Vernon Prichard

At 57 years old, Vernon Prichard physical status not available right now. We will update Vernon Prichard's height, weight, eye color, hair color, build, and measurements.

Upon graduating from the Academy in June 1915, Prichard received the rank of second lieutenant and was assigned to the 1st Infantry Regiment. He served at Eagle Pass, Texas, from September 1915 to April 1916 and participated in the Pancho Villa Expedition into Mexico from April to August 1916. While serving in Mexico, Prichard was promoted to the rank of first lieutenant. Prichard returned to West Point for temporary duty during the fall of 1916 but returned to Mexico from December through February 1917.

In May 1917, a month following the American entry into World War I, Prichard was promoted to the rank of captain of the Infantry Branch. He sailed for the Western Front via England on January 8, 1918. He entered Germany with the Army of Occupation via Belgium and Luxembourg and served in Germany and France through June 1919.

Prichard remained lifelong friends with his backfield partner, Dwight D. "Ike" Eisenhower. Eisenhower later recalled that he looked for "natural leaders" from the ranks of football. Eisenhower believed that football, more than any other sport, instilled the belief that victory comes from teamwork and dedication. He identified Prichard as one of the officers with football background who had "measured up" during the war.

Choosing to remain in the army in the period between the wars, he attended the United States Army War College from September 1939 until June 1940.

During World War II, Prichard served as the Commanding Officer (CO) of the 27th Field Artillery Regiment from 1940–41, and received a promotion to colonel in the Army of the United States (AUS) on April 26, 1941. He served as chief of staff of the 4th Armored Division from 1941–42. On February 16, 1942 he was promoted to the rank of brigadier general (AUS). and was again promoted, on September 9, to major general (AUS). At the same time he was made Commanding General (CG) of the 14th Armored Division, a post he held until July 1944. From July 1944 until September 1945, after the end of World War II in Europe, he was the CG of the 1st "Old Ironsides" Armored Division during the Italian campaign, including the Battle of the Gothic Line, Po Valley and the Spring 1945 offensive in Italy.

Prichard and Eisenhower exchanged correspondence during the war. Shortly after the United States entered the war, in December 1941, Eisenhower wrote a letter to Prichard in which he confided, "this is a long tough road we have to travel." In an oft-quoted passage, Eisenhower continued his comments to Prichard, noting that, "men that can do things are going to be sought out just as surely as the sun rises in the morning," and, "fake reputations, habits of glib and clever speech, and glittering surface performances are going to be discovered."

During the Battle of the Bulge in late December 1944, Prichard wrote to Eisenhower, reminding him of what their football coach had taught them: "If things break badly or go against you -- stay with it all the harder." Eisenhower's biographer, Matthew Holland, later wrote that Eisenhower had learned important lessons on the football playing field at West Point, and concluded: "World War II was won on the playing fields of West Point, and Ike would prove to be the quarterback of the winning team."

After World War II, Prichard became the Chief of the Army Public Information Division. In February 1949, President Harry S. Truman promoted Prichard from the permanent rank of brigadier general to major general.

Source