RARE “16th Chief of Ordnance" Levin Campbell Jr Hand Written Letter Dated 1944 For Sale

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RARE “16th Chief of Ordnance" Levin Campbell Jr Hand Written Letter Dated 1944:
$139.99

Up for sale the "16th Chief of Ordnance" Levin H. Campbell Jr Hand Written Letter Dated 1944.

ES-6855

Levin

Hicks Campbell Jr. (November 23, 1886 – November 17. 1976) was

a Lieutenant General

in the United States Army. He was

the 16th Chief of

Ordnance for the U.S. Army

Ordnance Corps. The son of U.S. Court of Patent Appeals Judge Levin Hicks Campbell Sr.

(1860–1955), Levin Hicks Campbell Jr. was born on November 23, 1886 in Washington, D.C. He graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in

1909. Upon graduation, he resigned from the Navy and accepted a job with United

States Steel. In 1911, he joined the Army and was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in

the Army's Coast Artillery. Campbell's first Ordnance assignment came as a

Captain in April 1918 when he served in the Office of the Chief of Ordnance

during World War I. After the war Campbell continued his service in

the Ordnance Branch; including assignments at: the Office of the Chief of

Ordnance, Washington, D.C.; Stockton Ordnance Depot, Stockton, California;

Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland; and Rock Island Arsenal, Illinois. As a

career Ordnance officer, he specialized in the engineering and production of

combat vehicles, small arms, artillery, and ammunition. He was commended for

successfully automating the artillery ammunition assembly line at Frankford

Arsenal, Pennsylvania while assigned there from 1939 to 1940. In 1940, Campbell

was promoted to Brigadier General

and appointed Assistant Chief of Ordnance for Facilities, where he supervised

the planning and construction of new munitions factories across the country,

particularly for the production and chemicals and explosives, and the loading

of ammunition. Most were built by the government and operated under contract

for the Ordnance Department. In January 1942, he was placed in charge of all

industrial production and was promoted to Major General in Spring 1942. On June

1, 1942, Campbell was named as the 16th Chief of Ordnance. Among his major

accomplishments in that post was the development of what he called the

'Industry-Ordnance Team'. To improve manufacturing techniques, Campbell brought

in some of the best people from science and industry. The development,

production, and maintenance of Army Ordnance became a $30 billion-a-year

industry during World War II. By decentralizing his department's administrative

structure, Campbell was able to overcome many of the unprecedented difficulties

faced by the Ordnance Department in its responsibilities to arm and equip the

Army in World War II. Given the temporary rank of Lieutenant

General in April 1946, Campbell retired as a Major General in May 1946. He was

advanced to Lieutenant General on the retired list in June 1948. Campbell's

decorations included two awards of the Distinguished

Service Medal. He wrote The Industry-Ordnance Team in 1946

recounting the Allied effort to produce and deliver weapons, vehicles, and munitions

for World War II. After his military retirement, Campbell was involved with

several civilian businesses, including appointment as Executive Vice President

of the International Harvester company in Chicago, Illinois and serving on the boards of directors of

the Curtiss-Wright Corporation and American Steel Foundries. He was also

Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Automotive Safety Foundation. General

Campbell died in Annapolis, Maryland on

November 17, 1976. He was buried in Section 02, Lot 0336 of the United States

Naval Academy Cemetery in Annapolis, Maryland. In 1972 Campbell was

inducted into the Ordnance Corps Hall of Fame. The U.S. Army Ordnance Corps

Association's Levin Hicks Campbell Jr. Distinguished Award of Merit is named

for him.

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RARE “16th Chief of Ordnance" Levin Campbell Jr Hand Written Letter Dated 1944

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