Clifford Bluemel

Clifford Bluemel
General Clifford Bluemel
Nickname(s)	Blinky
Born	(1885-11-09)November 9, 1885 Trenton, New Jersey
Died	June 27, 1973(1973-06-27) (aged 87) Trenton, New Jersey
Buried	West Point Cemetery
Allegiance	United States of America
Service / branch	United States Army
Years of service	1909–1947
Rank	Brigadier General
Service number	0-2642
Commands	Fort Benjamin Harrison 31st Division (Philippines) 45th Infantry Regiment
Battles / wars	Battle of Bataan
Awards	Distinguished Service Cross Distinguished Service Medal Silver Star Prisoner of War Medal

Clifford Bluemel (9 November 1885 – 27 June 1973) was an American brigadier general.[1] He commanded the 31st Division during the Battle of Bataan before being captured by Japanese forces and held as a prisoner of war.[2]

Biography

Bluemel was born and raised in New Jersey. He graduated from the United States Military Academy on June 11, 1909. After World War I, Bluemel graduated from the advanced course at the Infantry School in 1926 and then from the Command and General Staff School in 1927.[3] He was promoted to colonel effective September 1, 1938 and then temporarily advanced to brigadier general on December 24, 1941.[4] His final assignment was as commanding general of Fort Benjamin Harrison from 1946 to 1947.[5]

After his death, Bluemel was buried at the West Point Cemetery on June 29, 1973.[6]

See also

• Philippine Division
• Douglas MacArthur
• United States Army Forces in the Far East

References

1. Clifford Bluemel (1941). The Clifford Bluemel Papers.
2. Staff. "GEN. BLUEMEL GETS DSM; Jersey Officer Commanded Division at Bataan Before Capture", The New York Times, November 10, 1945. Accessed October 22, 2017. "The Army's Distinguished Service Medal was presented at the Presidio today to Brig. Gen. Clifford Bluemel of Trenton, N. J., who commanded the Thirty-first Division in the defense of Bataan before his capture by the Japanese who held him prisoner more than two years."
3. Official Army Register. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office. January 1, 1940. p. 71. Retrieved 2022-09-19.
4. Official Army Register (PDF). Vol. I. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office. January 1, 1947. p. 101. Retrieved 2022-09-19.
5. "Class of 1909—Register of Graduates". Official Register of the Officers and Cadets. United States Military Academy. 1971. p. 325. Retrieved 2022-09-19.
6. "Bluemel, Clifford". Army Cemeteries Explorer. U.S. Army. Retrieved 2022-09-19.

Bibliography

• Donald J. Young (16 March 2015). The Fall of the Philippines: The Desperate Struggle Against the Japanese Invasion, 1941-1942. McFarland. pp. 119–. ISBN 978-0-7864-9820-8.
• John A. Adams (15 July 2008). If Mahan Ran the Great Pacific War: An Analysis of World War II Naval Strategy. Indiana University Press. pp. 90–. ISBN 978-0-253-00029-3.
• Manny Lawton (3 January 2004). Some Survived: An Eyewitness Account of the Bataan Death March and the Men Who Lived through It. Algonquin Books. pp. 6–. ISBN 978-1-56512-837-8.

External links

• Clifford Bluemel at Find a Grave
• Military Times Hall of Valor
• Generals of World War II