Colonel William Hubert Crawford

Home | About Hubert Crawford | Governor's Outstanding Tennessean Award | Cookeville Jaycees Humanitatian Award | Cookeville Kiwanis Club Award | Pleasant Hill Academy | Cookeville Fire Department | Military Service | Cookeville National Guard Cavalry | Civilian Conservation Corp "CCC" | Law Enforcement | Masonic Lodge | Democrat Party | Cookeville Lions Club | Cookeville American Legion | American Legion Big Brothers | Cookeville First Methodist Church Backsliders Club | Upper Cumberland Horseback Riders Club | In Memory
Military Service

Hubert Crawford's military service spanned the first and second world wars.  Below are some of the memories from that service.

Above and below are pictures of Hubert Crawford taken during WWII when he was headquarterd in Lebanon TN at Cumberland University as the Provost-Marshall of the 2nd Army maneuvers.

The seven large-scale 2nd Army Tennessee Maneuvers involved the following divisions:

  • 2nd Armored – June, 1941
  • 4th Armored – September – November, 1942 5th Armored – April – June, 1943
  • 5th Infantry – June, 1941
  • 6th Infantry – September - November, 1942
  • 8th Infantry – September - November, 1942
  • 10th Armored – July – August, 1943
  • 12th Armored – September – November, 1943
  • 14th Armored – November, 1943 – January, 1944
  • 17th Airborne – January – March, 1944
  • 26th Infantry – January – March, 1944
  • 27th Infantry – June, 1941
  • 30th Infantry – (Participated twice) June, 1941 and September-November, 1943
  • 35th Infantry – November, 1943 – January, 1944
  • 78th Infantry – January – March, 1944
  • 79th Infantry – September – November, 1943
  • 80th Infantry – July – August, 1943
  • 81st Infantry – September – November, 1943
  • 83rd Infantry – July – August, 1943
  • 87th Infantry – November, 1943 – January, 1944
  • 94th Infantry – September – November, 1943
  • 98th Infantry – September – November, 1943
  • 100th Infantry – November, 1943 – January, 1944
  • 101st Airborne – (Participated twice) – April – June and July – August, 1943
  • 106th Infantry – January – March, 1944

The below article is from the Nashville Banner sometime during WWII when Hubert was headquatered in Lebanon TN.

Hubert was the Assistant Provost-Marshall in Manchester TN during WWII prior to becoming the Provost-Marshall and relocating to Lebanon.

The 2nd Army maneuvers in middle Tennesse in the early 1940s was a major undertaking. Below are some pictures from the National Archives of the maneuvers.

The map below shows the maneuver area which took in part or all of twenty counties in middle Tennessee.

Soldiers at Cumberland University during World War II.

Two unidentified soldier man a machine gun during the 1943 Tennessee Maneuvers. U.S. Army Signal Corps photo, National Archives.

2nd Army tank traffic tie-up Rt 10 Lebanon TN. 1942.

A U.S. Army messenger crosses Bradly Creek on a motorcycle Nov. 4, 1942. U.S. Army Signal Corps photo, National Archives.

Shelbyville residents watch as soldiers of the 108th Infantry Regiment, 27th Infantry Divsion, march through Shebyville in 1941. Photo from U.S. Army Signal Corps collection, National Archives.

Soldiers examine the wreckage of a WACO-G4 glider after it crashed June 4, 1943 near Lafayette. U.S. Signal Corps photo, National Archives.

Sherman tanks move across a heavy pontoon bridge near Rome, Tenn., August 14, 1943. U.S. Army Signal Corps Photo, National Archives.

The patch above is the 2nd Army shoulder patch worn by 2nd Army officers administering the Tennessee Maneuvers

Gun section protect the airport with their 37mm antitank gun during the Tennessee Maneuvers.  24 Sep 1942.

37mm anti-tank gun in position near Beach Grove, TN. 2nd Army Maneuvers.  June 1941.

2nd Army Maneuvers, Tennessee.  Scout cars, Troop D. 107th Cav., Mechanized.  Lying in wait for enemy patrols.  3 June 1941.

Light tank of the 66th Armored Regiment, plowing through the dust going into bivouac near Murfreesboro, TN.  2nd Army Maneuvers.  June 1941.

Overturned tank of Hdq. Co., 66th Armored Regiment, 2nd Armored Division.  Somewhere in Tennessee.  2nd Army Maneuvers.  19 June 1941.

Crash of tank through bridge, near Shelbyville, Tennesse Hdq. Co., 66th Armored Regt., 2nd Armored Division.  2nd Army Maneuvers.  19 June 1941.

M-3 Medium Tank on flat car Camp Polk LA. 1942.

Barrage balloons from the U.S. Army Barrage Balloon training facility at Camp Tyson (in Paris, Tenn.) were used routinely during Tennessee Maneuvers operations to prevent low-flying aircraft from attacking red or blue forces. U.S. Army Signal Corps photo, National Archives.

37mm anti-tank gun and crfew in the early morning mists that rise out of the Cumberland River.  2nd Army Maneuvers, Cedar Bluff, TN 15 Oct 1942

2nd Army Maneuvers, TN.  Scout cars, Troop D, 107th Cav., Mechanized.  Lying in wait for enemy patrols to pass.  3 June 1941.

This monument on the campus of Cumberland University contains the following inscription: 

 

"Here on this campus was located maneuver director headquarters Tennessee Maneuver Area 1942 -  1944.  In memory of the 268 servicemen and 9 civilians who died during maneuvers.  There were trained 850,000 Americans who served in Europe and the Pacific theaters."

Hubert met and worked with General George Patton in 1944 when General Patton lived on campus in Bone Hall.

Here are some pictures of Hubert Crawford taken at various times during in military career.

Hubert at 20 in 1917

20 March 1941

Below are some of the military insignia owned by Hubert Crawford.  I have not made any attempt to identify any of the items.

insignia1.gif

insignia.gif

insignia5.gif

insignia6.gif

insignia7.gif

insignia12.gif

insignia15.gif

insignia24.gif

insignia16.gif

insignia17.gif

insignia21.gif

insignia23.gif

 

insignia26.gif

   

In 1917 Hubert was living in Ashland City TN and farming. He registered for the draft while there as evidenced by his draft registration card.

hubert_1917_draft_registration.jpg

 
Soon thereafter, in 1917, Hubert enlisted in the Army as a Private and was off to France where he received a battlefield commision.
 
The note below apparently was written by British King George V and a copy was given to every U.S. Soldier passing through England on their way to Europe.  Hubert wrote a short note on the bottom that he was OK and mailed it back home, thereby leaving a record that he was in England in April of 1918.

Below is a picture which I believe was taken at the reunion of the 181th and 947th Artillery Divisions in Cookville in about 1980.
 
Hubert's son, Will Glen Crawford is at the left with Hubert Crawford, Col Ray Huges Sullivan and Robert Buck to the right.