Alexander D. Henderson was born on February 16, 1895, in
Brooklyn, New York. In June 1914, when Henderson was 19, his father took the family on a vacation-business trip to Europe. They saw fields of flowers and bought necessary oils from the French. The family also visited the oil factories that made the perfume for the California Perfume Company.
Military high school From 1912 to 1915, Henderson attended the
New York Military Academy, a boarding school at
Cornwall-on-Hudson, New York, south of
Newburgh. By midyear in 1916, he decided to leave Dartmouth and volunteer for the U. S. Army during
World War I. On August 15, 1917, he was called into active service and became a 2nd Lieutenant in the High School Cavalry, stationed at
Fort Dix,
New Jersey. He was also stationed at Company D, Hughes High School in
Cincinnati, Ohio. He was promoted 1st Lieutenant on April 8, 1918. ==Career==