Brigadier General George Willcox McIver (February 22, 1858 – May 9, 1947) was a United States Army officer who served as acting Chief of the Militia Bureau and commanded the 81st Division's 161st Brigade in World War I. George Willcox (sometimes spelled Wilcox) McIver was born in Carthage, North Carolina, on February 22, 1858.

[2] He attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill from 1869 to 1870 while his father was a professor there, graduated from the United States Military Academy (USMA) at West Point, New York, in June 1882 and received his commission as a second lieutenant of infantry.

[3] Among his classmates there were several men who would, like McIver himself, eventually attain the rank of general officer, such as Adelbert Cronkhite, Henry Tureman Allen, Richard Whitehead Young, Edward Alexander Millar, Charles Treat, Lansing Hoskins Beach, William H. Sage, Edward Burr, Thomas Buchanan Dugan, Benjamin Alvord Jr., William Herbert Allaire Jr. and John T. Thompson Initially assigned to the 17th Infantry Regiment, McIver served throughout the western United States during the American Indian Wars, including postings to Forts Pembina, Fred Steele, Laramie, Logan, and Bridger.

He supervised the construction of buildings erected in Golden Gate Park to provide temporary housing for people whose homes were destroyed in the 1906 San Francisco earthquake.

[11] In 1917, the same year of the American entry into World War I, McIver was, on August 5, 1917, promoted to brigadier general[12] and took command of the 161st Brigade of the 81st (Wildcat) Division.

Though he worked to have Puerto Rican soldiers transferred from the 161st Brigade, he successfully integrated Lumbees and other Native Americans from North Carolina.

In addition, based on his Indian Wars experience, he expressed the view that African Americans made good soldiers and should be allowed to serve, though he also believed that they could do so successfully only if led by white officers.

[33] Her brother William R. Smedberg Jr. was a career Army officer who attained the rank of brigadier general during World War I.