William F. Sharp
| William Fletcher Sharp | |
|---|---|
| Born |
September 22, 1885 Yankton, South Dakota |
| Died | March 30, 1947 (aged 61) Fort McPherson, Georgia |
| Place of burial | Fort Leavenworth National Cemetery |
| Allegiance | United States of America |
| Service/ |
 United States Army
|
| Years of service | 1907-1946 |
| Rank |
 Major General
|
| Commands held |
1918-07-10 – 1918-10-24 Commanding Officer 11th Field Artillery Regiment, Western Front 1918 Commanding Officer 78th Field Artillery Regiment, Western Front 1941-11-04 – 1942-03-04 Commanding General Visayan-Mindanao Force Philippines 1942-03-04 – 1942-04-16 Commanding General Mindanao Force Philippines 1942-04-16 – 1942-05-10 Commanding General Visayan-Mindanao Force Philippines |
| Battles/wars |
|
| Awards | Army Distinguished Service Medal |
| Other work | Retirement |
1918-07-10 – 1918-10-24 Commanding Officer 11th Field Artillery Regiment, Western Front 1918 Commanding Officer 78th Field Artillery Regiment, Western Front 1941-11-04 – 1942-03-04 Commanding General Visayan-Mindanao Force Philippines 1942-03-04 – 1942-04-16 Commanding General Mindanao Force Philippines
William Fletcher Sharp (Sept. 22, 1885 - March 30, 1947) was born at Yankton, South Dakota. He graduated as a second lieutenant of field artillery from the United States Military Academy in 1907, and became a career Army officer.
Sharp commanded the 11th Field Artillery Regiment on the western front in France from July 10 to October 24, 1918. He later was the commanding officer of the 78th Field Artillery Regiment on the western front.
In 1929 Sharp was promoted to lieutenant colonel of field artillery.
Sharp was assigned to the Philippines and was a colonel prior to the outbreak of war. He was promoted to brigadier general and was given a command in fall 1941. As a brigadier general, Sharp, headquartered at Cebu, was placed in command of the Visayan-Mindanao Force on Nov. 4, 1941, shortly before Japan brought the United States into World War II. Sharp's force lacked many of the supplies it desperately needed and much of the equipment was outdated and not in proper working order. The troops under Sharp also lacked the training they needed to be an effective fighting force. These problems were similar to those faced by commanders on Luzon.
In January 1942 Sharp transferred his headquarters to Mindanao. Gen. Douglas MacArthur sent a letter to Sharp telling him if communications between the two generals were broken, that Sharp was to have the powers of a theatre command so as to continue the resistance to the Japanese. His forces on Cebu and various Visayan islands became autonomous because of Japanese activity that disrupted communications and travel. One important goal was to protect the airfield at Del Monte, in the north-central section of Mindanao. On Feb. 4 a part of Sharp's command was made independent and on March 4, all the island except Mindanao were made independent of Sharp, making him the commander of the Mindanao Force only. On April 16, Sharp was again made the commander of the Visayan-Mindanao Force, which meant little with much of the Visayan area now under Japanese control. Shortly before he was forced to surrender, Sharp was promoted to major general.
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Wikipedia