Charles T. Menoher
Born	(1862-03-20)March 20, 1862 Johnstown, Pennsylvania, United States
Died	August 11, 1930(1930-08-11) (aged 68) Washington, D.C., United States
Place of burial	Arlington National Cemetery, Virginia, United States
Allegiance	United States
Service/branch	United States Army
Years of service	1886–1926
Rank	Major General
Service number	0-34
Commands held	42nd Division VI Corps US Army Air Service Hawaiian Department IX Corps
Battles/wars	Spanish–American War World War I
Awards	Army Distinguished Service Medal

Major General Charles Thomas Menoher (March 20, 1862 – August 11, 1930) was a U.S. Army general, first Chief of the United States Army Air Service from 1918 to 1921, and commanded the U.S. Army Hawaiian Department from 1924 to 1925.

Early life

The son of an American Civil War veteran, Menoher was born in Johnstown, Pennsylvania in 1862 and graduated 16 in a class of 77 from the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York in 1886 with a commission as an artillery officer.^[1] Several of his fellow classmates included men who would, like Menoher himself, eventually rise to general officer rank, such as John J. Pershing, William H. Hay, Walter Henry Gordon, Edward Mann Lewis, Mason Patrick, Julius Penn, Avery D. Andrews, John E. McMahon, Ernest Hinds, George B. Duncan, James McRae, Lucien Grant Berry and Jesse McI. Carter.

Military career

Menoher served in Cuba and the Philippines during the Spanish–American War. He later graduated from the Army War College and was selected for the original General Staff Corps, where he served from 1903 to 1907. He was commander of the 5th Field Artillery Regiment from 1916 to 1917.^[1]

General John J. Pershing decorates Brigadier General Douglas MacArthur (third from left) with the Distinguished Service Cross in late 1918. Major General Charles T. Menoher (furthest left) reads out the citation while Colonel George E. Leach (fourth from left) and Lieutenant Colonel William J. Donovan await their decorations.

On December 19, 1917, Menoher, now a major general, who had been a classmate of General John J. Pershing at West Point and was an experienced officer of the field artillery, assumed command of the 42nd Division, Rainbow Division, in France during World War I.^[2][3]

Menoher participated in the Champagne-Marne offensive and in the successful Allied offensives of Saint Mihiel and Meuse-Argonne. Menoher was succeeded by Brigadier General Douglas MacArthur in this position.^[4] At war's end, Menoher commanded the VI Corps (United States)^[4] and received the Army Distinguished Service Medal, along with foreign awards from France, Belgium, and Italy.^[4] The citation for his Army DSM reads:

The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, July 9, 1918, takes pleasure in presenting the Army Distinguished Service Medal to Major General Charles Thomas Menoher, United States Army, for exceptionally meritorious and distinguished services to the Government of the United States, in a duty of great responsibility during World War I. In Command of the 42d Division from Chateau-Thierry to the conclusion of the Meuse-Argonne offensive, including the Baccarat sector, Reims, Vesles, and at St. Mihiel salient, General Menoher with his division participated in all of these important engagements. The reputation as a fighting unit of the 42d Division is in no small measure due to the soldierly qualities and the military leadership of General Menoher.^[5][6]

Following World War I, Menoher became first Director and then Chief of Air Service, where he began a famous (and ultimately losing) conflict with his Assistant Chief, Brigadier General Billy Mitchell.^[7] He was promoted to major general in March 1921. Requesting an assignment with troops, Menoher then took command of the Hawaiian Division in 1922 before taking over the entire Hawaiian Department. After this, he commanded the IX Corps Area in San Francisco until his mandatory retirement on March 20, 1926.^[8][9]

Personal life

He married Nannie Pearson. They had four sons: Charles, Pearson, Darrow, and William.^[10][4] His three youngest sons all graduated from West Point, and served in the Army during World War II. Pearson (1892–1958), a classmate of both Dwight D. Eisenhower and Omar Bradley, reached the rank of major general during the Korean War, after seeing service in both of the world wars.

Menoher later married Elizabeth Painter.^[4]

Death and legacy

Menoher died at the age of 68 on August 11, 1930.^[8][11] He was buried at Arlington National Cemetery, in Arlington, Virginia.^[12]

Menoher Boulevard, a major road in Johnstown, Pennsylvania,^[13] and Menoher Drive on Joint Base Andrews, Maryland,^[14] are named after him.

Dates of rank

Insignia	Rank	Component	Date
None	Cadet	United States Military Academy	1 July 1882
None in 1886	Second lieutenant	Regular Army	1 July 1886
	First lieutenant	Regular Army	23 December 1892
	Captain	Regular Army	2 February 1901
	Major	Regular Army	25 January 1907
	Lieutenant colonel	Regular Army	26 May 1911
	Colonel	Regular Army	1 July 1916
	Brigadier general	National Army	5 August 1917
	Major general	National Army	28 November 1917 (Reverted to brigadier general on 15 February 1919.)
	Brigadier general	Regular Army	7 November 1918
	Major general	Temporary	3 July 1920
	Major general	Regular Army	8 March 1921
	Major general	Retired List	20 March 1926[15]

Bibliography

• Cooke, James J. (1997). Pershing and his Generals: Command and Staff in the AEF. Praeger Publishers. ISBN 0-275-95363-7.
• Cooke, James J, The Rainbow Division in the Great War, 1917-1919, Greenwood Publishing Group, Incorporated 1994 ISBN 0-275-94768-8
• Davis, Henry Blaine Jr. (1998). Generals in Khaki. Raleigh, North Carolina: Pentland Press. ISBN 1571970886. OCLC 40298151.

References

 This article incorporates public domain material from the United States Army

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Charles T. Menoher.

• "Charles Thomas Menoher". at ArlingtonCemetery.net. 25 October 2023. (Unofficial website).