Robert W. Grow

Major General Robert Walker Grow (February 14, 1895 – November 3, 1985) was a senior United States Army officer who commanded the 6th Armored Division during World War II. He was notable for his court-martial in 1951 for failing to safeguard classified information.

Robert Walker Grow
Born	February 14, 1895 Sibley, Iowa, United States
Died	November 3, 1985 (aged 90) Falls Church, Virginia, United States
Buried	Arlington National Cemetery, Virginia, United States
Allegiance	United States
Service/branch	United States Army
Years of service	1915–1951
Rank	Major General
Unit	Field Artillery Branch
Commands held	6th Armored Division 3rd Armored Division 26th Infantry Division
Battles/wars	World War I World War II
Awards	Distinguished Service Cross Army Distinguished Service Medal

Biography

Born in Sibley, Iowa to Nellie (née Walker) and John Thomas Grow. His mother died when he was two years old and Grow went to live with his paternal grandparents, as his father went to Canada to work. He graduated from the University of Minnesota in 1916.[1] He married Mary Louella Marshall (1896-1974), daughter of Willamina H. "Willie" (née Robertson) and J Walter Marshall, of Cleveland, Tennessee on November 5, 1917 in Hamilton, Tennessee.[2] They had two sons, Robert Marshall and Walter Thomas, both attendees of the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York. They had an additional child die as a one-day-old in Brownsville, Texas.

Robert W. Grow was the commander the U.S. 6th Armored Division on the Western Front, fighting during the battles of Normandy and of the Bulge.

His command of the 6th Armored Division in its rapid assault across the Brittany Peninsula is considered one of the finest examples of armor in the exploitation phase. This stunning advance is often overlooked due to the more glamorous exploits of the rest of the U.S. Army surrounding the German Seventh Army at the same time.

Rober W. Grow in the Field.

He is also known for being court-martialed in 1951 during the Cold War on charges of failing to safeguard classified information.[3] At the time, he was the senior U.S. military attache in Moscow, and portions of his diary fell into Soviet hands. Grow retired after the court-martial and later became an executive of the Falls Church, Virginia chamber of commerce.

Not long after the court-martial, his son, Walter Thomas Grow, was on summer vacation from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1953 when a fire started in his bedroom of the family home in Falls Church, Virginia. Walter Thomas Grow, 21, died of smoke inhalation on August 12, 1953.[4]

References

1. Hofmann. - p.10.
2. Morton, Richard Lee (1964), Virginia Lives: The Old Dominion Who's Who, Virginia Historical Record Association, p. 398
3. Hofmann, George F. (1993), Cold War Casualty: The Court-Martial of Major General Robert W. Grow, ISBN 0-87338-462-8
4. "General's Son Dies In Fire At His Home; W. T. Grow Was a West Pointer -- Father Was Court-Martialed for Slack Care of Diary", The New York Times, p. 8, August 14, 1953

External links

• Robert Walker Grow at Find a Grave