Arthur R. Wilson

Arthur R. Wilson was born on July 18, 1894, in Cherokee, California, as the son of Alexander Moffatt and Agnes Matilda Wilson. He attended grammar school in Cherokee and subsequently enrolled at Oroville Union High School. Following the graduation in summer 1913, Wilson entered the University of California at Berkeley and also enlisted the California National Guard. Wilson rose through the ranks from Private to Sergeant and left the University in June 1916, when his regiment was called for the federal service during Pancho Villa Expedition. He was ordered to the Mexican Border with 2nd California National Guard Infantry Regiment and was promoted to the rank of Quartermaster Sergeant. Wilson's unit was deactivated by the end of September 1916 and he returned to the civilian life. Following the American entry into World War I in April 1917, Wilson entered the Army service and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Field Artillery Branch on August 15, 1917. He was ordered to the Presidio of San Francisco and attached to the 386th Field Artillery Regiment. Wilson completed basic training and moved with the regiment to Camp Lewis, Washington, D.C., in September 1917. He was promoted to the temporary rank of first lieutenant on April 11, 1918, and embarked for France in June that year. He was meanwhile promoted to the temporary rank of captain on May 24, 1918, and was stationed at Camp de Souge, where he participated in the training of replacement units. Upon the signing of the Armistice with Germany in November 1918, he participated in the occupation of the Rhineland, Germany until February 1919, when his regiment was ordered back to the United States. ==Interwar period==

Following his return to the United States, Wilson remained in the Army and was stationed at Fort Collins, Colorado. He was allowed to complete his education at the University of California and graduated with Bachelor of Arts degree in May 1919. Wilson then assumed duty as Professor of Military Science and Tactics at Colorado Agricultural College and remained in that capacity until October that year, when he was sent to Fort Sill, Oklahoma, for duty with 9th Field Artillery Regiment. Wilson was appointed Chief of the Works Projects Administration Branch at the Supply Division, War Department General Staff in September 1939 and remained in that capacity until January 1940, when he resumed his previous duty as Liaison officer with the War Department General Staff. He was appointed Chief of the Federal Works Agency Branch within the Supply Division in June 1940 and was promoted to lieutenant colonel on August 18 of that year. While in this capacity, Wilson was given additional duty as Liaison officer with the Truman Committee under then-Senator Harry S. Truman, which was formed in March 1941 to find and correct problems in U.S. war production with waste, inefficiency, and war profiteering. ==World War II==

Following the Japanese Attack on Pearl Harbor, Wilson was promoted to the temporary rank of colonel on December 24, 1941, and ordered back to the War Department General Staff. He was promoted to the temporary rank of brigadier general on January 22, 1942, and sailed with the first waves of American troops to the Southwest Pacific. As quartermaster general, South West Pacific Area Command, he assisted in working out a vital lend-lease agreement with the top officials of the Australian government. ==Postwar service and retirement==

Wilson returned to the United States in July 1945 and joined the War Department General Staff in Washington, D.C., as a member of the Committee on National Guard and Reserve Policies. He retired from active duty on May 31, 1946, after almost thirty years of service and accepted job as Vice President of Trans World Airlines and remained in this capacity until late 1947, when he accepted job as vice president of Industrial Products Trading Company. In early 1956, Wilson suffered a heart attack and also bladder ailment. He was admitted to the Letterman General Hospital in San Francisco on August 11, 1956, and died of another heart attack later on that day. He was buried at Cherokee Cemetery in Oroville, California, together with his wife Ellen A. Wilson. ==Decorations==

Here is Major General Wilson's ribbon bar: ==References==