Charles H. Gerhardt
| Charles Hunter Gerhardt | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Nickname(s) | "Uncle Charlie" |
| Born | June 6, 1895 |
| Died | October 9, 1976 (aged 81) |
| Buried at | Arlington National Cemetery, Virginia, United States |
| Allegiance |
 United States
|
| Service/branch |
 United States Army
|
| Years of service | 1917–1948 |
| Rank |
 Major General
|
| Service number | 0-5259 |
| Unit |
 Cavalry Branch
|
| Commands held |
56th Cavalry Brigade 91st Infantry Division 29th Infantry Division |
| Battles/wars |
World War I World War II |
| Awards |
Distinguished Service Medal Silver Star Legion of Merit Bronze Star (2) |
Major General Charles Hunter Gerhardt (June 6, 1895 – October 9, 1976) was a senior United States Army officer who fought in both World War I and World War II. During the latter, he commanded the 29th Infantry Division from 1943 until the end of the war and during part of the occupation of Germany. The division's most famous combat operations were the Omaha Beach landings of June 6, 1944 (his 49th birthday), otherwise known as D-Day, and the taking of the French crossroads town of Saint-Lô in July 1944.
Gerhardt grew up in the army as the son of a career officer who retired as a brigadier general. The younger Gerhardt attended the United States Military Academy (USMA) at est Point, New York in 1913 where he earned a reputation as a skilled football, baseball and polo player. In 1916, Gerhardt quarterbacked for West Point to a 30-10 upset win over Notre Dame, which was led by the famed freshman George Gipp. It was Notre Dame's only loss that year.
Due to the American entry into World War I, on April 6, 1917, Gerhardt's West Point class graduated exactly two weeks later and six weeks earlier than intended, due to the outbreak of war. Subsequently Gerhardt was commissioned as a second lieutenant into the Cavalry Branch of the United States Army. Among those he graduated alongside were men such as Matthew Ridgway, Mark W. Clark, J. Lawton Collins, Ernest N. Harmon, Norman Cota, William W. Eagles, Laurence B. Keiser, Frederick Augustus Irving, Bryant Moore, William C. McMahon and William Kelly Harrison, Jr., all of whom would, like Gerhardt, later become general officers, with Ridgway and Collins in particular becoming U.S. Army Chief of Staff.
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