as the United States was making preparations for war. Marshall replied that as much as the Army would like to have Middleton back in uniform, all the Army could do would be to place him in some training role, which would not effectively use his battle experience. Middleton stayed at LSU until 1942, describing his days as the comptroller of LSU as long days that he would not want to relive, but after the first year he found both the work and his association with Hebert, Borth and Hornbeak to be satisfying and rewarding. He felt that during this period of time, from 1939 to 1941, he was able to make his greatest contribution to an institution that had been very good to him in the past. World War II Troy Middleton was out dove hunting with his son, Troy Jr., and a friend on Sunday morning, 7 December 1941. Having had a successful morning, the trio decided to take a break for lunch, then come back out and get their bag limits in the afternoon. When they arrived at home for the mid-day meal, Mrs. Middleton greeted them with the news of the attack on Pearl Harbor. This put an end to the dove hunting, and Troy Middleton began to make plans. The next day he reported to the LSU president announcing his intention to offer his services to the U.S. Army, and he sent a telegram to the War Department announcing his availability for service. Within a day or so he received a reply: he would report to active duty as a lieutenant colonel on 20 January 1942, allowing him time to get his affairs in order. Having returned to active military duty, Middleton was assigned to a training regiment at Camp Wheeler, Georgia where he was quickly promoted to colonel on 1 February, and oversaw the combat training of thousands of recruits. After less than two months, he was given a rapid succession of assignments, including to Camp Gordon, Georgia and Camp Blanding, Florida. While at Blanding he was called to the War Department in Washington, where he was given an assignment to be a staff officer in London, but this rapidly changed when he was subsequently called to the War College, and met a classmate from Command and General Staff School, Brigadier General Mark Clark, who told him that he was being assigned to the Forty-fifth