John W . Leonard John William Leonard ( January 25 , 1890 – October 26 , 1974 ) was a decorated US Army Lieutenant General who served during World War I , World War II and Cold War . Early years and World War I . John William Leonard was born on January 25 , 1890 in Toledo , Ohio as a son of Dennis and Anastasia Leonard . He graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1915 , as part of " the class the stars fell on " , a famous class of West Point , from which Dwight D . Eisenhower or Omar N . Bradley graduated . Many years later Dwight D . Eisenhower would introduce to John to wife . His first war service was at Mexico – United States border . Then , in May 1918 , he was sent as a member of the 6th Infantry Regiment of the 5th Infantry Division within American Expeditionary Forces to the France . Reaching the rank of Major , Leonard commanded a Battalion of the 6th Infantry Regiment during Battle of Saint - Mihiel and Meuse - Argonne Offensive . For his bravery in the battlefield near the village of Romagne - sous - Montfaucon , Major Leonard was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel and decorated with the Distinguished Service Cross , Purple Heart French Legion of Honor , Croix de Guerre with Palm and French Fourragère . Distinguished Service Cross citation . His official Distinguished Service Cross citation reads : After the war , Leonard stayed in Europe for occupation duties until October , 1921 . Then he served on various posts including a posting to Tientsin China 1933 - 1936 . In 1936 , Leonard was appointed an Instructor for Maryland National Guard and stayed in this capacity until 1940 . Then he spent some time on the staff of the 2nd Infantry Division under command of Major general James Lawton Collins . Second World War . During the year 1941 , Leonard was promoted to the capacity of the commanding officer of the 6th Armored Infantry Regiment , which was now a part of the 1st Armored Division under the command of Major general Bruce Magruder . During this time , 6th Armored Infantry Regiment was stationed with whole 1st Armored Division at Fort Knox in Kentucky . Leonard was promoted to the rank of Brigadier general on June 20 , 1942 . During the summer of 1942 Brigadier general Leonard was put in command of the newly activated 9th Armored Division at Fort Riley , Kansas . In this capacity , Leonard replaced Major general Geoffrey Keyes at the end of September , 1942 . On October 27 , 1942 , Leonard got his second star , when he was promoted to the rank of Major general . Two years later , in September 1944 , 9th Armored Division was transferred to the United Kingdom , from where it was immediately ordered to Normandy . Leonard continued as its commander until the end of the war , when he became commander of the 20th Armored Division . During the period between the wars , he served as commandant of the Armor School from 1946 , and as military attaché in the United Kingdom from 1948 . In 1950 he was promoted to Lieutenant General and commanded both the V Corps and XVIII Airborne Corps . He retired from the army in 1952 . < edit by son John W Leonard Jr . > < / ref > Decorations . Lieutenant General Leonard´s ribbon bar :