Anthony Frank Daskevich
Brigadier General, U.S. Army

Anthony Frank Daskevich was born on 17 January 1919 in Mingus, TX, the son of Joseph and Valenia Daskevich.

Daskevich began his career in the U.S. Army as an enlisted soldier in 1941. After moving through the ranks, during World War II he received a battlefield commission in the Armor Branch and led a tank platoon.

On 8 March 1945, then-First Lieutenant Anthony Frank Daskevich was serving with Company C, 753rd Tank Battalion, 63rd Infantry Division, Seventh U.S. Army in the European Theater of Operations.

On that day, 1LT Daskevich's unit was in action against German forces in the vicinity of Kressbach, Germany. After skillfully leading his platoon in support of attacking infantry units, 1LT Daskevich outposted with his tanks on approaches to the town. Under cover of darkness, when the Germans began infiltrating with Panzerfausts and machine guns, under heavy fire he ran from tank to tank encouraging the men and leading them in fighting the enemy with grenades and small arms fire. Strongly outnumbered by the Germans, a withdrawal became necessary and 1LT Daskevich and his tank remained in the town covering the friendly forces until they had safely withdrawn. When the enemy cut the main route of withdrawal, on foot he reconnoitered an alternate route and then, under heavy small arms fire, led the last elements out of the town using that route. 1LT Daskevich's initiative, determination and courageous actions that day earned him the U.S. Army's third highest award for valor, the Silver Star Medal.

On 23 March 1945, 1LT Daskevich's unit was in action against German forces in the vicinity of Leimersheim, Germany. 1LT Daskevich was leading his platoon in a night attack on a German town when his tank was hit by direct enemy fire from a self-propelled gun. This immobilized the tank and destroyed his radio communications. While his crew volunteered to man the tank's guns, 1LT Daskevich ran to his other tanks and, under heavy enemy small arms fire, led them, on foot, to firing positions. 1LT Daskevich directed their fire on the enemy gun, forcing it to withdraw. Returning to his tank that was burning after another hit, he checked to ensure all his crew had been evacuated. 1LT Daskevich then made a foot reconnaissance and, finding no other enemy guns, ordered his tanks into the town where he directed them in clearing out the enemy. 1LT Daskevich's heroism and determination that day earned him a second Silver Star Medal.

After an assignment as a maintenance officer in Germany, in 1951 he transferred from the Armor Branch to the Ordnance Corps and assumed command of the 18th Ordnance Medium Maintenance Company in Germany. His next assignment was as an Instructor for the Officer Basic and Advanced Courses at the Ordnance School, where he was given responsibility for revising Field Manual 9-10, the only Army publication dealing with Direct Support maintenance operations at the time. Daskevich applied the lessons he learned as a maintenance company commander and combat veteran to update and improve field maintenance doctrine.

Following assignments as Ordnance Advisor to the Venezuelan Army and as a project officer on the Ordnance Board, which was subsequently incorporated into the Maintenance Agency, Combat Developments Command, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Daskevich took command of the 4th Ordnance Battalion (Maintenance and Supply) in Korea. This battalion integrated all non-divisional Ordnance, Signal, Engineer Maintenance, and Quartermaster units in South Korea and was one of the precursors of the multi-functional corps support battalion. Under his leadership, the 4th Ordnance Battalion developed the standing operating procedures necessary for these diverse units to function as a team.

From 1966-69, he was assigned to Combat Developments Command, most notably as the project officer for a Department of the Army project known as Combat Operational Loss and Expenditure Data-Vietnam (COLED-V). Within 3 months, he devised a collection plan and organized teams to collect data on combat vehicles damaged by enemy artillery and assess artillery ammunition expenditure rates. The results led to improvements in vehicle survivability and laid the groundwork for developing revised ammunition expenditure tables.

Concurrently, he was tapped to support a Department of Defense project for Utilization and Redistribution of Material in the Pacific Area (PURM). Here again, he and his team excelled. Under LTG Heiser's guidance, they developed an inter-service plan to identify and redistribute excess material that, in turn, helped the government avoid both unnecessary new procurement and drains on existing depot stocks.

Daskevich culminated his career in these key assignments:

● Commander, Tooele Army Depot, 1969-71;
● Commander, VII Corps Support Command, 1971-73;
● Deputy Commanding General, US Army Tank-Automotive Command (TACOM), 1973-75.

At TACOM, he overhauled the wholesale supply operation, improving stock availability from 58 to 85 percent, and established a liaison program with the divisions and separate regiments specifically designed to address the units' readiness problems.

Brigadier General Daskevich retired from the Army in 1975 after 34 years of service; 24 of them as an Ordnance officer who made a wide range of contributions to the Corps..

Medals, Awards and Badges

Distinguished Service Cross
Silver Star Medal with Bronze Oak Leaf Cluster
Bronze Star Medal (Merit)
Purple Heart with 2 Bronze Oak Leaf Clusters
Army Good Conduct Medal
American Defense Service Medal
American Campaign Medal
European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal
World War II Victory Medal
Army of Occupation Medal (Germany)
National Defense Service Medal

Distinguished Service Cross Citation

The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, July 9, 1918, takes pleasure in presenting the Distinguished Service Cross to First Lieutenant (Infantry) Anthony F. Daskevich (ASN: ASN: 0-1692601), United States Army, for extraordinary heroism in connection with military operations against an armed enemy while serving with Company C, 753d Tank Battalion, 63d Infantry Division, in action against enemy forces on 7 and 8 April 1945, in the vicinity of Kressbach, Germany. Having aided in seizing a German Town, Lieutenant Daskevich was outposting his tanks when enemy bazooka teams infiltrated under the cover of a heavy artillery barrage. Braving murderous machine gun fire to contact his crews, he helped rout the enemy with small arms fire and grenades, then remained in the town covering friendly forces while they maneuvered. The following day while moving his tank to a dangerously exposed position, he forced an enemy self-propelled gun to withdraw and silenced a flak wagon. The courageous actions of Lieutenant Daskevich enabled friendly forces to successfully seize their objective. His intrepid actions, personal bravery and zealous devotion to duty exemplify the highest traditions of the military forces of the United States and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit, and the United States Army.

General Orders: Headquarters, Seventh U.S. Army, General Orders No. 622 (1945)

Death and Burial

Brigadier General Anthony Frank Daskevich died on 19 September 2006 in Mansfield, TX. He is buried at the Dallas-Fort Worth National Cemetery in Dallas, Dallas County, TX, in Section 13, Site 339.

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