Jens A. Doe

Major General Jens Anderson Doe (20 June 1891 – 25 February 1971) was a senior United States Army officer who fought with distinction in both World War I and World War II. He is best known for his command of the 41st Infantry Division in the South West Pacific Area during World War II.

Jens Anderson Doe was born on 20 June 1891 in Chicago, Illinois to Norwegian immigrant parents. He graduated 105th of 107 from the United States Military Academy (USMA) at West Point, New York and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the 11th Infantry on 12 June 1914. Among his fellow graduates included men such as William H. Holcombe, James B. Cress, Paul B. Gross, Brehon B. Somervell, Robert W. Crawford, Dabney O. Elliott, Arthur R. Harris, LaRhett L. Stuart, John B. Anderson, Harry C. Ingles, James L. Bradley, John H. Woodberry, Harold F. Loomis, Carl Spaatz, Harold R. Bull, Charles M. Milliken, Joseph W. Byron, Paul C. Paschal, Francis R. Kerr, Vicente Lim, Sylvester D. Downs Jr., Orlando Ward, Benjamin G. Weir, Ralph Royce, William O. Ryan, Frank W. Milburn and John B. Thompson. All of them would later rise to the rank of brigadier general or higher in their later military careers. Doe was initially stationed with the 11th Infantry successively at Texas City, Texas, Naco, Arizona, and Douglas, Arizona.

Doe was promoted to first lieutenant on 1 July 1916 and captain on 15 May 1917, a few weeks after the American entry into World War I. From May to August 1917 he was stationed with the 11th Infantry at Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia. He attended a machine gun training course at Fort Sill before assuming command of the 15th Machine Gun Battalion, part of the newly created 5th Division, in December 1917. In April 1918, he sailed for France.

Promoted to the temporary rank of major on 17 June 1918, Doe served as the 5th Division's Machine Gun Officer before assuming command of the 14th Machine Gun Battalion, also of the 5th Division, in July. As such, he participated in the Battle of Saint-Mihiel and the subsequent Meuse–Argonne offensive, the largest battle in the history of the United States Army, where he was wounded, although his gallantry earned him the Silver Star.

In November 1918, the same month the Armistice with Germany brought the war to an end, Doe organised and became an instructor at the Army Machine Gun School at Langres. He was an instructor at the II Corps Schools, and a student at the Artillery Center. In June 1919 he joined the 61st Infantry, returning to the United States with it in June 1919.

In September 1919 he became an instructor at the Infantry School at Fort Benning. He attended the Field Officers' Course in 1921–1922, after which he was assigned to the 2nd Infantry at Fort Sheridan, Illinois, as a machine gun officer at Fort Custer, and to the USMA at West Point.

Doe attended the United States Army Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth from 1925 to 1926 and on graduation was posted to the 15th Infantry at Tientsin, China. He did not return to the United States until 1930, when he joined the 16th Infantry at Fort Jay. He then commanded the machine gun school at Fort Dix until 1932, when he left to attend the United States Army War College. After nearly 18 years as a major, he was finally promoted to lieutenant colonel on 1 January 1936. He was an instructor at the Command and General Staff College and Professor of Military Science and Tactics at the University of California, Berkeley.

Doe joined the newly reformed 7th Division at Fort Ord in September 1940 and became both the executive officer (XO) and commanding officer (CO) of the 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment, part of the 7th Division. He was to hold this post until February 1941. After assuming command of the regiment in March 1941, he was promoted to colonel on 1 July 1941.