Group of 10 (plus) to Maj Gen Holger N. Toftoy, the US Army’s “Mr. Missile”

Group of 10 (plus) to Major General Holger N. Toftoy, US Army: Army Distinguished Service Medal, slot brooch, unnamed, unnumbered (reribboned); Legion of Merit, slot brooch, unnamed; Bronze Star, slot brooch, unnamed; Army Commendation Medal, crimp-over-slot brooch, unnamed; American Defense Service Medal, slot brooch; American Campaign Medal; Europe-Africa-Middle East Campaign Medal, with 2 stars; World War II Victory Medal; National Defense Service Medal; France Croix de Guerre, with palm , 1939-1945; Distinguished Pistol Shot Badge, unnamed (top bar and pendant marked “LGB/10k”; Excellence in Competition Badge, with gold pistols, Hawaiian Department top bar, engraved “2nd Lieut Holger N. Toftoy/41st Coast Artillery/19328″; Excellence in Competition Badge, gold pistols, Canal Zone top bar, engraved “Capt/Holger N. Toftoy/4th C.A./1938″; Excellence in Competition Badge, bronze pistols, Canal Zone top bar, engraved “Capt/Holger N. Toftoy/4th CAC AA/1937″; Expert Rifleman Badge; Pistol Expert Badge, with bar “1922-23″ (engraved “H.N. Toftoy” on the reverse). With a 1972 listing signed by General Toftoy’s widow, Hazel S. Toftoy, selling these and other items that had belonged to the general.

Holger Nelson Toftoy was born in 1902 in Illinois. He graduated from West Point in 1926. After three years in the Coast Artillery in Hawaii, he returned to West Point as an instructor. In the 1930s, he went to Panama to command the mine defenses of the Pacific approaches. In 1938, he went to the Submarine Mine Depot at Fort Monroe. His expertise in mine warfare led to his selection to lead the clearing of the Cherbourg Harbor of German mines. As Chief of Ordnance Technical Intelligence, Toftoy oversaw the capture and removal to the United States of thousands of V-2 missiles and components. He was critical in Operation Paperclip, the project to move German missile scientists, including Werner von Braun, to the United States and integrate them into the Army’s expanding guided missile development. This involved over 120 German scientists and 16 shiploads of missile parts. As head of the Redstone Arsenal, Toftoy earned the nickname “Mr. Missile” for his work in developing the missiles that were the foundation of America’s space program. Retiring in 1960, General Toftoy died in 1967 and is buried at Arlington National Cemetery.