John Benjamin Anderson was born Mar. 10, 1891 to Carl Christian and Louise C. F. Simonsen Anderson. He died Sept. 1, 1976 and is buried in Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA.
Maj. Gen. Anderson served with the U.S. Army in World War I and World War II. Gen. Anderson graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in 1914 and was commissioned a Lt. in the Field Artillery. He served in France during WWI. He graduated from Command and General Staff School in 1925 and the Army War College in 1928. He was with the War Dept. General Staff (1928-1932) and in the office of the Chief of Field Artillery (1938-41). Through the course of the war he was Commanding General of the 102nd Infantry Division (1942-43) and Commanding General of the XVI Corps (1943-45). He retired from active duty in 1946, having received the Distinguished Service Medal, Legion of Merit and Bronze Star.
His military history is chronicled in the book “General In Command” written by his grandson, Michael M. Van Ness.
Source: ancestry.com
