In addition, his later command assignments included the Newport News Port of Debarkation, the Coast Artillery Training Center, and Third Corps Area.

Cronkhite's public campaign to renew the investigation brought him into disfavor with senior Army leadership, and he was retired against his wishes in 1923.

[2] He was appointed from Arizona to the United States Military Academy (USMA) at West Point, New York, in 1878; he graduated in 1882 ranked 10th in his class, and was assigned to the Field Artillery Branch.

[3] Cronkhite was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the 4th Artillery Regiment and assigned to the garrison at Fort Warren, Massachusetts.

[3] From January to August 1891 he served in South Dakota during operations against Native Americans at the end of the Sioux Wars.

[3] During the Spanish–American War, Cronkhite organized and trained units intended for combat overseas, serving at Jackson Barracks, Louisiana, Camp Thomas, Georgia, and Tampa, Florida.

[2] He returned to the United States for demobilization in Savannah, Georgia before traveling to his regiment's home base at Fort Riley.

[3] After taking an extended post-war leave, Cronkhite performed garrison duty at Fort Terry, New York.

[3] From June 1899 to September 1901 he was assigned as adjutant of the School of Submarine Defense at Fort Totten, New York.

[1] From September 1901 to May 1904 Cronkhite was assigned to Fort Douglas, Utah as commander of the 22nd Field Artillery Battery.

[3] Cronkhite returned to the United States in May 1919, and commanded the Newport News Port of Debarkation until September.

[3] His other post-war assignments included chief of officer classification for the Coast Artillery Corps, commander of the Coast Artillery Training Center at Fort Monroe and the coastal defenses of the Chesapeake Bay, and member of the Army's General Selection Board that determined which officers would be retained in the Army after the post-World War I demobilization was complete.

[12] After hiring private detectives to re-interview witnesses and having a second autopsy performed, they were convinced that their son had been murdered.

[12] When this did not happen, he tried to convince the Justice Department to pursue the investigation and prosecute the two soldiers he believed to be guilty.

[12] The agents who obtained them admitted to harsh interrogation techniques, so the confessions were excluded at the sergeant's trial in October 1924.

[12] With the prosecution case largely consisting of the argument that it was impossible for Alexander Cronkhite to have shot himself by accident, given the angle of the shot and the distance of the gun from his body when it was fired, their central claim collapsed when the captain's counsel and Alexander Cronkhite's friend, Eugene M. Caffey, and a second officer each demonstrated in court that an accidental shooting that fit the circumstances was not only possible, but that it was simple to recreate a plausible series of events which could have resulted in Alexander Cronkhite pulling the trigger by mistake.

[12] Adelbert Cronkhite had refused to accept assignment as commander of the Panama Canal Zone so that he could continue to pursue the investigation into his son's death.

[2] In addition to his United States Army and international military awards, Cronkhite was also a recipient of the Virginia Distinguished Service Medal, which the governor and adjutant general presented to several individuals who commanded Virginia soldiers during World War I, including Philippe Pétain and John J.

12 (1919) Action Date: World War I Service: Army Rank: Major General Company: Commanding General Division: 80th Division, American Expeditionary Forces[14] After retiring, Cronkhite lived in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area, was active in several veterans' organizations, and was a sought after speaker for reunions, Independence Day commemorations, and other ceremonies.

[26] The site, which is now part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, includes the Marine Mammal Center.