KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Born at Fort Leavenworth in 1904, Stanton Babcock competed in the men's equestrian dressage at the 1936 Berlin Olympics.
Babcock — a 1925 graduate of the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, New York, who served in the cavalry at Fort Riley, Kansas — placed 23rd individually for the ninth-place U.S. team.
He served with the 6th Marine Division during World War II at Okinawa, where “he received severe wounds which kept him out of combat for the remainder of the war,” according to the U.S. Military Academy Association of Graduates.
Babcock later served as a Department of Defense representative for John Foster Dulles and aide-de-camp to French President Charles de Gaulle during his visit to the U.S.
Eventually, Babcock was promoted to major general.
During his career, he served as the commanding officer of the 7th Cavalry, among other prestigious posts, and was awarded the Legion of Merit, the Purple Heart, the Bronze Star, the Bronze Star with Gold Star Cluster, the Army Commendation Ribbon and the Distinguished Combat Device.
His grandfather and father, Conrad Stanton Babcock Sr., also had distinguished military careers.
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The Kansas City region has a deep, rich history with respect to the Olympic Games. As the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games approach with the Opening Ceremony scheduled for July 23, we will profile an athlete with ties to Kansas City, Missouri or Kansas each day.
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