Charles H . Corlett Charles Harrison Corlett ( July 31 , 1889 – October 13 , 1971 ) , nicknamed “ Cowboy Pete , ” was a major general in the U . S . Army who commanded troops in both the Pacific and European Theaters during World War II . He led the attack on Kiska in 1943 and commanded the 7th Infantry Division in the taking of Kwajalein in 1944 . After D - Day he led the XIX Corps of the 1st Army in pursuit of the retreating German Army through France , Belgium , The Netherlands , and Germany . Early life and career . Charles H . Corlett was born in Burchard , Nebraska , July 31 , 1889 , but lived most of his early life in Monte Vista , Colorado , where his father farmed and practiced law . He graduated from public high school in Monte Vista and worked on cattle ranches until he was 19 , when he was appointed to the U . S . Military Academy at West Point in 1909 . As a cadet , his knowledge of horses earned him the nickname “ Cowboy Pete . ” He graduated from the Academy June 12 , 1913 , was appointed second lieutenant in the Regular Army , and was stationed in Alaska , Texas , and New Jersey with the Signal Corps . In April 1916 , he moved with the 30th Infantry to Eagle Pass , Texas , where action in the Mexican Border Campaign was anticipated but didn ’ t materialize . He then was assigned to Radio Company A , a horse and mule outfit , and used one of the earliest radios in the U . S . Army . His brigade was renamed Signal Corps , and he witnessed the early development of military aviation , which was then a branch of the Signal Corps . When the United States entered World War I in 1917 , Corlett worked in the early organization and expansion of the Signal Corps and was its first commanding officer and executive . As Director of Signal Corps Supplies , American Expeditionary Forces , he was injured by mustard gas while laying communication lines at the front . He crossed the Rhine with the first American troops at Coblenz . He was promoted to lieutenant colonel in 1918 at age 29 . During the 1920s and 1930s , Corlett commanded various army detachments . He graduated from Command and General Staff School at Fort Leavenworth , Kansas , in 1924 and Army War College in Washington , D . C . , in 1925 . He was an instructor at Coast Artillery School and at Command and General Staff School . He was a member of the War Department General Staff from 1934 to 1939 . He commanded regiments in Hawaii , California , Washington , and Alaska from 1939 to 1941 . World War II . North Pacific . Corlett was promoted to the rank of Major General on September 6 , 1942 , and placed in command of the Kiska Task Force , consisting of the 7th Division , together with amphibious forces , combat teams , special forces , mountain forces , parachute forces , winter forces , and the Canadian 13th Infantry Brigade — a total of 35 , 000 men . The Task Force was to retrieve Kiska and Attu islands , the only United States territory occupied by the Japanese . Both islands were two of the western - most islands in the Aleutian Chain , posing a threat to continental US and Canada . Kiska was a Japanese seaplane and submarine base with a well - established infrastructure and an estimated force of 10 , 000 . Before the Kiska attack , which was to occur in August 1943 , Attu was secured after several weeks of combat in extremely difficult weather . The U . S . troops on Attu were ill prepared for the cold , stormy environment of the Aleutians , but they were better prepared for the Kiska campaign with heavier clothing and training supplemented by 15 – 45 days of acclimatization and maneuvers in the Aleutians . Beginning in January , the United States Navy blockaded the island and bombed it almost every day . Aerial photographs of the area showed enemy vehicles as late as August 13 . The U . S . amphibious attack on Kiska began the night of August 15 . The soldiers expected enemy fire , but they were greeted by only silence as they scrambled ashore in heavy , unrelenting fog . On August 16 , the second half of the powerful invasion force came ashore on the northern part of Kiska , again to a deserted island . The Japanese had left under cover of night , fog , and storm . At noon on August 17 , General Corlett conceded that the enemy was really gone , leaving great stores of supplies . U . S . forces suffered 25 deaths and more than 100 wounded from friendly fire . This phantom battle marked the end of Japanese occupation of American soil and its only campaign in the Western Hemisphere . South Pacific . General Corlett was then transferred to Fort Ord , California , to organize , train , and equip the 9th Amphibian Corp s , including the 7th Infantry Division and other special