Photo added by Charles A. Lewis

Gen Frank Schaffer Besson Jr.

Birth: 30 May 1910
Detroit, Wayne County, Michigan, USA
Death: 15 Jul 1985 (aged 75)
Washington, District of Columbia, District of Columbia, USA
Burial: United States Military Academy Post Cemetery

West Point, Orange County, New York, USA Show Map GPS-Latitude: 41.399128, Longitude: -73.9671707
Plot: Section V, Row A, Site 5.
Memorial ID: 47293817 View Source

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Photos 13
Flowers 8

Memorials
Region
North America
USA
New York
Orange County
West Point
United States Military Academy Post Cemetery

Maintained by: Charles A. Lewis
Originally Created by: Russ Jacobs
Added: Jan 29, 2010
Find a Grave Memorial ID:
Sponsored by Charles A. Lewis
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Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/47293817/frank_schaffer-besson: accessed ), memorial page for Gen Frank Schaffer Besson Jr. (30 May 1910–15 Jul 1985), Find a Grave Memorial ID 47293817, citing United States Military Academy Post Cemetery, West Point, Orange County, New York, USA; Maintained by Charles A. Lewis (contributor 47162573).

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In 1964, Frank S. Besson, Jr. became the 75th officer in the Army's 189-year history to become a four star general. He was the first Transportation Corps officer to achieve that rank and also the first to achieve the rank as head of a logistical organization in peacetime.

Photo courtesy of U.S. Army Transportation Museum

Added by: Charles A. Lewis on 25 Oct 2010

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Army Chief of Staff William C. Westmoreland (right) pins the Distinguished Service Medal (First Oak Leaf Cluster) to the uniform of Gen. Frank S. Besson Jr., Commander, Army Materiel Command.

Department of Defense photo, September 21, 1968.

Added by: Charles A. Lewis on 30 Oct 2010

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West Point Class of 1932

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Section V Row A Site 005

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As the first male child born to a classmate of the West Point Class of 1909 (his father's class), Frank S. Besson, Jr. was awarded the Class Cup shown in photo. The Cup was cast from class members' sterling silver Cadet napkin rings.

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Besson entered the United States Military Academy, West point, and is shown in this photo with the class of 1909 (his father's class) at their 1929 Reunion.

He graduated in the top ten of his class in 1932, wearing stars for academic excellence. Upon graduation, an officers' saber was presented to him by the Class of 1909, which he wore as part of his uniform.

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In 1940, First Lieutenant Besson was assigned to the Engineer Board at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, where he developed new equipment for the support of combat operations. One of the developments was Pierced Steel Planking (PSP). Chief of the Army Air Corps, General H.H. "Hap" Arnold was looking for an airfield that could be built in one day, accommodate his heaviest bombers, and easily camouflaged.

Besson's section developed PSP, seen in this later photo from Iran. The PSP was manufactured in 2 x 8 foot sheets that were hooked together. Once grass grew through the holes, the runway could not be easily seen from the air, but was strong enough to support the heavy bombers.

Photo courtesy of U.S. Army Transportation Museum

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Shown is a Bailey bridge over the Meurthe River in France.

The Bailey bridge is a portable pre-fabricated truss bridge, designed for use by military engineering units to bridge up to 60-metre gaps (200 ft). It requires no special tools or heavy equipment for construction, the bridge elements are small enough to be carried in trucks, and the bridge is strong enough to carry tanks. It is considered a great example of military engineering. Bailey bridges are also extensively used in civil engineering construction projects to provide temporary access across canals, rivers, railway lines, etc.

Besson is credited with the studies leading to the Army's adoption of the Bailey Bridge that was used extensively in all theaters in World War II.

Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery wrote in 1947:

"Bailey Bridging made an immense contribution towards ending World War II. As far as my own operations were concerned, with the eighth Army in Italy and with the 21 Army Group in North West Europe, I could never have maintained the speed and tempo of forward movement without large supplies of Bailey Bridging."

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As a lieutenant colonel in 1943, Besson was assigned as Assistant Director and General Manager of the Third Military Railway Service in Iran, assuming full command in 1944.

His mission was to manage the Iranian State Railroad to get U.S. supplies to Russia. The railroad was a single track road, winding 1,000 miles from the Persian Gulf through marshlands, rugged mountains and desert to the Iranian-Russian border on the Caspian Sea.

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Besson was promoted to Major General in 1950, and assumed command of the U.S. Army Transportation Center and School at Fort Eustis in 1953. He directed extensive studies to develop new doctrines that would enable the Corps to better cope with the requirements of modern warfare.

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Aletha Barsanti and General Frank S. Besson, Jr. pin a second star on each of Olinto Mark Barsanti's shoulders, in Washington, DC.

U. S. Army photograph - May 1967.

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From 1958 to 1962, Besson served as the Chief of Army Transportation. He also traveled worldwide reviewing transportation operations and needs.

In this photo (left to right) are Major General Besson, Lt General A. G. Trudeau and Captain Allard at an Air Force DEWLINE site in Greenland, 1958.

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The General Frank S. Besson class Logistics Support Vessels (LSV) are the largest powered watercraft in the US Army, and are designed to give the Army a global strategic capability to deliver its vehicles and cargo.

Named in honor of General Frank S. Besson, Jr., these ships have bow and stern ramps and the ability to beach themselves, giving them the ability to discharge 900 short tons of vehicles and cargo over the shore in as little as four feet of water, or 2,000 short tons as an intra-theater line haul roll-on/roll-off cargo ship. The vessel's cargo deck is designed to handle any vehicle in the US Army inventory and can carry up to 15 M1 Abrams main battle tanks or 82 ISO standard containers.

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