World War II Honoree

Edward Chambers Betts

Branch of Service

U.S. Army

Hometown

Huntsville, Alabama

Honored By

David P. Norton

BRIGADIER GENERAL. JUDGE ADVOCATE GENERAL'S CORPS. PROFESSOR OF LAW AT THE U.S. MILITARY ACADEMY AT WEST POINT IN 1938. IN THE WAKE OF THE DECEMBER 7, 1941 ATTACK ON PEARL HARBOR, HE WAS IMMEDIATELY PROMOTED TO FULL COLONEL AND NAMED JUDGE ADVOCATE, HEADQUARTERS, EUROPEAN THEATER OF OPERATIONS, WHERE HE SERVED AS CHIEF LEGAL ADVISOR, ALLIED EXPEDITIONARY FORCES, TO GENERAL DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER. HIS DEATH WAS FROM NATURAL CAUSES, AT FRANKFURT, GERMANY, ON MAY 6, 1946, THUS ENDING THE PREPARATIONS HE WAS MAKING FOR THE TRIALS OF GERMAN WAR CRIMINALS AT NUREMBERG. AWARDED THE ARMY DISTINGUISHED SERVICE MEDAL, THE LEGION OF MERIT, THE BRONZE STAR, THE FRENCH LEGION OF HONOR (AS CHEVALIER), FRENCH CROIX DE GUERRE WITH PALM, THE LUXEMBOURG CROIX DE GUERRE, THE BELGIUM ORDER OF LEOPOLD II COMMANDER, THE ORDER OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE COMMANDER AND AS THE ONLY AMERICAN SO HONORED A MEMBER OF LONDON'S ANTHENAEUM CLUB.