Alexander A. Vandegrift

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General Alexander A. Vandegrift

Alexander Archer Vandegrift (born March 13, 1887 in Charlottesville , Virginia , † May 8, 1973 in Bethesda , Maryland ) was a general in the United States Marine Corps . During the Pacific War he commanded the 1st U.S. Marine Division in the Battle of Guadalcanal . From 1944 to 1947 he was the 18th Commandant of the Marine Corps .

Life

Early years

Alexander Vandegrift completed a two-year course at the University of Virginia before joining the Marine Corps on January 22, 1909 with the rank of Second Lieutenant .

After serving at the Marine Officers School in Port Royal , South Carolina , Vandegrift served in the Marine Barracks of Portsmouth , New Hampshire . After that he was entrusted mainly with tasks in Central America and the Caribbean . In October 1912 he took part in the storming of the Coyotepe fortress in Nicaragua and between April and November 1914 in the US occupation of the Mexican port city of Vera Cruz , as a result of the Tampico affair .

Vandegrift as First Lieutenant

After his promotion to First Lieutenant in December 1914, Vandegrift attended an advanced course in the Marine Barracks at the Philadelphia Navy Yard Pennsylvania . He then went to Haiti as part of the US occupation with the 1st Marine Brigade , where he mainly dealt with armed bandits in the towns of Le Trou and Fort Capois . In August 1916 he was promoted to captain and immediately assigned to the military police in the Haitian capital Port-au-Prince . After a stay in the United States between December 1918 and July 1919, Vandegrift returned to Haiti, where he worked with the Gendarmerie d'Haiti.

1920s - 1930s

In June 1920 he was promoted to major . His long service in Haiti ended in April 1923 when he was assigned to the Marine Barracks at Marine Corps Base Quantico , Virginia . After an officer course at the Marine Corps School in May 1926, he was transferred to California to the Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego , where he served as assistant chief of staff.

In February 1927 he was transferred to the headquarters of the 3rd Marine Brigade in Tianjin , China , where he a. a. was responsible for training. A year and a half later, Vandegrift left Asia for Washington, DC , where he became deputy chief coordinator in the finance bureau. Then Vandegrift was called to Quantico , Virginia, to take on the position of Deputy Chief of Staff of the Fleet Marine Force (FMF). During this time he was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel in June 1934. From June 1935 he was commander of the US Marine Corps security guard at the US Embassy in Beijing . Here he was promoted to Colonel in September 1936 .

In June of the following year, Colonel Vandegrift was appointed to the US Marine Corps headquarters in Washington, where he became an advisor to Thomas Holcomb , then Commandant of the Marine Corps . In March 1940, he was promoted to Deputy Commander in Chief of the USMC and Brigadier General . Due to the impending entry of the USA into the war, Vandegrift was assigned to the 1st US Marine Division , which had evolved from the 1st Marine Brigade in November 1941 .

Second World War

MajGen Vandegrift in his command tent on Guadalcanal, 1942

In March 1942 he was promoted to major general and transferred to the Southwest Pacific with the division , of which he was to become commander in May. On August 7 Vandegrifts Marine Division opened the Allied offensive against the Japanese Empire to the Solomon Islands Guadalcanal , Tulagi and Gavutu .

In July 1943, Vandegrift became the commander of the I. Marine Amphibious Corps and led it during the Battle of Bougainville in November of the same year.

On January 1, 1944, Lieutenant General Vandegrift was sworn in as the 18th Commandant of the Marine Corps, and on March 21, 1945, he was the first Marine to achieve the rank of General .

Rear Adm. Richmond Kelly Turner (left) with General Vandegrift

During his tenure, the Marine Corps had prestige battles with the US Army , which wanted to take full advantage of their missions. Although the US Navy understood the Marines' predicament, it was prepared to consent to the weakening of the US Marine Corps in order to prevent the US Air Force from taking over naval aviation . The discussions that arose in the post-war period about a transformation of the entire US defense apparatus, however, opened the door for a downgrading of the mission role of the US Marine Corps in the course of a possible new defense structure. Supporters were the then US President Harry S. Truman and the Allied Commander in Chief in Europe during the Second World War, General Dwight D. Eisenhower . In this power struggle, the US Marine Corps turned to Congress , warning that civil supervisory boards would be compromised under the US Army proposal. In order to get the support of Congress, Vandegrift delivered the so-called "bended knee" speech on May 6, 1946:

The Marine Corps, then, believes that it has earned this right — to have its future decided by the legislative body which created it — nothing more. Sentiment is not a valid consideration in determining questions of national security. We have pride in ourselves and in our past, but we do not rest our case on any presumed ground of gratitude owing us from the nation. The bended knee is not a tradition of our Corps. If the marine as a fighting man has not made a case for himself after 170 years of service, he must go. But I think you will agree with me that he has earned the right to depart with dignity and honor, not by subjugation to the status of uselessness and servility planned for him by the War Department.

retirement

On January 1, 1948, Clifton B. Cates succeeded Vandegrift to the post of Commandant. Officially, he went on 1 April 1949 in the retirement . General Alexander Archer Vandegrift died after a long illness on May 8, 1973 at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland. Two days later he was buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

Vandegrift was married twice, first to Mildred Strode Vandegrift (* March 12, 1886 - July 11, 1952) and most recently with Kathryn Henson Vandegrift (* August 19, 1903, † October 23, 1978). His first marriage son, Alexander Archer Vandegrift Jr. (1911-1969), was a colonel in the US Marine Corps who was seriously wounded during the Battle of Iwojima . The remains of his two wives and his son were buried in the same tomb.

Awards

President Franklin D. Roosevelt (left) presents General Vandegrift (2nd from right) with the Medal of Honor

Selection of decorations, sorted based on the Order of Precedence of the Military Awards:

Vandegrift received an honorary doctorate of military science from Pennsylvania Military College , and the Law of the Universities of Harvard , Colgate , Brown , Columbia , Maryland and John Marshall College . In 1982 the Oliver Hazard Perry class frigate USS Vandegrift (FFG-48) was named after him.

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personal data
SURNAME Vandegrift, Alexander A.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Vandegrift, Alexander Archer (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American general
DATE OF BIRTH March 13, 1887
PLACE OF BIRTH Charlottesville , Virginia
DATE OF DEATH May 8, 1973
Place of death Bethesda, Maryland