Stephen Jones Chamberlin (23 December 1889 – 23 October 1971) was a lieutenant general in the United States Army who served during World War II as General of the Army Douglas MacArthur's Assistant Chief of Staff, G-3, the staff officer in charge of plans and operations.
Born in Spring Hill, Kansas on 23 December 1889, he was a 1912 graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York. During World War I, he was aide-de-camp to Major General David C. Shanks, the New York Port of Embarkation commander at Hoboken, New Jersey, for which he was one of twelve army officers who received the Navy Cross.
After the war, he attended the Command and General Staff School at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, and served on the staff of the Chief of Infantry in the War Department. He attended the Army War College and was posted to the staff of the Army's Hawaiian Division at Fort Shafter, Hawaii, as Assistant Chief of Staff, G-3.
In 1938, he became assistant chief of the Construction Branch in the G-4 Division of War Department General Staff. He became involved in the vast construction program of arsenals, depots, airbases and coastal defenses as the United States rearmed prior to its entry into World War II.
In January 1942, he was sent to Australia, where he became Assistant Chief of Staff, G-3, at General MacArthur's General Headquarters (GHQ), Southwest Pacific Area. In this role, he was responsible for planning and overseeing the execution of MacArthur's major operations, including the New Guinea, Philippines and Borneo campaigns.
Chamberlin was director of the Intelligence Division, G-2, on the War Department General Staff from 1946 to 1948, when he became commander of the Fifth Army. He retired in September 1951, and was then employed as chief of security for the US Air Force's Arnold Engineering Development Center at Arnold Air Force Base, Tennessee. He died on 23 October 1971.
Early life
Stephen Jones Chamberlin was born in Spring Hill, Kansas on 23 December 1889, the son of Clark and Minnie (Hare) Chamberlin. He was raised and educated in Spring Hill and graduated from Spring Hill High School in 1907. After graduation, he was appointed to the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York by U.S. Representative Charles Frederick Scott. He began attendance in 1908 and graduated in 1912 ranked 63rd of 95.
Chamberlin was commissioned a second lieutenant in the 16th Infantry, which was then stationed at the Presidio of San Francisco. In May 1914, the regiment moved to El Paso, Texas. He transferred to the 8th Infantry on 1 February 1915 and served at Fort William McKinley in the Philippines. He was promoted to first lieutenant on 1 July 1916, becoming a battalion adjutant on 14 October. He was assistant to the post quartermaster from 31 October 1916 to 1 January 1917, and then Post Exchange Officer from 20 December 1916 to 9 June 1917. He was promoted to captain on 15 May 1917, a few weeks after the American entry into World War I, and was acting regimental adjutant from 9 June to 1 September 1917.
World War I
With the United States now involved in the war, Chamberlin became aide-de-camp to Major General David C. Shanks, the New York Port of Embarkation commander at Hoboken, New Jersey. Chamberlin was also the officer in charge of troop movements. On 2 March 1918, Chamberlin married Shank's daughter, Sarah Chapman, at St. Bartholomew's Episcopal Church, New York on the corner of Madison Avenue and East 44th Street, in a simple ceremony attended only by Sarah's sister Katherine and Captain Maxwell Sullivan as best man.
Chamberlin was promoted to major on 7 June 1918. For his "distinguished service in the line of his profession as dispatch officer at the Port of Embarkation, Hoboken, New Jersey", he became one of only twelve Army officers to receive the Navy Cross during World War I. He was also awarded the Distinguished Service Medal. His citation read:
In September 1918, Shanks was appointed commander of the 16th Division at Camp Kearny, California, and Chamberlin was appointed the division's Assistant Chief of Staff. To prepare for the role, he attended a course at the Army War College. Following the Armistice with Germany in November 1918, he was sent on a tour of the battlefields in France and Belgium.