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| Raymond McLain | |
|---|---|
| Name | Raymond McLain |
| Birth date | April 9, 1890 |
| Birth place | Greensburg, Indiana |
| Death date | February 6, 1954 |
| Death place | Washington, D.C. |
| Allegiance | United States of America |
| Branch | United States Army |
| Serviceyears | 1910–1952 |
| Rank | Lieutenant General |
| Unit | 45th Infantry Division, 77th Infantry Division |
| Commands | 45th Infantry Division, II Corps |
Raymond McLain was a senior United States Army officer who rose from enlisted ranks to lieutenant general, noted for leading National Guard formations and corps-level units during World War II and the early Cold War. He became prominent commanding the 45th Infantry Division and later serving with Supreme Allied Command-related staffs and Army training commands. McLain's career intersected with major figures and events including Omar Bradley, George S. Patton, Dwight D. Eisenhower, the Italian Campaign, and the European Theater.
McLain was born in Greensburg, Indiana, and raised amid Midwestern communities that produced a number of early 20th-century military leaders, alongside figures tied to Fort Benning and West Point. He attended local schools before entering military service as an enlisted man, paralleling trajectories seen in biographies of John J. Pershing and Owen D. Young contemporaries who advanced through professional military education. McLain later completed officer training and professional courses at institutions associated with Command and General Staff College and other schools cited in the careers of George C. Marshall and Joseph Stilwell.
McLain's early service included postings and assignments similar to those held by contemporaries in the Philippine–American War aftermath and the interwar National Guard stabilization era, with duty that connected him to units and installations such as Fort Leavenworth, Fort Bragg, and state National Guards in the Midwest. He served in roles that involved training, staff work, and command at regimental and divisional levels, mirroring career arcs of officers like Alexander Patch and Mark W. Clark. During the lead-up to World War II, McLain supervised mobilization and training activities that linked him to mobilization centers and wartime planners in the War Department and Joint Chiefs of Staff environment.
In World War II McLain rose to prominence commanding the 45th Infantry Division, a National Guard formation with roots connected to units from Oklahoma, Arizona, New Mexico, and Colorado. Under his leadership the division participated in the Sicily Campaign, the Italian Campaign, and later operations in the European Theater, fighting alongside formations such as the 34th Infantry Division and the 3rd Infantry Division. McLain coordinated with corps and army commanders including Mark W. Clark, Alcide de Gasperi-era Italian authorities, and multinational headquarters that interacted with Allied Control Commission elements. His command emphasized combined-arms cooperation with United States Army Air Forces support, coordination with British Eighth Army elements, and integration with logistical units such as Transportation Corps and Quartermaster Corps formations.
Promoted to corps command, McLain led II Corps in operations that placed him in the chain-of-command beneath army commanders like Omar Bradley and working in theater plans shaped by Dwight D. Eisenhower. His tenure involved defensive and offensive operations, coordination with allied armies including French Expeditionary Corps components, and dealing with the logistical challenges seen in campaigns documented alongside Arnhem, Anzio, and other Mediterranean and European operations.
After V-E Day McLain held high-level posts in occupation, training, and force structure reorganization, similar to contemporaries such as Lucian K. Truscott Jr. and Joseph T. McNarney. He served in roles connected to USAREUR staffing, force planning in the nascent NATO context, and Army training commands that coordinated with institutions including West Point and the United States Army War College. McLain received promotions to lieutenant general and assignments that placed him in Washington, D.C., interacting with Defense Department leaders and civilian officials within Department of Defense structures under presidents including Harry S. Truman and advisers who worked with figures such as George C. Marshall and Robert A. Lovett.
McLain's decorations reflected service in major World War II campaigns and high command, and included distinctions common to senior commanders: campaign ribbons for the Sicily Campaign and Italian Campaign, as well as citation awards associated with allied cooperation, referenced in award rolls alongside recipients like Audie Murphy and Alexander M. Patch. He was recognized by both United States and allied authorities, comparable to honors bestowed on commanders such as Mark Clark and Omar Bradley for operational leadership and coalition coordination.
McLain's private life, like that of many senior officers, involved family connections rooted in Midwestern communities tied to Indiana civic institutions and veterans' organizations including American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars. His legacy endures in histories of the 45th Infantry Division, corps-level command studies, and institutional analyses produced by Center of Military History-style narratives. Historians compare his career progression from enlisted ranks to lieutenant general with similar narratives exemplified by leaders such as Omar Bradley and Creighton Abrams, and his contributions are cited in accounts of National Guard mobilization, combined-arms doctrine evolution, and American operations in the Mediterranean during World War II.
Category:United States Army generals Category:1890 births Category:1954 deaths