Brooks, Edward, born 25-04-1893 in Concord, New Hampshire,
began his military career in June 1915 as a Captain with the 1st Cavalry of the Vermont National Guard. During World War I, he served with the 3rd Division in five major engagements. Ted Brooks was chief of the statistics branch of the old War Department General Staff from 1939 to 1941, where he was closely associated with General George Catlett Marshall
Secretary Henry Lewis Stimson. In September 1941, General Jacob L. Devers requested that Brooks be named to the staff of the new armoured force being formed at Fort Knox, Kentucky. With this came promotion to Brigadier General. From 1942 he was commander of the 11th Armoured Division until March 1944, when he was sent to England to take command of the 2nd Armoured Division (“Hell on Wheels”)
and led that elite unit into Normandy. The new commander of the 11thArmoured Division, nickname “Thunderbolt”
became Brigadier General Charles S. Kilburn.
Launching an attack from Neufchateau, Belgium, 30 December, the 11th defended the highway to Bastogne against fierce assault. An eyewitness account by John Fague of B Company, 21stArmored Infantry Battalion of the 11th Armored Division,
Fague left on the picture, describes the killing of Waffen-SS prisoners by American soldiers at the Chenogne massacre “Some of the boys had some prisoners line up. Machine guns were being set up. These boys were to be machine gunned and murdered. We were committing the same crimes we were now accusing the Japanese and Germans of doing”. Joseph Cummins also relates the account by Fague regarding the killing of roughly 60 prisoners, but also notes that before the execution of the POWs took place, several Germans including medics waving red-cross flags, were machine-gunned when trying to surrender. Cummins further connects the massacre with the entry made by General George Smith Patton in his diary for January 04-01-1945: “The Eleventh Armored is very green and took unnecessary losses to no effect. There were also some unfortunate incidents in the shooting of prisoners. I hope we can conceal this.” In 5 months of combat, the Division took a total of 76.229 prisoners, not including 10.000 who were turned over to supporting infantry units, and 34.125 who were returned to Soviet jurisdiction under the terms of surrender. Casualties figures for the 11th Armored Division in the Eurpopean Theater, total 2.877 and killed in action 524.






The 12th division was prominent in the break-through at St. Lo, crossed the Rhine. General Brooks was awarded a Silver Star and he by General Charles Day Palmer
cited for “personal gallantry and leadership. Accepting the surrender of the German 19th Army during this time, two days before V-E day, was what he considered to be one of his greatest achievements. It was shortly thereafter when one of his deepest personal tragedies occurred, the death of his son, Major Edward Hale Brooks, Jr., USMA January 1943, in an airplane crash in Germany after the war had ended. Ted Edward retired from active service in 1953. Brooks spent the rest of his years in Concord and Melvin Village New Hampshire with fly fishing. “


Death and burial ground of Brooks, Edward Hale “Ted”.
Actor Cary Grant and Maj. General. Edward Hale Brooks shaking hands during WWII publicity tour
Ted Brooks died at the old age of 85, on 10-10-1978 in Melvin Village New Hampshire and is buried next to his son on Arlington Cemetery in Section 30. Close by the graves of Lieutenant General, Commander of the 26th Infantry Division, Willard Stewart Paul. Close by the graves of Major General, Commander 116th and 29th Division, nickname “Blue and Gray”
, D-Day, Charles Canham





General Ted Brooks in retirement.
and below as a Major General.


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