William Hood Simpson

William Hood Simpson
General William Hood Simpson in 1959.
Nickname(s)	"Big Simp"[1]
Born	(1888-05-18)18 May 1888 Weatherford, Texas, United States
Died	15 August 1980(1980-08-15) (aged 92) San Antonio, Texas, United States
Buried	Arlington National Cemetery, Virginia, United States
Allegiance	United States
Service / branch	United States Army
Years of service	1909–1946
Rank	General
Service number	O-2645
Unit	Infantry Branch
Commands	3rd Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment 9th Infantry Regiment 35th Infantry Division 30th Infantry Division XII Corps Fourth Army Ninth Army Second Army
Battles / wars	Philippine–American War Moro Rebellion Border War World War I Meuse–Argonne offensive World War II Operation Overlord Battle for Brest Siegfried Line campaign Western Allied invasion of Germany Operation Grenade Operation Plunder Occupation of Germany
Awards	Army Distinguished Service Medal (2) Silver Star Bronze Star Legion of Merit Legion of Honour (France) Croix de Guerre 1914–1918 (France) Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (United Kingdom) Croix de guerre 1939–1945 with palm (France) Order of Kutuzov First Class (USSR) Grand Officer of the Order of Orange-Nassau (Netherlands) Grand Officer of the Order of Leopold with Palm (Belgium) Croix de Guerre 1940–1945 with palm (Belgium)

General William Hood Simpson (18 May 1888 – 15 August 1980) was a senior United States Army officer who served with distinction in both World War I and World War II. He is best known for being the commanding general of the Ninth United States Army in northwest Europe during World War II.

A graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York, where he was ranked 101st out of 103 in the class of 1909, Simpson served in the Philippines, where he participated in suppression of the Moro Rebellion, and in Mexico with the Pancho Villa Expedition in 1916. During World War I he saw active service in the Meuse-Argonne Offensive on the Western Front on the staff of the 33rd Division, for which he was awarded the Army Distinguished Service Medal and Silver Citation Star. Between the wars he served on staff postings, attended the Command and General Staff College and the Army War College, and commanded the 3rd Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment.

During World War II he commanded the 9th Infantry Regiment and was the assistant division commander of the 2nd Infantry Division. In succession he commanded the 35th and the 30th Infantry Divisions, the XII Corps, and the Fourth Army. In May 1944, with the three-star rank of lieutenant general, he assumed command of the Ninth Army. Simpson led the Ninth Army in the assault on Brest in September 1944, and the advance to the Roer River in November. During the Battle of the Bulge in December, Simpson's Ninth Army came under command of Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery's Anglo-Canadian 21st Army Group. After the battle was over in early 1945, the Ninth Army remained with Montgomery's 21st Army Group for Operation Grenade, the advance to the Rhine, and Operation Plunder, its crossing. On 1 April the Ninth Army made contact with the First Army, making a complete encirclement of the Ruhr, and on 11 April, it reached the Elbe.

After the war ended, Simpson commanded the Second United States Army, and served in the Office of the Chief of Staff. He retired from the army in 1946. In retirement, he lived and worked in the San Antonio, Texas, area. He was a member of the board of directors of the Alamo National Bank, and succeeded General Walter Krueger as a member of the board of directors of the Chamber of Commerce of San Antonio. He died in the Brooke Army Medical Center on 15 August 1980, and was buried in Arlington National Cemetery.