John French Conklin

John French Conklin (April 20, 1891 – January 25, 1973) was an American brigadier general, who served most of his career in the United States Army Corps of Engineers. During the World War II, Conklin served as Chief Engineer, Third U.S. Army. Early years John French Conklin was born on April 20, 1891, at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, as a son of Army Colonel, John Conklin and Rosalie French. He came from the family with a long military tradition, because his maternal grandfather was Union major general William H. French and also maternal uncle was major general John Clem. Young John followed his family tradition and upon completing of the high school in May 1911, he received an appointment to the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York. During his time at the academy, he reached the rank of cadet lieutenant and also was an expert rifleman. Conklin graduated with Bachelor of Science degree on June 12, 1915, as a part of "the class the stars fell on", where many of his classmates became distinguished general officers later, including Dwight D. Eisenhower, Omar Bradley, Joseph T. McNarney, James Van Fleet, Henry Aurand, John W. Leonard, Joseph May Swing, Stafford LeRoy Irwin, Vernon Prichard, Vernon Evans, Charles W. Ryder, Albert W. Waldron, Paul J. Mueller, Leland Hobbs, Leroy H. Watson, Roscoe B. Woodruff and many others.