Frank Ross McCoy

McCoy was born in Lewistown, Pennsylvania on October 29, 1874, the son of Margaret Eleanor (Ross) McCoy and Thomas Franklin McCoy. a veteran of the Mexican–American War and American Civil War who attained the rank of brigadier general by brevet.[1] He graduated from Lewistown High School in 1891, then attended the United States Military Academy. He graduated in 1897, received his commission as a second lieutenant and was assigned to the 8th Cavalry.[1]

McCoy served on the western front in Cuba, in the Philippines, and in the Santiago campaign. In Cuba and in the Philippines, he acted as aide to General Leonard Wood and was for several years aide to President Theodore Roosevelt after his promotion to major general.[1]

In 1911, McCoy was appointed a member of the General Staff and, in 1917, became a member of the General Staff of the American Expeditionary Forces in Europe, where he commanded the 165th Infantry Regiment in 1918.[1] McCoy wrote Principles of Military Training (1917).[2]

From 1918 to 1919, McCoy was Director of Transportation in the American Expeditionary Force. In 1919, he served as chief of staff in the United States military mission to Armenia. He led a relief mission to Tokyo after the 1923 earthquake. From 1926 to 1929, he commanded the 3rd Infantry Brigade and the 1st Field Artillery Brigade. From 1932 to 1933, he served on the Lytton Commission investigating the Japanese military invasion and occupation of Manchuria.[1] From 1933 to 1935, McCoy commanded the Seventh Corps Area.[3]

McCoy served as interim commander of First United States Army in 1938, and was succeeded by James K. Parsons. He retired on October 31, 1938,[1] but was recalled between 1941 and 1942 to serve on the Roberts Commission.

After the war, McCoy became the chairman of the Far Eastern Commission, an international body created to determine the fate of postwar Japan.[1] He was also a member of the Pennsylvania Society of the Sons of the Revolution.

McCoy received the Army Distinguished Service Medal with oak leaf cluster,[4] and two Silver Star Citations.[4] The citation for his first Army DSM reads:

The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, July 9, 1918, takes pleasure in presenting the Army Distinguished Service Medal to Brigadier General Frank Ross McCoy, United States Army, for exceptionally meritorious and distinguished services to the Government of the United States, in a duty of great responsibility during World War I. As Secretary of the General Staff, American Expeditionary Forces, General McCoy's services were of particular value in the original organization of the forces in France. Later, in Command of the 165th Infantry, 42d Division, in the Baccarat sector, and then in Command of the 63d Infantry Brigade in the difficult fighting east of Reims, he had a prominent part in the successes achieved.

The second DSM citation reads:

The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, July 9, 1918, takes pleasure in presenting a Bronze Oak Leaf Cluster in lieu of a Second Award of the Army Distinguished Service Medal to Brigadier General Frank Ross McCoy, United States Army, for exceptionally meritorious and distinguished services to the Government of the United States, in a duty of great responsibility. As Personal Representative of the President in Nicaragua and Chairman of the Electoral Board during 1927 and 1928, General McCoy combined to a marked degree the qualities of diplomat and soldier and displayed excellent and sound judgment in a position of great responsibility, conducting a difficult mission with fairness, justice, and tact, thereby commanding the respect of all factions, and acceptance by all political parties of the results of the election, and the free expression of the Nicaraguan people. In connection with our relations with Latin American this outstanding achievement of General McCoy, in the face of seemingly insurmountable obstacles, has brought great credit to himself and the Army of the United States.

McCoy died on June 4, 1954 at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.[1]

Birthplace

His birthplace, the McCoy House, was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.[5] His papers are held by the Library of Congress.[6]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Frank Ross McCoy.

• "Gen. Drum to Command Second Corps Area; Will Relieve General McCoy, Who Is Retiring, Here", New York Times, September 14, 1938
• Diplomat in Khaki: Major General Frank Ross McCoy and American Foreign Policy, 1898–1949, Andrew Bacevich, 1989, ISBN 0-7006-0401-4