Charles Thomas Menoher was born in Johnston, Pennsylvania on March 20, 1862. He was graduated from the United States Military Academy, West Point, New York, and commissioned a second lieutenant, 1st Artillery, on July 1, 1886.
SERVICE
Upon graduation from the United States Military Academy, Menoher served in the 1st Artillery until December 1892 when he was transferred to the 3rd Artillery. He graduated from the Artillery School at Fort Monroe, Virginia in 1894, and transferred to the 6th Artillery in March 1898. After service with the Light Artillery Brigade at Chickamauga Park, Georgia, July-December 1898, he went to Havana, Cuba for occupation duty, December 1898-January 1899, before transferring to the Philippines as Adjutant-General to the Provost Marshal General at Manila, May 1899-July 1901. After returning to the United States in 1901, he organized and commanded the 28th Battery (Mountain), Field Artillery, the first such battery in the Army. In August 1903, Menoher was selected competitively for the original General Staff Corps, with station at Washington, D.C., specializing in intelligence and field artillery organization and employment. As an officer of the General Staff Corps, he went to Cuba in October 1906, serving there for three months as the Provost Marshal and Assistant to the Chief of Staff of the Army of Cuban Pacification.
In June 1907, Menoher was assigned to duty commanding a Battalion of the 1st Field Artillery at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. In November 1909, he was detailed to Columbus Barracks, Ohio for recruiting duty. He went to the Philippines in April 1911, serving at Fort William McKinley commanding a Battalion of the 1st Field Artillery, later as Post Adjutant-General and then as Chief of Staff of the Defense Detachment, Corregidor Island, until August 1913, when his Battalion of the 1st Field Artillery was transferred to Schofield Barracks, Hawaii. He returned to the United States in June 1914, followed by assignment that November to command a Battalion of the 3rd Field Artillery at Fort Myer, Virginia. In November 1915, he was detailed to the Rock Island Arsenal, Illinois to serve as a member of the Cavalry Equipment Board. In September 1916, he took command of the Provisional Field Artillery Brigade and the 5th Field Artillery at El Paso, Texas.
When the United States entered World War I, Menoher went overseas in August 1917, serving first as Commanding Officer of the School of Instruction, Field Artillery at Saumur, France and later Commanding Officer of the famed 42d (Rainbow) Division from December 19, 1917, until November 10, 1918. After a brief stint commanding the VI Corps in France, he returned to the United States and was named Director of the Air Service on January 2, 1919, despite not holding an aeronautical rating or being a pilot. He subsequently headed a board bearing his name which recommended against creation of a separate department of air, which put him at odds with his popular second in command, Brigadier General William “Billy” Mitchell, who advocated strongly for an independent air force. With the passage of the National Defense Act of 1920, the Air Service was made a permanent combatant arm of the Army with an authorized personnel strength of 1,514 officers and 16,000 men headed by a major general as Chief of Air Service and a brigadier general as Assistant Chief. In the summer of 1921, Menoher recommended that Mitchell be relieved as Assistant Chief of Air Service, but this was denied. Menoher then asked to be relieved of his responsibilities to the Air Service, which was accepted by Secretary of War John L. Weeks with effect on October 4, 1921. His request for duty with combat troops was subsequently approved. Menoher took command of the Hawaiian Division at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii in February 1922, and then the Hawaiian Department in August 1924. He returned to the United States in February 1925 and commanded the Ninth Corps Area at the Presidio of San Francisco, California until his retirement on March 20, 1926.
PROMOTIONS
Cadet, U.S. Military Academy, July 1, 1882; Second Lieutenant, 1st Artillery, July 1, 1886; First Lieutenant of Artillery, December 23, 1892; Captain, Artillery Corps, February 2, 1901; Major, January 25, 1907; assigned to Field Artillery, May 4, 1907; Lieutenant Colonel, May 26, 1911; Colonel, July 1, 1916; Brigadier General, N.A., August 5, 1917; Major General, N.A., November 28, 1917; Brigadier General, November 7, 1918; vacated Major General, N.A, February 15, 1919; Major General, July 3, 1920 (recess appointment expired March 4, 1921); Major General, Chief of Air Service, July 1, 1920 (recess appointment expired March 4, 1921); Major General, Chief of Air Service, March 28, 1921 (to rank from July 1, 1920); Major General, March 8, 1921; resigned as Chief of Air Service, October 4, 1921; retired March 20, 1926.
DECORATIONS
He was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal in 1919, with the following citation:
“For exceptionally meritorious and distinguished services. In command of the 42d Division from Chateau-Thierry to the conclusion the Argonne-Meuse offensive, including Baccarat sector, Reims, Vesles, and at the St. Mihiel salient, this officer with his division participated in all of these important engagements. The reputation as a fighting unit of the 42d Division is in no small measure due to the soldierly qualities and the military leadership of this officer.”
General Menoher was also awarded the Spanish War Service Medal; Army of Cuban Occupation Medal; Philippine Campaign Medal; Army of Cuban Pacification Medal; Mexican Border Service Medal; World War I Victory Medal with five Battle Clasps; Commander of the French Legion of Honor; French Croix de Guerre with Palm; Commander of the Belgian Order of Leopold; and Commander of the Italian Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus.
References:
Cullum, George W., “Biographical Register of the Officers and Graduates of the U. S. Military Academy at West Point, New York Since its Establishment in 1802,” Supplement, Vol. IV (1890-1900), p. 417, Supplement Vol. V (1900-1910), p. 383, Supplement Vol. VI (1910-1920), p. 419, Supplement, Vol. VII (1920-1930), p. 233; DuPre, Flint O., Col. USAFR, “USAF Biographical Dictionary,” 1965 – Menoher, p. 164; Raines, Edgar F., Jr., Biography, “Charles Thomas Menoher,” U.S. Army Center for Military History, 1980; Rhodes, Charles D., “Charles T. Menoher,” Association of Graduates of the United States Military Academy, West Point, Sixty-Second Annual Report, 1931, pp. 234-238; U.S. Army Register, 1927, p. 772.