Clarence R. Huebner was born on 24 November 1888 in Bushton, Kansas. He joined the United States Army in 1910 and spent nearly seven years serving with the 18th Infantry Regiment, working his way up through the ranks from private to sergeant, eventually receiving a regular commission in 1916. By the time the U.S. entered the First World War, Huebner was serving as an officer with the 28th Infantry Regiment, which on 8 June 1917 was assigned to the First Expeditionary Division, that later became the 1st Infantry Division, famously known as "The Big Red One". As part of the 1st Expeditionary Division they were one of the first American units sent to the Western Front. It was on those fields in Northern France where Huebner really began to set himself apart as an officer and leader of men. He served with the 28th during the assault on Cantigny, Soissons, Saint-Mihiel, and the Meuse-Argonne campaign, at some point throughout these, taking command of 2nd Battalion, 28th Infantry Regiment after his officer was killed in action, and eventually taking command of the entire regiment. He became one of the youngest regimental commanders in the entire American Expeditionary Force. For his services on the Western Front, Huebner was awarded two Distinguished Service Crosses, a Distinguished Service Medal, and a Silver Star. He would remain in the army after the end of World War I, attending the U.S. Army Command and General Staff School at Fort Leavenworth in 1924 and eventually becoming a faculty member there from 1929 to 1933. The outbreak of the Second World War allowed Huebner to continue his service to the United States in increasingly greater roles. In 1943 he was given command of the "Big Red One", a move which was orchestrated by General Omar Bradley. Bradley had been pleased with the 1st Divisions hard fighting spirit up to this point, as they had already proven themselves in the invasion of North Africa, the Tunisia campaign, and the invasion of Sicily. Due to the lack of enforcement of discipline by the division's leadership however, Bradley relieved General Terry Allen of command on 7 August 1943, placing General Clarence Huebner at the helm of the Big Red One. Immediately Huebner sought to instill discipline in the unruly division through a series of parades, close-order drills, and weapons training. With the conclusion of the Sicily Campaign the division was sent back to England, where it arrived on 5 November 1943, to prepare for Operation Overlord, the planned invasion of Normandy to liberate Europe. The battle hardened 1st Infantry Division along with elements of the entirely untested 29th Infantry Division were to make up the first wave landing on Omaha Beach at "H-Hour" (06:30), after an intense naval and aerial bombardment. Two battalions of the 16th Regimental Combat Team (RCT) of the 1st Infantry Division were to be landed on the two sectors at the eastern end of the beach, these being Easy Red and Fox Green. They were to be initially supported by two battalions of DD tanks of the 741st Tank Battalion and followed up 30 minutes after H-Hour by the 3rd battalion of the 16th RCT and another battalion of tanks. Despite the intense preparation for the operation things very quickly began to unravel. Shortly after boarding their landing craft, the men of the 16th RCT were passing men in the water floating with life preservers. These were the crews of the 32 DD tanks planned to support their assault, 27 of which had sunk in rough seas. Due to smoke from the pre-landing bombardment, crews of the landing craft were struggling to see navigation points along the beach and seasickness was rampant among the men they carried. This was compounded by strong winds/currents pushing all of the landing craft eastward leading to some elements of the 29th Division being scattered across Easy Red and Fox Green and some of the 16th RCT being pushed beyond Fox Green to the East, and being landed far behind schedule. Many of these men were landed on sandbars 50 to 100 yards from shore and had to wade or swim the rest of the way to the beach under intense machinegun fire, often ditching much of their heavy equipment simply to keep from drowning. Those that did make it to the beach were met with a horrendous hail of German fire from fortified pillboxes. Within the first hour of the landings on D-Day, some units of the 1st Infantry Division had suffered upwards of 30% casualties. These initial scattered landings were followed up by more precise landings of infantry and tanks concentrated between the exits from the beach Easy-1 and Easy-3, which were the initial objectives of the 16th RCT. It was not until later in the afternoon that the 1st Division troops that landed on Easy Red and Fox Green were able to open up their exits off the beach and continue moving towards their next objectives, which were primarily south towards Colleville and some surrounding villages and east towards Port-en-Bessin, where they were meant to clear the Germans and establish a perimeter to protect the beachhead from counterattack. General Huebner landed on Omaha at 19:00 on 6 June 1944. Due to the significant difficulties with the initial landings and incredibly high casualties, it was not until the morning of D-Day+3 (9 June) that the 1st Infantry Division had accomplished all of its D-Day objectives. From there the 1st Division took part in heavy fighting in the hedgerows and was tasked with taking the town of St. Lo as part of Operation Cobra that took place from 25-31 July in support of the Anglo-Canadian operations against Caen, with the goal of breaking out of bocage country. After the success of Operation Cobra the 1st was thrown into action around the Mons Pocket from 2-6 September which resulted in a large number of German prisoners. On 2 October 1944 they began operations against Aachen which saw some of the most intense street fighting of the war, before eventually being taken on 21 October. From there General Huebner and the Big Red One continued on into the confused and bloody fighting in the Hurtgen Forest, that would rage until mid-December, resulting in more that 30,000 American casualties. The 1st Division was finally sent to the rear on 7 December for rest and refit after six months of near constant fighting. Their R&R would not last long however as they were pressed into service to counter a German offensive at Elsenborn Ridge during the Battle of the Bulge. On 14 January 1945 General Huebner was promoted to command of V Corps which he led in operations against the Ruhr Pocket from 1–18 April which led to the capture of 317,000 German troops. From there they pressed on to the Elbe River, made contact with the Soviet Red Army, and pushed into Czechoslovakia when the Germans finally surrendered on 29 April 1945. By the end of the war the 1st Infantry Division had suffered over 20,000 battle casualties, been awarded 16 Medals of Honor, 131 Distinguished Service Crosses, and captured 188,382 German troops. After the war Huebner served as the Chief of Staff for all American forces in Europe and in 1949 was named the final military governor of the American occupation zone in Germany and retired from the United States Army on 30 November 1950. General Huebner's pistol was manufactured in 1943 making it very plausible that it was with him when he landed on Omaha Beach and through the war until his retirement. This Model 1911A1 pistol was one of only 6,575 commercial model pistols that were unsold and transferred to fulfill Colt's military contract. The left side of the slide is marked with the two-line address/patent dates, right side marked "COLT" and "AUTOMATIC/CALIBRE .45", the left side of the frame marked with the "G.H.D." government inspection mark, and right side had the "GOVERNMENT MODEL" marking and commercial serial number removed at the factory and replaced with the "UNITED STATES PROPERTY" and a serial number in the military range as well as "M1911A1 U.S. ARMY". It has an unmarked blue barrel and full blue magazine marked "C-S" and "S". Also included is a Horstmann Co. M1902 officer's saber that has the standard floral and patriotic motif etched blade, nickeled scabbard, and gold decorated leather hanger. Included documentation from General Clarence R. Huebner's grandson state that these items belonged to the general. These are truly incredible pieces of American history that could be the centerpieces of a variety of different collections!

Fine, retains 50% plus original parkerized finish with the balance mostly a grey patina primarily on edges and handling areas and some areas showing a light speckling of brown spotting. The grips are fine with some minor dings and scratches, and crisp checkering. Mechanically excellent. The saber is fine, the blade mostly bright with crisp etching, the grip showing some mild wear, and the scabbard showing some scattered patches of brown patina and some light spotting. A rare variation of the Colt 1911A1 pistol with the historic legacy of taking part in some of the most pivotal battles of the European theater during World War II!