William Orlando Darby

{{Infobox military person

|name= William Orlando Darby

|image= William Darby.jpg

|alt=

|caption=

|nickname=

|birth_date= {{birth date|1911|02|08}}

|birth_place= Fort Smith, Arkansas, United States

|death_date= {{death date and age|1945|04|30|1911|02|08}}

|death_place= Torbole, Italy

|placeofburial= Fort Smith National Cemetery, Arkansas, United States

|allegiance= United States

|branch= United States Army

|serviceyears= 1933–1945

|rank= Brigadier General

|servicenumber= 0-19133

|unit=

|commands= 179th Infantry Regiment
6615th Ranger Force
1st Ranger Battalion

|battles= World War II{{KIA}}

|awards= Distinguished Service Cross (2)
Army Distinguished Service Medal
Silver Star
Legion of Merit
Bronze Star Medal
Purple Heart (3)
Croix de Guerre (France)
Order of Kutuzov Third Class (USSR)
Distinguished Service Order (United Kingdom)

|relations=

|laterwork=

}}

William O. Darby (February 8, 1911 – April 30, 1945) was a career United States Army officer who fought in World War II, where he was killed in action at age 34 in Italy. He was posthumously promoted to brigadier general. Darby was the founding commander of the First Ranger Battalion, which evolved into the United States Army Rangers. He was subsequently portrayed by James Garner in the 1958 theatrical film about Darby's career titled Darby's Rangers, which was also the title of his memoir, the source for many of his exploits.

Early military career

File:William O. Darby USMA 1933.png]]

William O. Darby graduated from the United States Military Academy class of 1933. where he was the cadet captain of "I" Company. His fellow classmate, William H Baumer, would later co-author the book Darby's Rangers, We Led the Way with Darby.{{Cite web |title=Page 121 - Military Yearbooks |url=https://www.fold3.com/image/705479954/1933-page-121-military-yearbooks |access-date=2025-02-08 |website=Fold3 |language=en-US}}{{Cite book |last1=Darby |first1=William Orlando |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-UWrPAAACAAJ |title=We Led the Way: Darby's Rangers |last2=Baumer |first2=William Henry |date=1987 |publisher=Penguin Publishing Group |isbn=978-0-515-09511-1 |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=William Orlando Darby (1911–1945) |url=https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/william-orlando-darby-2414/ |access-date=2025-02-09 |website=Encyclopedia of Arkansas |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |title=Brig. Gen. William O. Darby :: Fort Drum |url=https://home.army.mil/drum/about/news/around-and-about-fort-drum-1/brig-gen-william-o-darby |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20241103193233/https://home.army.mil/drum/about/news/around-and-about-fort-drum-1/brig-gen-william-o-darby |archive-date=2024-11-03 |access-date=2025-02-09 |website=home.army.mil |language=en}}

Darby's first assignment was as assistant executive and supply officer with the 82nd Field Artillery at Fort Bliss, Texas. In July 1934, he transferred to Cloudcroft, New Mexico, where he commanded the 1st Cavalry Division detachment. He received intensive artillery training from September 1937 to June 1938 while attending Field Artillery School at Fort Sill, Oklahoma.{{Cite web |title=William Orlando Darby (1911–1945) |url=https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/william-orlando-darby-2414/ |access-date=2025-02-09 |website=Encyclopedia of Arkansas |language=en-US}}

On September 9, 1940, Darby was promoted to captain and subsequently served with the 80th Division at Camp Jackson, South Carolina; Fort Benning, Georgia; Camp Beauregard, Louisiana; and Fort Des Moines, Iowa.{{Cite web |title=William O. Darby |url=https://wwiirangers.org/our-rangers/william-o-darby-2/ |access-date=2025-02-09 |language=en-US}}

World War II

=Army Rangers=

As World War II progressed, Darby saw rapid promotion to the grade of lieutenant colonel. He was with the first United States combat troops sent to Europe after the United States entry into World War II, the 34th Infantry Division, a National Guard unit known as the Red Bull. During its stay in Northern Ireland Darby became interested in the British Commandos. On June 19, 1942, the 1st Ranger Battalion was sanctioned, and Darby was put in charge of their recruitment and training under the Commandos in Achnacarry. Many of these original Rangers were volunteers from the 34th.{{Cite web |title=ARSOF Icon: Brigadier General William O. Darby |url=https://arsof-history.org/icons/darby.html |access-date=2025-02-09 |website=arsof-history.org}} In November 1942, the 1st Ranger Battalion made its first assault at Arzew, Algeria.{{Cite web |title=Colonel William O. Darby |url=https://gsof.org/hole-1-colonel-william-o-darby/ |access-date=2025-02-09 |website=gsof.org |language=en-US}}

