Willard Ames Holbrook

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title: "Willard Ames Holbrook" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1860-births", "1932-deaths", "united-states-army-cavalry-branch-personnel", "united-states-army-generals", "recipients-of-the-distinguished-service-medal-(us-army)", "american-military-personnel-of-the-spanish–american-war", "united-states-military-academy-alumni", "military-personnel-from-wisconsin", "people-from-waterville,-wisconsin", "united-states-army-generals-of-world-war-i", "burials-at-arlington-national-cemetery", "19th-century-united-states-army-personnel"] description: "Major General of US Army" topic_path: "history" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willard_Ames_Holbrook" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Major General of US Army ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox military person"]

Field	Value
name	Willard Ames Holbrook
birth_date
death_date
image	Willard Ames Holbrook.jpg
birth_place	Arkansaw, Wisconsin, United States
death_place	Washington, D.C., United States
placeofburial	Arlington National Cemetery, Virginia, United States
allegiance	United States
branch
serviceyears	1885–1924
rank	[[File:US-O8 insignia.svg
unit	[[File:ArmyCAVBranchPlaque.gif
commands	165th Brigade
9th Division
battles	Spanish–American War
World War I
awards	Army Distinguished Service Medal
relations	Willard Ames Holbrook Jr. (Son)
Lucius Roy Holbrook (Brother)
David S. Stanley (Father-in-law)
::

|name=Willard Ames Holbrook |birth_date= |death_date= |image=Willard Ames Holbrook.jpg |caption= |nickname= |birth_place=Arkansaw, Wisconsin, United States |death_place=Washington, D.C., United States |placeofburial=Arlington National Cemetery, Virginia, United States |placeofburial_label= |allegiance=United States |branch= |serviceyears=1885–1924 |servicenumber= |rank=[[File:US-O8 insignia.svg|25px]] Major General |unit=[[File:ArmyCAVBranchPlaque.gif|25px]] Cavalry Branch |commands=165th Brigade 9th Division |battles=Spanish–American War World War I |awards=Army Distinguished Service Medal |relations=Willard Ames Holbrook Jr. (Son) Lucius Roy Holbrook (Brother) David S. Stanley (Father-in-law) |laterwork= Major General Willard Ames Holbrook (July 23, 1860 – July 18, 1932) was a United States Army officer who served for almost forty years. Coming from a family with long military tradition, he was the father of future Brigadier General Willard Ames Holbrook Jr. and brother of Major General Lucius Roy Holbrook.

Early life

Holbrook was born on July 23, 1860, in Arkansaw, Wisconsin. He graduated 17th of 39 from the United States Military Academy in 1885. Among his classmates were future general officers such as Robert Lee Bullard, Joseph E. Kuhn, Beaumont B. Buck, Charles Henry Muir, William Franklin Martin, George Washington Burr, Daniel Bradford Devore. He was assigned to the 1st Cavalry Regiment (later he was assigned to the 7th Cavalry Regiment).

Military career

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ea/Flags_-Presentation_of_Flag-NARA-31480588(cropped)_(cropped).jpg" caption="Ex-President [[William Howard Taft]] presents colors at Camp Sherman, Ohio, August 1918. Stood to the right of ex-President Taft is Brigadier General Willard A. Holbrook."] ::

Holbrook was stationed in Cuba during the Spanish–American War. From 1901 to 1902, following the war, he served as Civil Governor of Antique, Philippines.

After America entered World War I in April 1917, Holbrook was promoted to brigadier general in command of the 165th Infantry Brigade. In April 1918, he was further promoted to major general and placed in command of the 9th Infantry Division. Holbrook's final assignment was as Chief of the U.S. Cavalry. He retired from the Army on July 23, 1924.{{cite book|last=Davis|first=Henry Blaine Jr.|title=Generals in Khaki|publisher=Pentland Press, Inc.|year= 1998 |isbn= 1571970886|oclc=40298151|page=186}}

Marriage and children

In 1902, Holbrook married Anna Huntington Stanley (1864 – 1907), daughter of Major General David S. Stanley.

• Willard Ames Holbrook Jr. – served as brigadier general
• David Stanley Holbrook – served as a first lieutenant and died from a gunshot wound in the Philippines in 1926.

Death

Holbrook died at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., on July 18, 1932. He is buried at Arlington National Cemetery along with his wife, Anna, and son, David.

Awards

His military awards include the Army Distinguished Service Medal, the citation for which reads:

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References

References

1. Patterson, Michael Robert. (23 October 2023). "Willard Ames Holbrook, Major General, United States Army".
2. "Biography :: Anna Stanley".
3. Patterson, Michael Robert. (23 October 2023). "David Stanley Holbrook, First Lieutenant, United States Army".
4. Davis, Henry Blaine Jr.. (1998). "Generals in Khaki". Pentland Press, Inc..
5. "Valor awards for Willard Ames Holbrook".

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::