Amos A. (Amos Alfred) Fries

Born in 1873 in Viroqua, Wisconsin, and raised in Kansas, he graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1898 and built his early career in military engineering. He served in places including the Philippines and worked on major infrastructure projects, with accounts of his service also noting work connected to Yellowstone National Park.

Fries is best known as the second chief of the U.S. Army's Chemical Warfare Service, a role that made him a central figure in developing and defending the military use of chemical weapons after World War I. He wrote and spoke extensively on the subject and became one of the best-known advocates for maintaining chemical warfare capabilities in the interwar years.

His later public life was controversial as well as influential. Alongside his military work, he was active in political and social campaigns that drew strong criticism, so he is remembered today not only for his Army career but also for the debates surrounding his views and public activism. He died in 1963.