George Windle Read George Windle Read ( November 19 , 1860 – November 6 , 1934 ) was a Major General in the United States Army who was prominent as a corps and division commander in World War I . Read also oversaw the departure of US forces from Europe at the end of World War I as commander of the American Embarkation Center at Le Havre , France . Early life . Read was born in Indianola , Iowa . He graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1883 and was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant of Infantry . Early military career . Read ’ s initial assignments were in the American West , and his first posting was with the 16th Infantry Regiment . A few months later he transferred to the 5th Cavalry Regiment , with which he served until 1889 . From 1889 to 1893 Read was Assistant Professor of Military Science at the University of Iowa , after which he returned to the 5th Cavalry Regiment in Texas . In 1898 Read authored " The automatic instructor : a practical system for home study " . Spanish - American War . At the start of the Spanish - American War Read was assigned to an Ordnance unit , with which he served in Cuba until 1899 . Receiving promotion to Captain , he served in New Mexico from 1901 to 1902 , after which he was assigned to the Philippines . Post Spanish - American War . After leaving Cuba , Read served in California and Hawaii . From 1905 to 1909 he served on the Army ’ s General Staff . Promoted to Major , he served in Cuba , Puerto Rico and the Philippines before attending the Army War College , from which he graduated in 1914 . Mexican border conflict . Advanced to Lieutenant Colonel after his war college graduation , Read served in Texas and Arizona during the US - Mexico border conflict , including the Pancho Villa Expedition . From 1915 to 1917 Read again served in Washington , DC as a member of the Army General Staff . World War I . In April , 1917 , Read ( now a Colonel ) was appointed to head recruiting as the Army began to mobilize for World War I . In August he was selected to command the 152nd Depot Brigade at Camp Upton , New York . In December Read was promoted to temporary Major General and assigned to command the 15th Cavalry Division in El Paso , Texas . The 15th Cavalry Division was disbanded in favor of fielding all Infantry divisions , and in April , 1918 Read took command of the 30th Infantry Division , which he led to France . In June he was selected to command the II Corps , consisting of five divisions assigned to the British sector of the Western Front . After three of his divisions were transferred to take part in the Saint - Mihiel Offensive , Read continued to command the other two as a corps under the British Army in the Ypres area , participating in the September offensive that breached the Hindenberg Line . Read continued to command the II Corps after the Armistice . After the organization was demobilized in February , 1919 Read was assigned to command of the American Embarkation Center at Le Havre , France , where he was responsible for arranging the transportation of men and materiel back to the United States . He was also the final commander of the 42nd Infantry Division as it completed post - war occupation duty in Germany and prepared to depart Europe . Post World War I . In May , 1919 Read was assigned to command the US V Corps at Camp Jackson , South Carolina with the permanent rank of Brigadier General . In March , 1921 he received permanent promotion to Major General . In October , 1922 Read was appointed commander of the Philippine Department , where he remained until his 1925 retirement . Awards and decorations . General Read ’ s awards and decorations included the Distinguished Service Medal and the British Order of the Bath . Retirement and death . In retirement Read resided in Upper Providence Township , Pennsylvania . He died at Walter Reed Army Hospital on November 6 , 1934 and was buried at Arlington National Cemetery , Section South , Site 1819 . Personal . In 1886 Read married in El Paso Burton Young ( 1868 – 1944 ) , the daughter of General S . B . M Young , who served as the first Army Chief of Staff . George Windle Read ’ s children included Burton Young Read ( 1889 – 1981 ) , a career soldier who served from the early 1900s through World War II before retiring as a Colonel , and George Windle Read , Jr . , a career soldier who served in both world wars and attained the rank of Lieutenant General as commander of the US Army Armor Center and the Second United States Army . Additional resources . Find A Grave page for George Windle Read .