White Sands Commanders

Major General Edward H. deSaussure, the 10th Commander of White Sands Missile Range, the son of Colonel, USA, Retired, and Mrs. Edward H. deSaussure, was born on 26 November 1918, in El Paso, Texas. He grew up on various military posts in the United States and the Philippines and graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1941. He served in the Pacific in the early days of World War II with the 4th Field Artillery Battalion and with various field artillery battalions in the United States for the remainder of the war.

In 1946, he served as Aide de Camp to General Jacob L. Devers, who commanding Army Ground Forces. From 1947 to 1949, he studied at the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, and received a Masters Degree in Electrical Engineering. From 1951 to 1953 he commanded the 20th Field Artillery Battalion, 4th Division, in Germany; and from 1953 to 1954 he served as Group Executive Officer in the 30th Field Artillery Group in Germany. During the next six months he was Assistant Commandant of the Artillery OCS at Fort Sill. From 1955 to 1956, Major General deSaussure was on the Department of the Army General Staff, and from 1956 to 1959, he served as Military Assistant to the Deputy Secretary of Defense.

From 1959 to 1960, he attended the Army War College and then spent a year of duty in Korea. In 1961, he returned to Fort Sill, Oklahoma where his duties included that of director of the Guided Missile Department in the Artillery School and Commanding Officer of the 9th Field Artillery Missile Group. During both of these assignments, he participated in training the Army’s Sergeant and Pershing Missile Battalions for deployment to Europe and the Pacific.

From June of 1964 to May of 1965, he served as the Army’s member of the Chairman’s Staff Group in the Office of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. His next assignment was as Assistant Division Commander/Support of the 25th Infantry Division. MG deSaussure then commanded the 196th Infantry Brigade from August 1966 to December 1966. From then until March 1967, he commanded the 1st Field Force Artillery and from March to July 1967 was Assistant Division Commander of the 1st Cavalry Division.

Upon his return to the United States, MG deSaussure was deputy chairman and then chairman of the JCS Special Studies Group from August 1967 to September 1968. From September 1968 until be assumed command of White Sands Missile Range, MG deSaussure commanded the Joint Task Force Eight and the Test Command, Sandia Base, NM. He assumed command of White Sands Missile Range on 8 April 1970.

MG deSaussure is married to the former Frances Pelzer Huger of Charleston. South Carolina. The couple has five children: Frances, Eleanor, Anita, Ted and Margaret.