The death of Major General Halstead Dorey at Fort Sam Houston, Texas, comes as a great shock to his classmates of ‘97, U.S. Military Academy, and to his many friends throughout the country both in the service and in civil life.

After some fifty years since entering West Point the loss of comrades seems less tragic and one’s classmates turn to reminiscence and remembrance. Halstead Dorey came from that remarkable state of Missouri that did so well by the Class of ‘97. That is easy to prove when I recall Workizer, Frizzell and Gibson, and others still living. Every one of them brings back to ‘97 spicy and flavored incidents of a remarkable group that made their mark not only in the class but in the service of the United States. Mr. Lincoln once remarked that the most noble person he had ever met and the only one that lived up to his expectations in appearance was Colonel Doniphan of Missouri. The thought of that remark often occurred to me since first seeing Halstead Dorey. One of his classmates writes to me that he was the most lovable character he ever knew. Another speaks of his fine soldierly bearing and all unite in their mentioning his serene temperament, both in peace and war, and his selflessness in the little and big relations of cadet days and of his service in the army. Since his death, friends throughout the country, both in the service and in civil life, have expressed general sympathy and deep affection in their remembrances.

Great sorrow and sympathy will also be felt throughout the Philippines, where General Dorey had many assignments and intimate associations. At Zamboanga and Manila, both the General and his family, with their abiding interest in the Moros and the Filipinos, and their charming kindness and hospitality, have left much of that spirit which fostered the consistent loyalty of the people of the Philippines daring the past war.

Upon graduation from West Point in 1897, Dorey was commissioned as an additional second lieutenant and was assigned to the 23d Infantry, with which he served at Fort Brown, Texas, until the outbreak of the Spanish-American war.

A great portion of his service in the line is associated with the 4th Infantry, with which he served with gallantry and distinction both in the Santiago campaign and in the Philippine Insurrection as a junior officer, and later as its commanding officer in World War I, when he particularly distinguished himself, receiving the Distinguished Service Cross and the Distinguished Service Medal, accompanying citations of which are as follows:

The Distinguished Service Cross: “When his men had become almost exhausted by twelve days of continuous fighting against stubborn resistance and had suffered heavy casualties, Col. Dorey, himself suffering from a painful wound, went forward from his post of command through a heavy enemy barrage to the front line, where he reorganized his forces and directed the attacking units for two days until he was again severely wounded. His conspicuous bravery inspired his troops to the successful assault of a strongly fortified ravine and woods, which were of vital importance, and resulted in the capture of numerous prisoners and important material.”

The Distinguished Service Medal: “He commanded with distinction the 4th Infantry, 3d Division, during the battle of the Marne, the advance from the Marne to the Ourcq, and in the St. Mihiel and Argonne-Meuse offensives. It was his regiment that led the advance to the Ourcq, capturing Chamel, Charmel-Chateau, Villardelle Ferme, and Rhoncheres. The successes attained by his command were greatly influenced by the high qualities of leadership he continually displayed in all these operations.”

Dorey was an outstanding infantryman and was devoted to his old regiment, the 4th Infantry, and to the men who served under him through the years in his capacities from company officer to regimental commander. He was serving as Assistant to the Chief of Infantry when promoted to General Officer.

He was a typical West Pointer who looked his part, and his character, code of conduct, and professional attainments correspond, so that from time to time, although known throughout the service as a field soldier, he was called to staff duty not only as aide to Generals Hall, Ludlow, and Leonard Wood, but in other key staff assignments. He was a Graduate of the Army War College, and served on the War Department General Staff.

He accompanied General Ludlow as a member of a board sent by Mr. Root to study the general staff systems in Europe and was recorder of that board, which was instrumental in establishing our General Staff system.

When General Wood became Governor of the Moro Province in 1903, Dorey was commanding a battalion of Scouts (Maccabebees), and as such had experience and sympathetic understanding of the natives so that as Aide to General Wood in the handling of the Moros in the South and later on in Manila he was invaluable in helping General Wood in his sympathetic relations with Filipinos, Morog and the Hill Tribes. When Colonel Stimson followed General Wood as Governor General he recalled Dorey at once to continue as his Assistant. On Dorey’s leaving the Philippine Islands he received a letter from the then Moro Representative in the Philippine Assembly which begins:

“It caused my Moro people and myself no little shock to learn from the columns of the press that you will soon be relieved from the Philippines and called for duty in the United States. The Moros, especially of Zamboanga, have been considering you as their second father next to the late General Wood. The fatherly and wise advices you have patiently and unselfishly given the Moros and your untiring efforts to help them in promoting their welfare while assigned in Mindanao and Suiu (old Moro Province) during the early American occupation of the Philippine Islands and while detailed In Malacanan as aide to the late Governors-General Wood and Stimson until the present time, will be forever remembered by them and related to their children and their children’s children.”

In 1915, while serving as aide to General Wood, General Dorey had charge of the citizens military training affairs and commanded the first businessmen’s training camp at Plattsburg, New York. He is thus well known to that group of men which played such an important part in World War I and in subsequent years in channels of National Defense.

After World War I, General Dorey served with distinction both in the United States and in the Philippines and in 1934 took command of the Hawaiian Division, where he subsequently retired.

With the shock of General Dorey’s death and the sympathy felt by all, there is an accompanying feeling of great pride in him and in his service, that his classmates, friends and associates the world over will continue to cherish.

General Dorey is survived by his wife, the former Theodora Cheney of Manchester, Conn., and his daughters: Miss Edna Dorey of Boerne, Texas, and Georgiana, wife of Col. M. F. Grant, now Assistant Chief of Staff, G-1 of the United States Military Academy at West Point.