16 January 1918 to 30 June 1920 and during World War I he served on the Signal Corps staff in France . He was colonel ( temporary ) in charge of purchasing all the radio equipment for the AEF . For his service he earned the Distinguished Service Medal and French Legion of Honor . After returning to America , he was promoted to permanent rank of major on 1 July 1920 . He was ordered to attend the advanced course at the U . S . Army Infantry School at Fort Benning , Georgia , in the fall of 1924 . He graduated first in the class in 1925 from the Advanced Course at Infantry School . Of note was Omar Bradley who graduated second . Gerow attended the U . S . Army Command and General Staff school , where Dwight Eisenhower was his study partner , and graduated in 1926 , ranking 11th in the class of 245 . In 1931 he completed the Field Officer ' s Course in Chemical Warfare and Tanks and took a course at Army War College . General Gerow served in China in 1932 in the Shanghai sector . On 1 August 1935 he was promoted to the permanent rank of lieutenant colonel . On 1 September 1940 he became a colonel in permanent grade and a month later , on 1 October 1940 became a temporary brigadier general . World War II . Gerow was promoted to major general on 14 February 1942 and became commanding general of the 29th Infantry Division on 16 February 1942 . He received the Legion of Merit on 27 September 1943 for his work as a division commander and as Assistant Chief of Staff of the War Plans Division . He continued as commander of the division until 17 July 1943 . He became commander of V Corps on 17 July 1943 . This was the largest unit of troops in the European Theater of Operations . He played a major part in the planning of the invasion of continental Europe . He was the first corps commander ashore on D - Day , June 6 , 1944 . The V Corps was composed of two infantry divisions : the 29th and the 1st . His tenure as commander of V Corps was from 17 July 1943 to 17 September 1944 and again from 5 October 1944 to 14 January 1945 . General Gerow kept close to his advancing troops in V Corps . He was the first American officer of the rank of major general to enter Paris after its liberation by the French 2nd Armored Division and the U . S . 4th Infantry Division . For his part in this campaign he was awarded the Silver Star . Both Eisenhower and Bradley held Gerow in high regard and ranked him as one of the top U . S . field commanders of World War II . In a February 1945 memo Dwight D . Eisenhower listed the principal American commanders in order of merit based on the value of their service during the war . Gerow was listed 8th of 32 . In a letter to George Marshall on April 26 , 1945 , regarding commanders who might go on to serve in the Pacific , General Eisenhower commended General Omar Bradley most highly and then said : " In Europe there are other men who have been thoroughly tested as high combat commanders , including Simpson , Patch , Patton , Gerow , Collins , Truscott and others . Any one of these can successfully lead an Army in combat in the toughest kind of conditions . " . Gerow was given command of the newly formed Fifteenth United States Army on 15 January 1945 . He was promoted to lieutenant general on 6 February 1945 , with the promotion being effective 1 January 1945 . Post – World War II career . After the war Lieutenant General Gerow was appointed commandant of the army ’ s Command and General Staff School . Gerow was placed in charge of a board which studied and proposed how army colleges ought to be organized , post war . In February 1946 the Gerow Board recommended five separate colleges . In January 1948 , he was appointed commanding general , U . S . Second Army . This was his last post ; he retired July 1950 . Gerow was appointed a general on July 19 , 1954 by special Act of Congress ( Public Law 83 - 508 ) . General Gerow ' s brother , Lee S . Gerow graduated from VMI in 1913 and rose to the rank of brigadier general .