Leonard T. Gerow

Leonard Townsend Gerow
Nickname(s)	"Gee"
Born	(1888-07-13)13 July 1888 Petersburg, Virginia, United States
Died	12 October 1972(1972-10-12) (aged 84) Fort Lee, Virginia, United States
Buried	Arlington National Cemetery, Virginia, United States
Allegiance	United States
Service / branch	United States Army
Years of service	1911–1950
Rank	General
Service number	0-3151
Unit	Infantry Branch
Commands	29th Infantry Division V Corps Fifteenth Army United States Army Command and General Staff College Second Army
Battles / wars	Banana Wars United States occupation of Veracruz World War I Second Battle of the Marne Battle of Saint-Mihiel Meuse–Argonne offensive Chinese Civil War January 28 incident World War II Operation Overlord Siegfried Line campaign Battle of the Bulge Western Allied invasion of Germany
Awards	Army Distinguished Service Medal (3) Silver Star Legion of Merit (2) Bronze Star
Relations	Lee S. Gerow (brother)

Leonard Townsend Gerow (13 July 1888 – 12 October 1972) was a general in the United States Army who served with distinction in both World War I and World War II.

A 1911 graduate of the Virginia Military Institute (VMI), Gerow served with the United States occupation of Veracruz and on the Signal Corps staff on the Western Front during World War I. After the war he attended the Infantry School, the Command and General Staff School, and the Army War College.

During World War II, he was the Chief of War Plans Division of the War Department General Staff. He would later be reprimanded for his actions in the lead up to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. He commanded the 29th Infantry Division and then the V Corps. As such, Gerow played a major part in the planning of Operation Overlord, the invasion of continental Europe. He was the first corps commander ashore on D-Day, 6 June 1944, and continued in command through the Battle of Normandy, which saw his divisions sustain heavy casualties. He became the first American major general to enter Paris after its liberation. In January 1945, he assumed command of the Fifteenth Army.