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Luther R. Stevens

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Luther R. Stevens
As a Mississippi A&M cadet in 1910
Born(1889-07-03)3 July 1889
Wesson, Mississippi
Died7 February 1973(1973-02-07) (aged 83)
St. Petersburg, Florida
Years of service1910–1948
RankColonel (PC)
Brigadier General (PA)
Colonel (USA)
Commands91st Division (Philippines)
Philippine Constabulary Academy
Battles / wars
Awards

Luther Rea Stevens (3 July 1889 – 7 February 1973) was a military officer who served in the Philippine Constabulary, Philippine Army and United States Army. During World War II, he commanded the 91st Division during the Philippines campaign and then spent more than three years as a prisoner of war after surrendering at Bataan in April 1942.

Early life and education

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Stevens was born and raised in Wesson, Mississippi.[1] He earned a B.S. degree in mechanical engineering from the A&M College of Mississippi in 1910, where he was a classmate of William E. Brougher. Stevens graduated from the Philippine Constabulary School in December 1910. He completed the Infantry School advanced course at Fort Benning, Georgia in 1939 and the Command and General Staff School at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas in 1940.[2][3][4]

Career

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Stevens accepted a commission as a third lieutenant in the Philippine Constabulary in July 1910.[3][5] He was also commissioned in the United States Army Officers' Reserve Corps.[6]

Stevens was promoted to major in January 1922 and subsequently received a temporary promotion to lieutenant colonel in March 1924. He then served as constabulary commander in the District of Mindanao and Sulu from March 1924 to July 1927. Permanently promoted to lieutenant colonel in January 1927,[3] Stevens led the response to Moro uprisings in January and February 1927.[7][8][9]

Stevens served as superintendent of the Philippine Constabulary Academy from July to December 1927 before resuming command in the District of Mindanao and Sulu in January 1929.[3] He again led the response to a Moro uprising in October 1932.[10] Stevens was promoted to colonel in February 1933.[11] He was honorably discharged from his U.S. Army Reserve commission in March 1936 when the Philippine military forces were reorganized.[6]

After the Philippine Constabulary was absorbed into the United States Army Forces in the Far East in 1941, Stevens became a colonel in the Philippine Army. He was given command of the 91st Division and then promoted to brigadier general in December 1941. During subsequent combat with Japanese forces, Stevens earned the Distinguished Service Cross.[12] After capture, he survived the Bataan Death March. As a non-Filipino general officer, Stevens was interned with senior U.S. Army officers.[13] His wife Lula and daughter Betty were imprisoned at the Santo Tomas Internment Camp. His three sons were studying in the United States at the time of the Japanese invasion.[1]

After his liberation from Hoten Camp, Manchuria in 1945, President Harry S. Truman nominated him for permanent appointment as a brigadier general in the United States Army along with sixteen other prisoner-of-war camp survivors who already held temporary appointments as U.S. Army major or brigadier generals.[14][15] When the original nomination expired at the end of the congressional session, it was resubmitted in January 1946 but failed to obtain Senate confirmation.[16][17] Stevens instead accepted an appointment as a temporary U.S. Army colonel in July 1946.[6] He retired from active duty as a U.S. Army Reserve colonel on 31 August 1948.[18]

Later life

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Stevens and his wife lived in West Palm Beach, Florida after his retirement. They died in an automobile accident in St. Petersburg, Florida and were interred in his family's plot at the Wesson Cemetery in Mississippi.[1][19]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "General And Wife Killed In Accident". Clarion-Ledger. Jackson, Mississippi. 14 February 1973. p. 9. Retrieved 2023-02-11.
  2. ^ Reveille (PDF). Vol. VI. Mississippi A&M College. 1910. pp. 35, 57. Retrieved 2024-07-23.
  3. ^ a b c d "30th Year Anniversary" (PDF). Khaki and Red. Vol. XI, no. 7. July 1931. pp. 103, 148. Retrieved 2023-02-11.
  4. ^ Meixsel, Richard Bruce (15 February 2018). Frustrated Ambition: General Vicente Lim and the Philippine Military Experience, 1910–1944. University of Oklahoma Press. p. 273. ISBN 978-0806160764. Retrieved 2023-02-12.
  5. ^ "Beneficiary Identification Records Locator Subsystem (BIRLS) Death File". U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
  6. ^ a b c "Report No. 936 (To accompany H.R. 2993): Appointment of Certain Additional Permanent Major Generals and Brigadier Generals". 80th Congress, 1st Session, House of Representatives. U.S. Government Printing Office. 16 July 1947. Retrieved 2023-02-11.
  7. ^ "35 Moros Die In Fight; Princess Is Removed: Constabulary Attacks Datu Tahil's Fortress; Fighting Continues Hour: Rebel Chief Escapes". The Washington Post. 1 February 1927. p. 1. ProQuest 149794694. Retrieved 2023-02-11.
  8. ^ "New Moro Uprising Held More Serious: 500 Men Defying Government in Philippines; Governor Calls for Help". The Washington Post. 18 February 1927. p. 4. ProQuest 149813567. Retrieved 2023-02-11.
  9. ^ "Philippine Rebellion Is Reported Checked: Demands of Chiefs Main Grievance of Tribes, American Officer Says". The Washington Post. 2 March 1927. p. 9. ProQuest 149808973. Retrieved 2023-02-11.
  10. ^ "Troops Will Rush Moro Stronghold: Constabulary Chief Plans Assault After 42 Die in Encounters". The Washington Post. 11 October 1932. p. 3. ProQuest 150175413. Retrieved 2023-02-11.
  11. ^ Woods, Robt. G. (July 1933). "The Insular Police Observes Its 32nd Year of Service" (PDF). Khaki and Red. Vol. XIII, no. 7. p. 11. Retrieved 2023-02-11.
  12. ^ "Luther R. Stevens". Military Times. Sightline Media Group. Retrieved 2023-02-11.
  13. ^ Brougher, Edward W. (1 December 2010). South to Bataan, North to Mukden: The Prison Diary of Brigadier General W. E. Brougher. University of Georgia Press. ISBN 978-0820337951. Retrieved 2023-02-11.
  14. ^ Congressional Record — Senate (PDF). U.S. Government Printing Office. 26 October 1945. p. 10111. Retrieved 2023-02-11.
  15. ^ "Promotions Asked For War Leaders: Truman Names 105 in Army, Navy for Higher Permanent Rank—Many Are Famed" (PDF). The New York Times. 27 October 1945. p. 9. Retrieved 2023-02-11.
  16. ^ Congressional Record — Senate (PDF). U.S. Government Printing Office. 23 January 1946. p. 260. Retrieved 2023-02-11.
  17. ^ "Renominate Army Regulars". Army and Navy Journal. Vol. LXXXIII, no. 22. 26 January 1946. p. 711. Retrieved 2023-02-11.
  18. ^ U.S. Army Register: Army of the United States and Other Retired Lists. Vol. II. U.S. Government Printing Office. 1 January 1966. p. 366. Retrieved 2023-02-11.
  19. ^ Campbell, Brett (26 April 2021). "VFW wants to honor two WWII POWs in Wesson". The Daily Leader. Brookhaven, Mississippi. Retrieved 2023-02-11.
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