William Robertson Desobry was born on September 11, 1918 in the Philippines. He was the son of Elmer Cuthbert Desobry and Emily Dorsey Desobry. He attended high schools in Chicago, Illinois, and Honolulu, Hawaii–graduating from Punahou Academy in 1936. William had graduated in 1941 with an ROTC (Reserve Officers' Training Corps) commission. Although he had only been in the Army four years, he had deployed overseas as commander of the 20th Armored Infantry Battalion because of his natural leadership skills. He was in charge of 325 soldiers and fifteen tanks in a mixed task force generally known as 'Team Desobry.

General Desobry's service during World War II included a tour of duty with the 29th Infantry Regiment at Fort Benning, Georgia and the 10th Armored Division in CONUS, and the European Theater of Operations. He commanded an armored infantry battalion task force during the defense of Bastogne, and was wounded and hospitalized by the Germans at Ibbenburen, Germany. He was liberated in the spring of 1945 after imprisonment at Falingbostel, Germany, a branch of the Belsen prison camp, and at Brunswick, Germany. Charles MacDonald, noted Army historian and Battle of the Bulge veteran, described then Major Desobry's heroic actions in his 1997 book, A Time for Trumpets. It is arguably the definitive account of this dramatic victory and displays the actions of Desobry and his armored-infantrymen, often in close combat and at times in hand-to-hand combat.

The road between Noville and Bourcy, which Team Desobry held briefly during the defense of Bastogne, was renamed Rue de Général Desobry in his honor.

General Desobry continued his service in the Post-war, Vietnam war and Cold war. He continued to support the Armor community after his retirement from Army. As a result, he received the U.S. Cavalry and Armor Association's Gold Medallion Winners Hall of Fame in 1989. General Desobry also gained an Army Distinguished Service Medal in February 1968.

He died on January 12, 1996 in San Antonio, Texas and is now buried at the Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery in Texas.

Source of information: www.findagrave.com, wikipedia.com