Maurice Rose
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General Maurice Rose (November 26, 1899 - March 31, 1945) was an American military officer in the United States Army during World War II.
Rose first enlisted in the Colorado National Guard as a Private in 1915 hoping to serve with General John "Black Jack" Pershing's expedition into Mexico. He was discharged when it was found out that Rose falsified his age.
Commissioned in 1917 into the Infantry, he served with the 89th Infantry Division in France. He was wounded at St. Mihiel, and saw action in all of the Meuse-Argonne offensive.
During World War II, Rose served in three armored divisions. In North Africa, he served with the 1st Armored Division. During the campaign in Tunisia, General Rose was the first officer to accept the unconditional surrender of a large Nazi unit.
He was later the Chief of Staff of the 2nd Armored Division, until he was assigned to command the 3rd Armored Division in 1944, and given the rank of Major General. However, in 1945, he was killed in Paderborn, Germany while attempting to surrender to a German tank commander.
He was known for his brazen style of leadership involving his directing actions from the front lines not far from his forward elements. Under his command, the 3rd Armored Division drove over 100 miles in a single day, a record march for modern warfare.
The son and grandson of Rabbis, General Rose was at the time the highest ranking person of Jewish descent in the US Army. He was married twice and had two sons.
The Rose Medical Center in Denver, Colorado is named in his honor.
References
- Denver Post, November 27, 1960
- Steven L. Ossad, Don R. Marsh, Major General Maurice Rose: World War IIs Greatest Forgotten Commander (Taylor Trade Publishing, August 2003) ISBN 0878333088