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{{short description|United States Army general}}
▲{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2020}}
{{Infobox military person
|name = Henry Aurand
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Soon after he arrived, Aurand attempted to visit all the units under his command—no simple task. He found living conditions were primitive; tents were heavy and bulky, so instead of flying them over the Hump, the men lived with Chinese families or in their own version of the typical peasant's hut. American rations were scarce, so the men supplemented their diet with local purchases, resulting in a high rate of intestinal diseases,{{sfn|Reese|1984|pp=144–148}} and Aurand was no exception.{{sfn|Reese|1984|p=155}} Aurand was especially disturbed at the ragged appearance of his soldiers. He resolved that by the first week of July everyone in the SOS in China would be eating American rations and have new clothes. The former was accomplished, but he was stymied on the latter due to global shortages.{{sfn|Reese|1984|pp=144–148}} Even more dire was the ration situation of the Chinese soldiers that they were supporting, most of whom were suffering from nutritional deficiencies. A ration built around rice, beans and peanuts had been drawn up before Aurand arrived in the theater; it was his responsibility to see that it was delivered. Ultimately the SOS managed to supplement the diet of 185,000 Chinese soldiers.{{sfn|Romanus|Sutherland|1959|pp=243–247}}
At theater headquarters, planning was under way for Operation Carbonado, the capture of [[Zhanjiang|Fort Bayard]], a port on the south coast of China, which would permit supplies to be brought in by sea. This was tentatively scheduled to commence on
In the aftermath of the conflict the SOS had to support the Chinese armies moving into formerly occupied area, close the bases and depots, and dispose of equipment. Civil War erupted in parts of China. Two members of the Liquidation Commission came to see Aurand to protest his flouting of rules regarding the disposal of government property; the moment the war ended, all Lend-Lease material was to be paid for in full or returned to the United States. The Liquidation Commission seemed oblivious to the fact that a poor country at the end of eight years of war could not possibly pay for the supplies, which would cost more than their value to return to the United States. Aurand showed them the door. SOS was absorbed by theater headquarters in November 1945, and Aurand returned to the United States.{{sfn|Reese|1984|pp=156–158}} For his service in China, he was awarded a second oak leaf cluster his distinguished service medal.<ref name="Military Times" />
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Aurand emphasized long-term projects rather than ones aimed at improving existing equipment. When [[Kenneth Royall]], the new [[United States Secretary of the Army|Secretary of the Army]] queried Aurand about progress on missiles, Aurand replied that six missiles were under development, and his preference was for their continued development, rather than the immediate deployment of a version of the German [[V-2 rocket]] with some minor improvements. This was prudent; any major re-equipment purchase would have quickly exhausted the available funds.{{sfn|Converse|2012|pp=150–152}} Between 1948 and 1950, $5 billion was allocated for procurement, about a third of the Army's total budget of $14,8 billion. Most of the equipment had been purchased during World War II. Aurand had to report to Royall that the Army had 15,526 tanks, but only 1,762 were serviceable.{{sfn|Converse|2012|p=171}}
On March 21, 1949,{{sfn|Cullum|1950|p=190}} Bradley, who had succeeded Eisenhower as Chief of Staff, appointed Aurand the Commanding General, [[United States Army, Pacific]],{{sfn|Reese|1984|p=181}} a position he held until his retirement On August 31, 1952, when he was replaced by [[John W. O'Daniel]].<ref name="retirement">{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1310&dat=19520622&id=VblWAAAAIBAJ&pg=3354,6191320&hl=en |title=Pacific Commander To Retire In August|date=June 22, 1952 |newspaper=The Register-Guard |location=Eugene, Oregon |access-date=May 7, 2015}}</ref> Aurand enjoyed Hawaii so much that he decided to buy a house and settle there.{{sfn|Reese|1984|p=181}} In 1960, Eisenhower, now the president, appointed Aurand to the [[South Pacific Commission]]. He was also a columnist for
==Military decorations==
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