district, to appoint him to the United States Military Academy at West Point. He entered West Point in June 1905. His class of 1909 was a distinguished one. Some 28 of them ultimately wore the stars of general officers, including Jacob L. Devers, John C. H. Lee, Edwin F. Harding, George S. Patton and William H. Simpson. Eichelberger was a poor student, as he had been at high school and Ohio State, but did become a cadet lieutenant, and graduated 68th in his class of 103. Eichelberger was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the 25th Infantry on 11 June 1909, but was transferred to the 10th Infantry at Fort Benjamin Harrison, Indiana, on 22 July. In March 1911, the 10th Infantry was despatched to San Antonio, Texas, where it became part of the Maneuver Division, which was formed to undertake offensive operations during the Border War with Mexico. Then, in September, it was sent to the Panama Canal Zone. It was in Panama that Eichelberger met Emmaline (Em) Gudger, the daughter of Hezekiah A. Gudger, the Chief Justice of the Panama Canal Zone Supreme Court. After a brief courtship, they were married on 3 April 1913. On returning to the United States in March 1915, Eichelberger was posted to the 22nd Infantry at Fort Porter, New York. It too was sent to the Mexican border, and was based at Douglas, Arizona, where Eichelberger was promoted to first lieutenant on 1 July 1916. In September, he became Professor of Military Science and Tactics at Kemper Military School in Boonville, Missouri. World War I Following the American entry into World War I in April 1917, Eichelberger was promoted to captain on 15 May. In June he was posted to the 20th Infantry at Fort Douglas, Utah, and commanded a battalion until September, when he was transferred to the newly formed 43rd Infantry at Camp Pike, Arkansas. He was Senior Infantry Instructor at the 3rd Officers' Training Camp at Camp Pike until February 1918, when he was assigned to the War Department General Staff in Washington, D.C., where he became an assistant to Brigadier General William S. Graves, and was promoted to major on 3 June 1918. In July 1918, Graves was appointed commander of the 8th Division, which was then based at Palo Alto, California, and scheduled to be sent to France in 30 days. Graves took Eichelberger with him, initially