Frederic W. Galbraith
Encyclopedia
Frederic W. Galbraith was the second national commander of the American Legion
. He had been highly decorated as a soldier during World War I
and was instrumental in helping to make the American Legion the largest and most powerful veteran organization in the world at the time of death.
. At 13 he returned to Massachusetts and began working in a manufacturing plant. At night he studied for the entrance exams at the United States Naval Academy. Denied admission because he was six months too old, he then entered the Massachusetts Nautical Training Academy. He completed its three year course in just one year and was soon a third mate on a sailing vessel bound for Japan.
When Galbraith was 24 he was a master of a ship. On one occasion in the China Sea
he rescued the entire crew of another vessel that had caught fire in a storm. This feat of heroism was widely celebrated at the time in the Asiatic region. He was presented with a silver medal in recognition of his actions.
After six years at sea he returned to Massachusetts and became the treasurer of a bankrupt paper box company in Springfield, Massachusetts. The next year he was able to use his management skills to save the company $100,000 and thenceforth his rise in the business world was rapid. He eventually became an officer or director with several large corporations.
In 1917 when the United States entered World War I he became a soldier by joining the First Infantry of the Ohio National Guard
. He was a colonel of the regiment when it became the 147th Infantry of the 37th Division. Col. Galbraith was later wounded in combat, cited for valor, and decorated with the Distinguished Service Cross
, the French Legion d'honneur
, and the Croix de Guerre
.
. He worked to enact legislation for aid to disabled veterans and for a scheme to pay veterans of the war an "adjusted compensation" for their service. He became friends with President Warren Harding and was considered the leading spokesman for veterans around the nation.
. During World War II a liberty ship
, the U.S.S. Frederic W. Galbraith, was named in his memory.
American Legion
The American Legion is a mutual-aid organization of veterans of the United States armed forces chartered by the United States Congress. It was founded to benefit those veterans who served during a wartime period as defined by Congress...
. He had been highly decorated as a soldier during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
and was instrumental in helping to make the American Legion the largest and most powerful veteran organization in the world at the time of death.
Background
Frederic W. "Fritz" Galbraith, Jr. was born in Watertown Arsenal, in Massachusetts, in 1874. His two brothers were college professors, but Galbraith left school at the age of 10 to go with his father to California for work. He was soon the youngest track-walker on the Southern Pacific RailroadSouthern Pacific Railroad
The Southern Pacific Transportation Company , earlier Southern Pacific Railroad and Southern Pacific Company, and usually simply called the Southern Pacific or Espee, was an American railroad....
. At 13 he returned to Massachusetts and began working in a manufacturing plant. At night he studied for the entrance exams at the United States Naval Academy. Denied admission because he was six months too old, he then entered the Massachusetts Nautical Training Academy. He completed its three year course in just one year and was soon a third mate on a sailing vessel bound for Japan.
When Galbraith was 24 he was a master of a ship. On one occasion in the China Sea
China Sea
The China Seas consist of the seas of the Western Pacific Ocean, around China:* Bohai Sea* Yellow Sea* East China Sea* South China SeaOther uses*China Seas , a 1935 American adventure film...
he rescued the entire crew of another vessel that had caught fire in a storm. This feat of heroism was widely celebrated at the time in the Asiatic region. He was presented with a silver medal in recognition of his actions.
After six years at sea he returned to Massachusetts and became the treasurer of a bankrupt paper box company in Springfield, Massachusetts. The next year he was able to use his management skills to save the company $100,000 and thenceforth his rise in the business world was rapid. He eventually became an officer or director with several large corporations.
In 1917 when the United States entered World War I he became a soldier by joining the First Infantry of the Ohio National Guard
Ohio National Guard
The Ohio National Guard comprises:* Ohio Army National Guard* Ohio Air National Guard-External links:* compiled by the United States Army Center of Military History...
. He was a colonel of the regiment when it became the 147th Infantry of the 37th Division. Col. Galbraith was later wounded in combat, cited for valor, and decorated with the Distinguished Service Cross
Distinguished Service Cross (United States)
The Distinguished Service Cross is the second highest military decoration that can be awarded to a member of the United States Army, for extreme gallantry and risk of life in actual combat with an armed enemy force. Actions that merit the Distinguished Service Cross must be of such a high degree...
, the French Legion d'honneur
Légion d'honneur
The Legion of Honour, or in full the National Order of the Legion of Honour is a French order established by Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of the Consulat which succeeded to the First Republic, on 19 May 1802...
, and the Croix de Guerre
Croix de guerre
The Croix de guerre is a military decoration of France. It was first created in 1915 and consists of a square-cross medal on two crossed swords, hanging from a ribbon with various degree pins. The decoration was awarded during World War I, again in World War II, and in other conflicts...
.
Second National Commander
At the second national American Legion convention in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1920 Galbraith was elected as the national commander to succeed Franklin D'OlierFranklin D'Olier
Franklin D'Olier was the first national commander of the American Legion and served in that capacity from 1919 to 1921. Like all of the original American Legion membership, D'Olier was a veteran of The Great War. D'Olier was also a prominent businessman and the great-grandfather of actor...
. He worked to enact legislation for aid to disabled veterans and for a scheme to pay veterans of the war an "adjusted compensation" for their service. He became friends with President Warren Harding and was considered the leading spokesman for veterans around the nation.
Death
Commander Galbraith was killed in an automobile accident in Indianapolis, Indiana on June 9, 1921. The vehicle in which he was riding took a turn too quickly and flipped off of the road. Galbraith was ejected from the car, struck his head on a piece of concrete that had been left by a road crew, and died instantly. His death made national news and thousands attended his funeral in Cincinnati, Ohio. His widow refused an offer from President Harding for him to be buried in Arlington National CemeteryArlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington County, Virginia, is a military cemetery in the United States of America, established during the American Civil War on the grounds of Arlington House, formerly the estate of the family of Confederate general Robert E. Lee's wife Mary Anna Lee, a great...
. During World War II a liberty ship
Liberty ship
Liberty ships were cargo ships built in the United States during World War II. Though British in conception, they were adapted by the U.S. as they were cheap and quick to build, and came to symbolize U.S. wartime industrial output. Based on vessels ordered by Britain to replace ships torpedoed by...
, the U.S.S. Frederic W. Galbraith, was named in his memory.
Sources
- A History of the American Legion by Marquis JamesMarquis JamesMarquis James was an American journalist and author, twice awarded the Pulitzer Prize for his works The Raven: A Biography of Sam Houston and The Life of Andrew Jackson....
. 1923. - New York Times story on his death. June 10, 1921.