troops who later distinguished themselves in many battles in the South Pacific . He received orders to take command of the 7th Infantry Division and report to Admiral Chester Nimitz at Pearl Harbor , where Nimitz informed him that he was to be in command of the Army forces that would capture Kwajalein Island on the southern part of Kwajalein Atoll , a major Japanese naval - air base and part of the Marshall Islands , 2 , 350 miles southwest of Honolulu . Kwajalein , the world ’ s largest atoll , was defended by 5 , 000 troops , who were ordered not to surrender . After extensive amphibious training on Maui for 5 months and many days of aerial bombardment of the island , the 7th Division attacked and fought in Operation Flintlock on January 31 – February 7 , 1944 , a campaign resulting in the capture of 27 islets , 12 of which were rigorously defended to the death by the enemy . Kwajalein has been called by some military observers the most nearly perfect of all U . S . amphibious operations because of the flawless execution of a well - thought - out plan . Casualty results attest to this evaluation and were attributed to careful planning and preparation by the 7th Division : 177 U . S . soldiers killed , 4 , 398 Japanese killed , and 174 enemy soldiers taken prisoner . Europe . In April 1944 , Corlett was ordered to the European Theater of Operations . In London he reported to General Dwight Eisenhower and was informed that he was to become commander of the XIX Corps of the 1st Army under General Omar Bradley . The Corps , initially consisting of the 2nd and 3rd Armored Divisions and the 29th and 30th Infantry Divisions , would battle across France , Belgium , The Netherlands , and Germany . He immediately began training the Corps in Warminster , England , for the anticipated amphibious assault in Normandy . On the fourth day after D - Day ( June 10 ) , the XIX Corps landed at Omaha Beach , near Colleville - su - Mer . In the next 4 months they took St . Lo after difficult hedge - row fighting and spearheaded the Operation COBRA breakthrough to Mortain and the Falaise Pocket , where they destroyed 100 German tanks and captured 3 German divisions . While dealing with thousands of prisoners , the Corps occupied the towns of Évreux and Elbeuf and took Tessy - sur - Vire on August 1 . They captured Percy on August 5 . After stopping the last German offensive in Normandy and battling nearly 100 , 000 troops in the Argentan - Falaise Pocket , they crossed the Seine on August 28 . Ordered to drive northwest as quickly as possible , the XIX Corps faced the bulk of the German Army , which was retreating as fast as it could to prevent any further encirclement , but capable of counter - attacking and defending in force . Building bridges and shooting down 42 German planes , the XIX Corps reached Belgium in 2 days , crossing the Somme on September 2 , the first allied soldiers to enter Belgium and the Netherlands . They took Tournai on September 2 , followed by Fort Eben - Emael , Maastricht , and Sittard . On September 14 , the Corps crossed the Meuse River and entered Germany , establishing a bridgehead across the Albert Canal . The Corps was struggling to close an escape route known as the Aachen Gap when , because of illness , Corlett was relieved of command of the Corps on October 15 , 1944 , and assigned the 12th Army Group in France . From D - Day to October 15 , the XIX Corps captured 29 , 867 prisoners , shot down 55 enemy airplanes , built 160 bridges , and crossed the Vire , Seine , Somme , Meuse , and Maas Rivers . During this same period , soldiers of the Corps were awarded 26 Distinguished Service Cross es , 737 Silver Star s , and 3 , 390 Bronze Star s . In November 1944 , Corlett reported to Admiral Nimitz in Honolulu and took command of the XXXVI Corps in the planning of the northern attack on the Japanese mainland from the Kurile Islands . In connection with that order and at the time of V - J Day , he was writing a training course in amphibious operations for divisions returning from Europe . Post – World War II . After World War II , Corlett was appointed by the U . S . Secretary of Agriculture to organize and initiate the Commission for Eradication of Hoof and mouth disease in Mexico , requiring relocation to Mexico City until mid - 1947 . He returned to his sheep and cattle ranch in New Mexico , where the governor appointed him chairman of the New Mexico State Bureau of Revenue and later to the State Investment Council . He was also on the board of the School of American Research . He died in Espanola , New Mexico , on October 13 , 1971 , at the age of 82 years . Summary . Decorations . Here is Major general Corlett´s ribbon bar :