Herbert L. Earnest
Biography: Herbert Ludwell Earnest was born on November 11, 1895 in Richmond, Virginia. He was the son of James A. Earnest and Mary E. Talley. He attended local schools followed by 4 years at Fork Union Military Academy, graduating in 1914. He next attended the Medical College of Virginia where he studied dentistry for two years. In 1915, he was working as a clerk at the National State and City Bank in Richmond. On October 20, 1920, Herbert married the former Frances A. Campbell who was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She was the daughter of Frederick A. Campbell and Winifred B. Tener. They had a son, Clyde T., born in 1921, and a daughter, Frances E. in 1926.
Service Time: Herbert joined the Virginia National Guard on June 21, 1916 and was honorably discharged on August 14, 1917, at the rank of Corporal. On the 15th of August, he was commissioned as a 2 nd Lieutenant (Lt.), possibly in the reserves and on October 26 th of that same year, he was commissioned as a 2nd Lt. Cavalry in the Regular Army. In November, he sailed to France with the American Expeditionary Forces and served with the Third Cavalry in various posts as a 1 st Lt. until returning home to Fort Ethan Allen, Vermont, in June of 1919. Herbert was promoted to Captain by late 1920 and in late 1921, he was transferred to Fort Riley, Kansas. He attended the Cavalry School there and in June, 1924, he completed the Advanced Cavalry School. In June, 1926, he was invited to, and attended, the Ecole d’ Application de Cavalerie at Saumur, France. Between 1932 and 1934 Herbert attended Command and General Staff College at Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas. Promoted to Major in 1935, he received additional schooling at Edgewood Arsenal, Maryland, in 1937, where he attended Chemical Warfare School. In 1938-39 he was in Washington, D.C. for the Army Industrial College. In July, 1939, Herbert was assigned to the War Department General Staff – G-3, under General George Marshall in Washington, D.C. Later promotions to Lieutenant Colonel and Colonel came in 1940 and ’41 respectively.
In 1942 he was transferred to Camp Hood, Texas, and became the executive officer of the Tank Destroyer Center. In December, 1942, he was assigned to command the 1st Tank Destroyer Brigade (TDB), Camp Hood. The unit was organized on November 24, 1942, at Camp Hood. Herbert was promoted to Brigadier General on February 3, 1943. They were permanently transferred to Camp Claiborne, Louisiana on February 26, 1943, and assigned to Third Army. From September 15th through November 15, 1943, they participated in the Louisiana Maneuvers. Following this, they returned to Camp Claiborne and began intensive training in preparation for overseas duty. On January 7, 1944, they shipped out from Camp Claiborne and arrived at Camp Shanks, New York (New York Port of Embarkation) on the 10th . They shipped out on Jan. 22 nd and arrived in Greenock, Scotland on the 28th . They moved to Macclesfield, England on April 9th. The unit arrived on Utah Beach, France, on July 11, 1944, and were utilized to form “Task Force A”, commanding the armored forces on the Brittany Peninsula. Their mission was to advance on Brest, France, and secure and hold vital bridges of the important double track railroad from Brest to Rennes. The task force was dissolved after completing the mission on September 22, 1944. The 1st TDB became part of Third Army on September 30th , serving as their tank destroyer command unit through the end of the war. On December 2, 1944, Brigadier General Earnest assumed command of Combat Command “A” of the 4th Armored Division. Immediately after the Germans launched their Ardennes Offensive, the 4th began moving towards Bastogne, Belgium. On December 26, BG Earnest led Combat Command A in their drive to relieve Bastogne and the 101 st Airborne Division.
In February, 1945, he was appointed assistant division commander of the 90th Infantry Division, being promoted to division commander as a Major General in March. The unit participated in fighting from the Eifel Mountains to the Rhine River and captured Mainz, Germany. After crossing the river, the continued the battle from the Thuringian Forest towards Czechoslovakia. As they were clearing the town of Merkers in April, they captured German caves containing tons of gold along with millions in foreign currency. They also found many looted art work treasures. They accepted the surrender of the 11th Panzer Division in Vseruby, CZ. The 90th remained in Europe as occupation troops, following the end of combat, through December, 1945, when the division was inactivated. He was then assigned as the assistant chief of staff for operations at the Army Ground Forces headquarters, remaining there until September 30, 1947, when he retired.
General Earnest was awarded the following U.S. and foreign awards and decorations: Army Distinguished Service Medal, Silver Star, Legion of Merit, Bronze Star Medal with two Oak Leaf Clusters, Legion of Honor (FR) Croix de Guerre with Palm (FR) Distinguished Service Order (UK) and the Czechoslovak War Cross. Distinguished Service Medal citation:
“For exceptionally meritorious and distinguished services to the Government of the United States, in a duty of great responsibility. Under his direction, the 90th Division, in 47 days of continuous contact with the enemy advanced some 400 miles across major rivers, mountains and difficult terrain. General Earnest’s bold decisions, based on sound tactical insight, made possible rapid thrusts, which completely disorganized the enemy and attained valuable objectives with minimum loss.” War Department, General Orders No. 79 (1945).
Following his retirement, Herbert was involved in starting and operating a 50-acre farm near White Stone, Vermont. He raised registered Hereford cattle and Hampshire hogs. He was a member of the 4th Armored Division Association, 90th Infantry Division Assoc., U.S. Armor Assoc., Assoc. of the United States Army, Richmond Light Infantry Blues Veterans Corps, Retired Officers Assoc., American Legion, the Kiwanis and the Commonwealth clubs of Richmond, VA and the Indian Creek Yacht and Country Club of Kilmarnock, VA. He enjoyed woodworking, making furniture and toys for his grandchildren. Herbert passed away on June 11, 1970, in Richmond, VA. He was buried in the Christ Church Cemetery, Weems, VA.
We would like to thank Herbert’s grandson-in-law, Dennis, for providing much of the information used in this tribute. We would also like to thank Find a Grave contributor “GJ” for use of the grave marker photo. Additional information was gathered from several articles on Wikipedia and a biography from The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography. The main photo is courtesy of MCoE (Maneuver Center Of Excellence) Museum Division Archives, Armor Branch and was taken while Earnest was serving at Camp Hood. 