Dutch Keiser

Major General Laurence "Dutch" Keiser (1895-1969) was an American general, who served in World War I, World War II, and the Korean War.

Life until 1950

Laurence Bolton Keiser was born in Philidelphia, Pennsylvania, on June 1, 1895. He graduated from West Point along with J. Lawton Collins, Matthew B. Ridgway, and Mark W. Clark in 1917. He won the Silver Star for several courageous actions during the Romagne campaign in the First World War. He had a good peacetime career and he was a colonel when the U.S. went into World War II. He served as the chief of staff of a corps in the Italian campaign and was an army chief of staff in Texas. In January of 1944, Keiser was promoted to brigadier general. In 1950, Keiser was promoted to major general.

Korea and beyond

In 1950, Keiser was given the command of the 2nd Infantry Division when the unit was ordered to join the IX Corps in South Korea. Keiser performed well during the battle for the Pusan Perimeter. His division repulsed a strong North Korean assault. The Second Division fought in the U.S. and U.N. victories in North Korea and Keiser eventually made his headquarters in a modern schoolhouse in Kunuri, North Korea.

In late November of 1950, a large Chinese force crossed over the Yalu River and launched a surprise attack on the U.N. forces. A strong task force of Chinese troops assaulted Kunuri. Colonel Paul L. Freeman led his 23rd Infantry Regiment north of the town in a delaying action, but some Chinese broke through and slipped up to the division headquarters during the night of November 29. The Americans were shocked. During the afternoon, a close friend of Keiser's, Major General Frank Milburn, the commander of I Corps, which was to the west of IX Corps, had made contact with Keiser. Milburn asked how things were going. "Bad," Keiser answered. "We're getting hit in my CP." "Well, come out my way," suggested Milburn. Keiser replied that Major General John Coulter, the IX Corps commander, had said that Keiser's men could only come out on the road to Sunchon. A day later, Keiser decided that his division should leave Kunuri.

The division commander himself left his command post in a jeep durign the afternoon. The entire convoy soon found out that the Chinese had blocked the road and annihilated a Turkish brigade coming to rescue the 2nd Division. Keiser's jeep became a target for Chinese snipers. The general's bodyguard was killed while firing his machine gun, and finally Keiser decided to get out and walk. As he made his way down the road, he accidentally stepped on a seriously wounded soldier. "You S.O.B.!" yelled the soldier. "My friend, I'm sorry," the stunned commander replied. Finally, the division arrived in Sunchon. From there, it moved on to Pyongyang. Keiser was summoned to Seoul, where he met with Lev Allen, the chief of staff of General Walton Walker's Eighth Army. There, he was relieved of his command and sent back to the States.

When Major General Keiser got back to the U.S., he was given command of the 5th Infantry Division. He retired from active duty in 1954. On October 20, 1969, Major General Laurence B. "Dutch" Keiser died in San Francisco, California.

Sources

#Encyclopedia of the Korean War-Spencer Tucker, editor
#"We're getting hit in my CP"-The Coldest Winter-David Halberstam, author
#"My friend, I'm sorry"-The Coldest Winter-David Halberstam, author