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W ith the grim shadow of war hanging over
the world, peace-loving Americans today
seek desperately to preserve the pattern
of peace in order that the United States may
remain beyond the frenzied circle of Europe and
Asia. It is neither surprising nor unreasonable
that the soundest advice through present-day
world confusion comes from men who have seen
active military service and whose viewpoint
is based upon the same peace principles as those
who cry disarmament in the face of a world
scramble for munitions.
American preparedness is urged by one of
Atlanta’s distinguished military figures, Eugene
Oberdorfer, the youngest to hold the rank of
Brigadier General since the War Between the
States.
“The American people,” Mr. Oberdorfer de
clares, “abhor war. They are a peace-loving
nation. The most effective way to avoid war,
as Washington said, is to be prepared. The
most effective way to preserve peace is to be
prepared for war.”
The men who have seen active military ser
vice in the United States defense forces, he
points out, are overwhelmingly opposed to war.
in advocating preparedness they demonstrate
their desire for peace, for only in this way can
the peace structure which America has built
since the World War be maintained.
Mr. Oberdorfer\s opinion is based upon years
of service in the United States Army and a
profound understanding of the temper of a
nation during periods of war and peace.
As a student at Marist College in Atlanta,
young Eugene Oberdorfer lived through times
of stress and anxiety which closely resembled
the modern fear of war. His idol, and the idol
of thousands of young men in those days, was
Major General Leonard Wood, Senior General
of the United States Army prior to America’s
entry in t lit* World War. While at Marist, young
Eugene joined the Georgia National Guard,
serving throughout his school years. At the
time of his graduation from Marist, General
Wood was preaching pre
paredness as a means of
keeping America out of war.
The great military leader
urged the youth of the coun
try to be ready in case of
emergency, and a number of
training camps patterned
after his Plattsburg camp
were opened.
Eugene Oberdorfer’s in
terest in military service con
tinued through his education
at the University of Georgia
in Athens, lie was perhaps
the only student in the uni
versity’s history to graduate
with the degree of Bachelor
of Science in a period of two
years.
In Mexico, Paneho Villa
rode havoc over the country
and Brigadier-General Persh
ing was dispatched by the
United States to capture the
bandit. It was then that
Eugene Oberdorfer received
his first taste of active mili
tary service. As a member
of the Georgia National
Guard, under General Walter
E. Harris, lie joined the hunt
for Villa and served on the
border in the vicinity of El
Paso.
On April 17, 1917, the day
on which war was declared by
President Woodrow Wilson,
the young Atlantan returned
home. The peace dreams of
the nation had been crushed
THE ROAD TO PEACE
By Orin Borsten
and now the truth of General Woods’ warning
became apparent to everyone. Men with military
experience were at a premium for there were
thousands of civilians to be trained for overseas
service. Eugene Oberdorfer’s experience with
the 122nd Regiment was valued by the govern
ment. He was assigned to the Dixie Division at
Camp Wheeler in Macon, Ga., and promoted
to the rank of Captain of Infantry. Having
commanded a company of Infantry, lie was
named as Infantry Instructor and Assistant
Commandant of one of the Officers Training
(’amps. During this period lie was detailed
by the War Department as the first Professor
of military science and tactics, and as Com
mandant of Emory University. Later he was
sent to the Infantry School of Arms at Fort
Sill, Oklahoma, the only one of its kind before
the establishment of Camp Benning. From
Fort Sill he went to Camp Logan in Houston,
Texas, where he was assigned to the 80th
Infantry. There, he helped to organize and
train a new Regular Army Division. The
Armistice was declared, however, before his
division was ordered overseas.
it £UG£N£ *
ORERDORFER
PRESIDENT OF
THE OBERDORFER
INSURANCE CO.
RETIRED WITH THE
RANKOE BRIGADIER
GENERAL AT 33-THE
HIGHEST RANK THE
NATIONAL GUARD CAN
BESTOW-HE IS THE
YOUNGEST MAN TO
HOLD THE RANK OF
BRIGADIER GENERAL
SINCE THE WAR
BETWEEN THE STATES.
In January, 1919, at his own request, Eugene
Oberdorfer received an honorable discharge
from active service. Upon his retirement from
the regular army he assisted in reorganizing the
Georgia National Guard, serving as Com
mander of Atlanta’s famous “Gate City Guard,
and thereafter .as Lieutenant-Colonel of the
reorganized 122nd Infantry with headquarters
in Atlanta. He continued with the regiment
until named Plans and Training officer on the
General Staff of the 30th Division. The rank
of-Colonel came next to the Atlantan, and he
served as Assistant Adjutant General and
Acting Adjutant General of the State of Geor
gia. On November 12, 1930, he retired with
the rank of Brigadier-General, the highest honor
which the National Guard could bestow. Only
35 years of age, he was the youngest man to
merit the rank since the War Between the
States.
Eugene Oberdorfer was born in Atlanta on
November 21, 1896, receiving his early school
here. His father, the late Eugene Oberdorfer,
Sr., was born in Hicksville, Long Island, N. Y.,
moving to Florida with his parents at an early
age. Until the 1890’s, when he settled in
Atlanta, he was a resident of Florida. He
married Daisy Israel, daughter of Julius and
Rebecca Baer Israel, who was born in Concord,
N. C. Mrs. Daisy Oberdorfer survives her hus
band, who died on February 22, 1931, and makes
her home with her son in Atlanta.
The parents of Eugene Oberdorfer were greatly
in favor of military training for young men and
encouraged their son’s interest. Sirs. Ober
dorfer’s father, Julius Israel, fought in the first
Virginia Cavalry during the War Between the
States. One of the military honors of which
Eugene Oberdorfer is proudest is the medal
and citation given to him by the United Daugh
ters of the Confederacy. The award is con
ferred only upon a person who served in the
United States Army during the World War, and
who is descended from a person who saw active
warfare in the Army of the Confederate States
of America.
Although Mr. Oberdorfer’s military interests
required a great amount of his time as a youth,
he nevertheless achieved notable scholastic
records and participated in numerous college
activities. At the University of Georgia, lie
was editor of “The Georgian,” a literary pub
lication, and served as Superior of Mu Chapter
of the Phi Epsilon Pi Fraternity. Later, as an
alumnus, he held the post of Grand Superior
of the chapter. He was also an officer of the
Phi Kappa Literary Society, and was selected
as one of its “Debaters.”
Eugene Oberdorfer established the Oberdorfer
Insurance Agency, Inc., today one of Atlanta’s
foremost protective companies and one of the
largest in the state, early in his career. It was
a field which challenged his sense of enterprise
and one which had attracted him since boyhood.
His father, who had achieved signal success in
the South as manager {Please turn to page S3)
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* THE SOUTHERN ISRAELITE