Darby was awarded the Silver Star for his actions in Tunisia on February 12, 1943:

{{blockquote|Without regard for his personal safety, the day previous to a raid, he reconnoitred enemy positions and planned the attack which he led the following morning. The thorough organization and successful attack led by Lt. Col. Darby revealed his initiative, courage, and devotion to duty which is a credit to the Armed Forces of the United States.}}

Darby was subsequently awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for his actions on March 21–25. The citation stated:

{{blockquote|Lt. Col. Darby struck with his force with complete surprise at dawn in the rear of a strongly fortified enemy position. Always conspicuously at the head of his troops, he personally led assaults against the enemy line in the face of heavy machine gun and artillery fire, establishing the fury of the Ranger attack by his skilful employment of hand grenades in close quarter fighting. On March 22, Lt. Col. Darby directed his battalion in advance on Bon Hamean, capturing prisoners and destroying a battery of self propelled artillery.}}

File:William Orlando Darby 2.jpg]]

"Darby's Rangers" saw further action during the Allied invasion of Sicily kicking off the Italian Campaign. Darby received an oak leaf cluster to his Distinguished Service Cross for extraordinary heroism in July 1943 in Sicily:

{{blockquote|Lt. Col. Darby, with the use of one 37mm gun, which he personally manned, managed not only to repulse an enemy attack but succeeded with this weapon in destroying one tank, while two others were accounted for by well-directed hand grenade fire.}}

File:William Orlando Darby 1.jpg

Darby took part in the Allied invasion of the Italian mainland in September 1943, and was promoted to full colonel on December 11. Donald Downes of the OSS, who met with him to provide intelligence support for the invasion, described him:{{cite book|last1=Downes|first1=Donald|title=The Scarlet Thread: Adventures in Wartime Espionage|date= 1953|publisher=Wildside Press|page=145}}

{{blockquote|This spit-and-polish dandy with three battalions of men who looked like hobos in mismatched uniforms was more beloved by his men than any leader, military of otherwise, whom I have ever known. He was alternately as kind as an indulgent mother, and as a tough as a Prussian drillmaster. I have seen him cry when a soldier went in for an amputation, and cry publicly and unashamed. I have heard him tongue-lash a soldier in a really brutal manner for a small forgetfulness.}}

The three existing Ranger battalions were effectively wiped out - killed or captured - in the disastrous Battle of Cisterna during the Anzio campaign in early February 1944, after which they were disbanded.

=179th Infantry command=

Darby was then put in command of the 179th Infantry Regiment, still fighting the battle of Anzio. He served with it from February 18 to April 2, 1944, before being called back to the US ahead of the Allied breakthrough in the Italian Campaign.

=Reassignment stateside=

Darby was ordered to Washington, D.C. for duty with the Army Ground Forces and later with the War Department General Staff at The Pentagon.

=Return to Europe=

In March 1945, Darby returned to Italy for an observation tour with five-star General of the Army Henry H. Arnold. On April 23, 1945, Brigadier General Robinson E. Duff, Assistant Division Commander of the 10th Mountain Division, was wounded; Darby took over for Duff. "Task Force Darby" spearheaded the breakout of the Fifth United States Army from the Po River valley bridgehead during the Spring 1945 offensive in Italy and reached Torbole at the head of Lake Garda.

Death

File:USAT General William O. Darby builder plate.jpg

On April 30, 1945, while Darby was issuing orders for the attack on Trento to cut off a German retreat, an artillery shell burst in the middle of the assembled officers and NCOs, killing Darby and a regimental Sergeant Major, John "Tim" Evans, and wounding several others.{{cite web|url=https://digital.denverlibrary.org/digital/collection/p16079coll36/id/1219/rec/4|title=Five men on Chicago Ridge|date=1943|via=Denver Public Library Special Collections}} "Task Force Darby" continued with their mission. Two days later, on May 2, 1945, all German forces in Italy surrendered.{{Cite web |last=Talley |first=Aaron |title=Remembering Brave Soldiers From WWII |url=https://www.army.mil/article/146908/Remembering_Brave_Soldiers_From_WWII/ |website=U.S. Army|date=April 19, 2016 }}{{Cite web |last=Froelicher |first=Sangree M |title=Profile of a Trooper – Sangree M. Froelicher |url=https://huts.org/sangree-m-froelicher-hut-history/ |website=10th Mountain Division Hut Association Hut}}

