William N. Porter
BornMarch 15, 1886
Lima, Ohio, US
DiedFebruary 5, 1973 (age 86)
Key West, Florida, US
EducationUnited States Naval Academy (1909)
Command and General Staff School (1927)
Army Industrial College
Army War College
TitleChief of the Chemical Warfare Service
Term1941–1945
SpouseMary

William N. Porter (March 15, 1886 – February 5, 1973) was a United States Army officer who led the Army's Chemical Warfare Service during the second World War.[1]

Early life and education

Porter was born in Lima, Ohio on March 15, 1886.[2][3] He attended the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, graduating in 1909.[1] After less than a year of active naval service, he resigned as a midshipman on February 7, 1910.[4] (Until 1912, midshipmen who graduated from the academy had to serve two years in the fleet before being commissioned as ensigns.)[5] He then joined the Army as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army Coast Artillery Corps.[1]

Chemical Warfare Service

Porter was transferred to the Army's Chemical Warfare Service in 1921 as a major.[1][6] Porter graduated with distinction in 1927 from the Command and General Staff School and then attended both the Army Industrial College and the Army War College.[6]

As a lieutenant colonel from 1934 to 1937, Porter was assigned to the faculty at the Air Corps Tactical School located at Maxwell Field.[7]

Porter served as Director of the Chemical Warfare School, located at the time in Washington, DC, and, as a colonel, as Chemical Officer, 9th Corps Area.[8]

After the outbreak of World War Two, Porter was appointed head of the Army Chemical Warfare Service and promoted to major general.[2] He led the service from May 1941 until 1945, despite having had no experience as a chemical officer in the First World War.[6][9] Until March 1942, he reported directly to the Army Chief of Staff, but from then on to the Service of Supply, later renamed the Army Service Forces.[6] The Chemical Warfare Service was responsible for both offensive and defensive chemical weapons usage, including smoke. Under his command, the service fielded flamethrowers, developed and manufactured incendiary bombs and devices, worked to improve the effectiveness of DDT as an insecticide, and developed treatments for the expected effects of chemical weapons such as respiratory disease, burns, and poisoning.[1][9]

In December 1943, after the Battle of Tarawa, Porter and the Chemical Warfare Service urged the use of chemical warfare in the Pacific Theater to reduce U.S. casualties against fierce Japanese resistance. However, President Franklin Roosevelt and American public opinion opposed the use of poison gas and were not persuaded.[10]

Porter was awarded the Army Distinguished Service Medal for his wartime efforts.[11]

Porter retired from active duty on November 13, 1945.[6]

Publications

Porter authored articles for professional journals:[12]

  • Porter, William (January–February 1915). "The Service of Security and Information in Coast Defense". The Journal of the United States Artillery. 43: 83–94.
  • Porter, William (December 1924). "Smoke and the Coast Artillery". Coast Artillery Journal. 61: 522–528.

Retirement

Following his retirement from the Army, Porter was president of the Chemical Construction Corporation.[1] The company's offices were located in New York City.[2] In 1953, he was elected a director of Cambridge, MA electronics manufacturer Ultrasonic Corp.[13]

Porter also served as president of the New York Chapter of the Armed Forces Chemical Association.[14]

Porter died of a heart attack at his home in Key West, Florida in 1973 at the age of 86.[1] He was buried at Arlington National Cemetery.[2]

Personal life

Porter was married to Mary Porter. At the time of his death, he was survived by a son and a daughter.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Gen. W.N. Porter, Led Chemical Warfare". The New York Times. 23 February 1973. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Maj. Gen. W. N. Porter, Ex-Chemical War Chief". Miami Herald. 20 February 1973. p. 26.
  3. ↑ "Today's Birthdays". The Key West Citizen. 15 March 1945. p. 2. Maj. Gen. William N. Porter, chief, chemical warfare service, born Lima, Ohio, 59 years ago.
  4. ↑ United States Navy (1911). Register of the Commissioned and Warrant Officers of the United States Navy and Marine Corps. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office. p. 203. Retrieved 8 December 2023.
  5. ↑ "U.S. Naval Academy During World War I". United States Naval Academy. Retrieved 8 December 2023.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 Brophy, Leo P.; Fischer, George J.B. (1959). United States Army in World War II: The technical services: The Chemical Warfare Service: Organizing For War. Washington, DC: Historical Division, Department of the Army. pp. 91–92. Retrieved 8 December 2023.
  7. ↑ Finney, Robert T. (1998). History of the Air Corps Tactical School: 1920-1940 (Reprint ed.). Air Force History and Museums Program. pp. 39, 105–108. Retrieved 8 December 2023.
  8. ↑ Harding, P.N., ed. (March 1939). "Naval Reserve Officers' Pool". The Log. San Francisco: The Log Publications, Inc. 32 (6): 24. Retrieved 8 December 2023.
  9. 1 2 Kleber, Brooks E.; Birdsell, Dale (1966). United States Army in World War II: The Technical Services: The Chemical Warfare Service: Chemicals in Combat. Washington, DC: Office of the Chief of Military History, United States Army. p. 26. Retrieved 8 December 2023.
  10. ↑ Christianson, Scott (2010). Fatal Airs: the Deadly History and Apocalyptic Future of Lethal Gasses that Threaten Our World. Santa Barbara, CA: Praeger. p. 56. ISBN 9780313385520. Retrieved 8 December 2023.
  11. ↑ "William Porter - Recipient". Hall of Valor Project. Sightline Media Group. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
  12. ↑ Floyd, Dale (1997). Defending America’s Coasts, 1775-1950: a Bibliography (PDF). Alexandria, VA: Office of History, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
  13. ↑ "Who's Where". Aviation Week. McGraw-Hill. 58 (6): 11. 9 February 1953. Retrieved 8 December 2023.
  14. ↑ "Heads New York Chapter". Armed Forces Chemical Journal. Armed Forces Chemical Association. VIII (4): 2. September–October 1954. Retrieved 8 December 2023.
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