We are Spearhead
General Maurice Rose Memorial Anniversary
Remembering GEN Rose on the
80th anniversary of his death.
MAJOR GENERAL MAURICE ROSE
A Great Former Leader – Our Current Hero –
A Superior Influence to all of us
As Veterans of one of the best and most accomplished divisions of the US Military, the 3rd Armored Division, we will 
always be proud of one of our former division commanding officers, Major General Maurice Rose. He lead from the front and was responsible for the success of our division in WWII. Major General Maurice Rose was shot and killed in action on March 30th, 1945, 38 days before the surrender of the enemy in Europe.
Born on November 26th, 1899, Maurice Rose was the son of Rabbi Samual Rose and Katherin (Bronowitz) Rose. While Maurice was still a baby, he and his family relocated to Denver, Colorado. Rose attended elementary school at Ebert then Whittier. Rose then attended East Denver High School. Upon graduation from high school, Maurice Rose lied about his age and joined the Colorado National Guard. He was honorably discharged after six weeks when his commander was informed that he was under age.
In 1917, Maurice Rose enlisted again and after falsely claiming that he was born in 1895 to meet the minimum age for Officer Candidate School,
Graduated at Fort Riley, Kansas and received his first commission as a reserve second lieutenant of the Infantry. With the U.S. involvement in WWI starting in 1917, Roses was assigned as a platoon commander of the 353rd Infantry Regiment. He entered WWI in 1918. After serving in combat in France, Rose was wounded by shrapnel and suffered a concussion. The Army reported to Rose’s parents that he had been killed which took several days to correct. After the war, Maurice Rose was discharged in June of 1919. Rose worked as a salesman in civilian life and re-joined the peacetime Army in July of 1920.
Maurice Rose attained the rank of captain when he re-enlisted and held several positions and in 1927 was assigned to Kansas State University as an instructor in the ROTC with additional duties as a rifle marksmanship coach. In 1932, Rose was assigned to provide training for the New Mexico National Guard. Maurice Rose was promoted to major in 1936. Rose had several assignments over the years and from July of 1940 to July of 1941, he was assigned to command the 3rd Battalion of the 13th Armored Regiment at Fort Knox, Kentucky.
Early in 1942, Rose was assigned as Chief of Staff of the 2nd Armored Division at Fort Benning, Georgia. He was promoted to colonel around the same time that he entered WWII in Africa then Tunesia. Shortly after that, he was promoted to brigadier general. When the commanding general of the 3rd Armored Division was relieved of duty, Rose took command of the division and was promoted to Major General. Rose became for his aggressive style of leadership and directed his units from the front as opposed to directing from the rear.
Rose was very successful directing the division through major conflicts including the offensive at Ardennes during the Battle of the Bulge and was directing the 3rd Armored Division as the first armor unit to enter Cologne. Maurice Rose was killed in action near Paderborn after being surrounded by German tanks of the SS Brigade Westfalen. Maurice Rose is buried at the Netherlands American Cemetery. Rose is the highest-ranking American killed by enemy fire in WWII. Rose was not especially religious as an adult and claimed to be Protestant to enhance his chances for advancement as his career advanced. Rose’s grave is marked with a Christian Cross though he is still regarded as a significant figure in U.S. Jewish history.
The General’s Death
On March 30, 1945, Rose was riding with members of his staff at the front of a 3rd Armored column a few miles south of 
the city of Paderborn in a rural forested area.[44] Receiving reports of units being cut off by German troops, they turned around to investigate, and suddenly began taking small arms, tank, and anti-tank fire.[44] Rose and his staff jumped into a nearby ditch as the tank leading their column took a direct hit and was destroyed.[44]When they realized that they were being surrounded by German tanks of the SS Brigade Westfalen they re-mounted their vehicles and attempted to escape, driving off the road and through a nearby field.[44]As they turned back onto the road they saw it was occupied by more German tanks.[44]
Recognizing that they were about to be cut off, the driver of the lead jeep in Rose's party accelerated and narrowly made it past the German tanks.[44]The driver of Rose's jeep attempted the same maneuver, but one of the 
German tanks succeeded in cutting them off.[44] Rose and the other passengers dismounted, and the German tank commander opened his hatch and aimed a machine pistol at them.[44] Rose reached towards his holster, either to surrender his pistol or attempt to fight his way out.[44][46][47][48] The German tank commander then opened fire, with 14 rounds hitting Rose, including several in the head.[44] The other passengers from Rose's jeep ran into the woods, hid overnight, and were reunited with friendly units the next morning.[44] They later returned to retrieve Rose's body and the documents he was carrying.[44] Rose was buried at Netherlands American Cemetery and Memorial.[44].
Wikipedia
Monuments and Memorials
The Rose Medical Center is the first of the known memorials to Major General Maurice Rose. Even after 
the hospital opened in 1949, a Who’s Who of Hollywood entertainers flew to Denver to headline fundraisers in what was still a rustic Western outpost: Lucille Ball, Bob Hope, Sammy Davis Jr., Danny Kaye, Jerry Lewis, Shelley Winters — the list went on and on. Gen. Dwight Eisenhower, already an iconic figure just a few years before winning the presidency, would make the trip to Denver to help lay the hospital’s cornerstone.
The hospital even benefited from the men who had served under Rose in the Army’s 3d Armored Division. Those soldiers did more than mourn Rose’s death. In what Larry Klauser, board member of the Association of 3D Armored Division Veterans, calls a “very unique” gesture, they raised more than $30,000, which in today’s dollars would total roughly 10 times that amount.
“Most average soldiers are very removed from upper echelons, the commanding generals and colonels of the division,” Klauser says, noting that in September he delivered a framed replica of the division’s banner to recognize Rose’s anniversary. “Maurice Rose was so well loved by all his men, he didn’t want to be distinguished as something other than a warrior. The guys appreciated that. That’s why when the war was over, they dug into their pockets at a tough time.”
In the year 2019, the hospital celebrated its 70 year anniversary. The Association of 3rdArmored Division Veterans presented the hospital with a framed division flag.
In later years, a memorial statue was erected and dedicated (April 16, 2023) to Major General Maurice Rose. The location is in Lincoln’s Veterans Memorial Park in downtown Denver.
Other items, memorializing Major General Maurice Rose, are located in the foyer of the medical center.
Contributions by Larry Klauser and Don Davis