Darby, aged 34 at the time of his death, was posthumously promoted to brigadier general on May 15, 1945. He was buried in Cisterna, Italy. He was reinterred at Fort Smith National Cemetery in Fort Smith, Arkansas on March 11, 1949.{{Cite web |title=William O. Darby |url=http://www.arkansasties.com/People/DarbyWilliamO.htm |access-date=August 3, 2014 |website=www.arkansasties.co}}{{Cite web |title=Veteran Tributes |url=http://veterantributes.org/TributeDetail.php?recordID=359 |access-date=2025-02-09 |website=veterantributes.org}}

File:Col Darby plaque.jpg, Italy]]

Legacy

Darby's medals, military records, and uniforms are on display at the Fort Smith Museum of History in Fort Smith, and his boyhood home is open for tours.
Camp Darby, near Fort Benning, which is home to the first phase of Ranger School, is named after him.
Two U.S. Army installations in Europe were named after Darby; W.O. Darby Kaserne, Fürth, Germany (closed in 1995); and the operational Camp Darby, near Livorno, Italy.
The town of Cisterna, Italy, dedicated its high school to Darby.
A book entitled Onward We Charge: The Heroic Story of Darby's Rangers in World War II by H. Paul Jeffers was published in 2007.
An Admiral Benson Class transport ship, the USS Admiral W. S. Sims (AP-127), was renamed USAT General William O. Darby in the 1940s.{{Cite web |title=Transport (AP) Photo Index |url=http://www.navsource.org/archives/09/22/22127.htm |website=www.navsource.org}}
In 1955, the name of Fort Smith Junior High School was changed to William O. Darby Junior High School. In 1958, the name of the school's athletic teams was changed from Cubs to Rangers after the famous Darby's Rangers.
In 1958, the motion picture Darby's Rangers,{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}} starring James Garner as Darby, dramatized Darby's military exploits. Wayde Preston also played a character role based on Darby in the 1968 film Anzio.
In 1992, Darby was inducted into the Ranger Hall of Fame.{{Cite web |title=Ranger Hall of Fame |url=http://www.ranger.org/page-578463 |access-date=August 3, 2014 |website=U.S. Army Ranger Association}}
Every year in Italy on April 30, there is the Col. Darby 40 Mile March from Peschiera del Garda to the Darby monument in Torbole sul Garda.{{Cite web |last=Appleby |first=Ben |title=One thousand US military to appear at Col. Darby March |url=http://www.italianinsider.it/?q=node/8007 |access-date=February 8, 2021 |website=Italian Insider}}{{Cite web |last=Appleby |first=Ben |title=Col. Darby honoured in Ranger Challenge |url=http://www.italianinsider.it/?q=node/8007 |access-date=February 8, 2021 |website=Italian Insider}}{{Cite web |title=Ex-Ranger's long march to honor WWII hero Col. William O. Darby |url=https://www.deseret.com/2015/4/26/20480665/ex-ranger-s-long-march-to-honor-wwii-hero-col-william-o-darby#col-william-o-darby-founder-of-the-american-rangers-is-pictured-in-uniform-in-britain-in-1942 |access-date=February 8, 2021 |website=Associated Press|date=April 26, 2015 }}{{Cite web |title=col darby 40 mile 12 hour ranger road march challenge |url=https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo/col-darby-40-mile-12-hour-ranger-road-march-challenge.html |website=Alamy |publisher=U.S. Army photo courtesy 10th Combat Aviation Brigade}}{{Cite web |last=Brooks |first=James |title=40 Miles in 12 Hours: Walking to Honor World War II Valor of Col. William Darby and 10th Mountain D |url=https://www.army.mil/article/205433/40_miles_in_12_hours_walking_to_honor_world_war_ii_valor_of_col_william_darby_and_10th_mountain_d |access-date=February 8, 2021 |website=U.S. Army|date=May 16, 2018 }}{{Cite web |last=Ron |first=Hudnell |title=COL William O. Darby '40-Mile Ranger Challenge Hike |url=https://sallyport.westpointaog.org/news/172299 |website=West Point Association of Graduates}}{{Cite web |last=Aaron |first=Talley |title=Remembering Brave Soldiers From WWII |url=https://www.army.mil/article/146908/Remembering_Brave_Soldiers_From_WWII/ |access-date=February 8, 2021 |website=U.S. Army|date=April 19, 2016 }}

