Frederick J. Karch

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Frederick J. Karch

Brigadier General Frederick Joseph Karch (born August 9, 1917 in Carmi , Illinois - † May 23, 2009 ) was an officer in the United States Marine Corps during World War II and the Vietnam War .

Life

Karch was born in Carmi, Illinois, in 1917, the son of the director of Carmi Township High School, Henry J. Karch, and his wife, Flora Clark Karch. In 1935 he graduated from Carmi Township High School and studied at the University of Illinois .

Convocation and World War II

After a year at university, he moved to the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis , Maryland . Upon graduation in June 1940, he became a Second Lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps . At the Philadelphia Navy Yard closed Karch his Basic Training and was as Battery Officer for San Diego sent to the 10th Marine Regiment.

In 1941 he was stationed in Iceland when the Second World War broke out for the Americans by the Japanese with the attack on Pearl Harbor . He became Lieutenant Colonel through a series of promotions in March 1942, May 1942, May 1943, and May 1945 .

In July 1942 he joined the 12th Marines of the 3rd Marine Division as Battalion Executive Officer. From February to September 1943 he served as the commanding officer of the 1st Battalion of the 14th Marines. Then as Operations Officer of the 14th Marines. Karch was awarded the Legion of Merit and the Bronze Star for the Battle of Kwajalein , Saipan , Tinian and Iwojima .

Interwar period

From January 1946 to July 1947, Lieutenant Colonel Karch was Chairman of the Board of Review, Discharges and Dismissals in the Navy Department in Washington, DC.In September 1949, he became an artillery instructor at the Marine Corps Schools at Quantico, where he was a member of the Directing Staff at the Canadian Army Staff College was.

After serving as dericting staff in November, he was in command of the 4th Battalion, 10th Marines, 2nd Marine Division from December 1951 . He became the Regimental Executive Officer in June 1952 and served as the Division's Personnel Assistant from June to December 1953. He was then sent to the Joint Landing Force Board at Camp Lejeune , North Carolina .

In March 1955 he was appointed head of the secret service department to Tokyo . There he was promoted to Colonel and received the Army Commendation Medal.

Karch completed the Senior Course at Quantico Marine Corps Schools in June 1958 and was then appointed Regimental Commander of the 2nd Marine Division of the 10th Marines and Assistant Chief of Staff. He held this post until July 1961.

Karch graduated from Army War College by June of the following year and was assigned to Marine Corps Headquarters as Executive Officer and Assistant Deputy Chief of Staff. In 1963 he received his masters degree from George Washington University and in 1964 he was appointed Brigadier General.

Vietnam

Karch was sent to Okinawa in November 1964 as Assistant Division Commander of the 3rd Division. In February of the following year he was sent to Vietnam as the Commanding General of the 9th Marine Expeditionary Brigade. There he directed the landing on Nam O Beach, which was a public display of American intentions in Vietnam. This was an idea of ​​President Lyndon B. Johnson . For the service he received his second Legion of Merit .

The storm on Nam O Beach took place on March 8, 1965 around the port of Da Nang in South Vietnam . A few days before landing, Karch noted that the weather was the worst he had ever experienced. While the residents greeted the arriving marines in a friendly manner and took photos, Karch was never seen smiling. When asked about it, he said:

“... if I had to do it over, that picture would have been the same. When you have a son in Vietnam and he gets killed, you don't want a smiling general with flowers around his neck as leader at that point. "

"... If you have a son in Vietnam and he's killed, you don't want to see a smiling general with flowers around his neck."

In December 1965, Karch was sent to the Marine Corps Schools at Quantico as Director, Command and Staff College. In June 1967 he gave up this last task and received his third Legion of Merit .

Awards

Individual evidence

  1. ^ US Marine Corps biography accessed March 11, 2007
  2. ↑ THE MARINE WAR: III MAF IN VIETNAM, 1965–1971 from this site http://www.vietnam.ttu.edu/vietnamcenter/events/1996_Symposium/96papers/marwar.htm ( Memento from August 21, 2006 in the web archive archive. today ) accessed on March 11, 2007
  3. ^ Cawthorne 2003.

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Karch, Frederick J.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Karch, Frederick Joseph (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American General (United States Marine Corps)
DATE OF BIRTH August 9, 1917
PLACE OF BIRTH Carmi , Illinois
DATE OF DEATH May 23, 2009