File:Col Darby monument at Torbole sul Garda.jpg

Awards and decorations

Darby's military awards include:{{Cite web |title=Military Times Hall of Valor, William Orlando Darby |url=https://valor.militarytimes.com/hero/23038 |access-date=August 3, 2014 |website=www.projects.militarytimes.com}}{{citation |last=Empric |first=Bruce E. |title=Uncommon Allies: U.S. Army Recipients of Soviet Military Decorations in World War II |publisher=Teufelsberg Press |page=78 |year=2024 |isbn=979-8-3444-6807-5}}

Badges:

200px

|Combat Infantryman Badge

Awards:

{{ribbon devices|number=1|type=oak|ribbon=Distinguished Service Cross ribbon.svg|width=106}}

|Distinguished Service Cross with one bronze oak leaf cluster

{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=Distinguished Service Medal ribbon.svg|width=106}}

|Army Distinguished Service Medal

{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=Silver Star ribbon.svg|width=106}}

|Silver Star

{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=Legion of Merit ribbon.svg|width=106}}

|Legion of Merit

{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=Bronze Star ribbon.svg|width=106}}

|Bronze Star Medal

{{ribbon devices|number=2|type=oak|ribbon=Purple Heart ribbon.svg|width=106}}

|Purple Heart with two oak leaf clusters

{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=star|ribbon=American Defense Service Medal ribbon.svg|width=106}}

|American Defense Service Medal

{{Ribbon devices|number=0|type=service-star|ribbon=American Campaign Medal ribbon.svg|width=106}}

|American Campaign Medal

{{ribbon devices|number=5|type=service-star|ribbon=European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign ribbon.svg|width=106}}

|European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with five campaign stars

{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=World War II Victory Medal ribbon.svg|width=106}}

|World War II Victory Medal

{{ribbon devices|number=5|type=award-star|ribbon=Croix de Guerre 1939-1945 ribbon.svg|width=106}}

|Croix de Guerre with Silver Star (France)

{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=SU Order of Kutuzov 3rd class ribbon.svg|width=106}}

|Order of Kutuzov Third Class (Soviet Union)

{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=Dso-ribbon.png|width=106}}

|Distinguished Service Order (United Kingdom)

Dates of rank

class="wikitable" style="background:white" ! Insignia !! Rank !! Component !! Date
align="center" \|No insignia	Cadet	United States Military Academy	July 1, 1929
align="center" \|14px	Second lieutenant	Regular Army	June 13, 1933
align="center" \|15px	First lieutenant	Regular Army	June 13, 1936
align="center" \|35px	Captain	Army of the United States	September 9 (accepted October 2) 1940
align="center" \|35px	Major	Army of the United States	June 1, 1942
align="center" \|30px	Lieutenant colonel	Army of the United States	August 6, 1942
align="center" \|35px	Captain	Regular Army	June 13, 1943
align="center" \|55px	Colonel	Army of the United States	December 11, 1943
align="center" \|35px	Brigadier general	Army of the United States	May 15, 1945 (posthumous)

{{Cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/officialarmyregi1945unit/page/226/mode/2up |title=Official Army and Air Force Register |date=1945 |publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office |location=Washington, D.C. |pages=226}}

References

External links

[https://generals.dk/general/Darby/William_Orlando/USA.html Generals of World War II]
[https://wwiirangers.org/our-rangers/william-o-darby-2/ Ranger William O. Darby]

Category:1911 births

Category:1945 deaths

Category:United States Army generals of World War II

Category:United States Army generals

Category:Colonels of the 75th Ranger Regiment

Category:People from Fort Smith, Arkansas

Category:Recipients of the Croix de Guerre (France)

Category:Recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross (United States)

Category:Recipients of the Order of Kutuzov, 3rd class

Category:Recipients of the Silver Star

Category:Companions of the Distinguished Service Order

Category:United States Army Rangers

Category:United States Military Academy alumni

Category:Burials at Fort Smith National Cemetery

Category:Military personnel from Arkansas

Category:United States Army personnel killed in World War II