Marines and Corpsmen who served with the 1st Battalion 9th Marines
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BGen James D. Beans
Brigadier General James D. Beans United States Marine Corps (Ret.)
Brigadier General James D. Beans' last assignment was the Assistant Chief of Staff, Command, Control, Communications and Computer, Intelligence and Interoperability (C4I2)/Director, Intelligence Division, Headquarters Marine Corps, Washington, D.C.
General Beans graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1957. He also holds a Master of Science degree in Computer Science from the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California (1971).
General Beans completed The Basic School, at Quantico, Va., in May 1958. His first duty station was Camp Lejeune, N.C., where he served as Platoon Commander, Company Executive Officer and Battalion S-1/Adjutant in the 1st Battalion, 8th Marines. During November 1959, he was reassigned to the 2d Force Reconnaissance Company as Supply and Service Platoon Commander, and later, as the Pathfinder Platoon Commander. During December 1962, he was assigned as the Commanding Officer, Marine Detachment aboard the USS LITTLE ROCK (CLG-4). He returned to the 2d Marine Division in 1964, for duty as Company Commander, S-2 and S-3A in the 1st Battalion, 6th Marines, and participated in operations in the Dominican Republic in 1965.
General Beans joined the 1st Battalion, 9th Marines for his first tour in Vietnam in 1966, serving as S-3 and Battalion Executive Officer. He completed his overseas assignment as S-3, 4th Marines.
Returning to the United States in December 1967, he reported to Quantico for duty as Company Commander and instructor at The Basic School. From January 1970 until December 1971, General Beans attended the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School. Upon completion of the postgraduate program, he returned to Vietnam in March 1972, to serve in the Military Advisor Unit as Battalion, Brigade, and G- 4 Advisor to the Vietnamese Marine Corps.
He was assigned to Headquarters, Fleet Marine Force, Pacific in 1973, for three years where he served as Director, Automated Services Center, and subsequently, as Assistant Chief of Staff for Management.
He attended the Marine Corps Command and Staff College from 1976-77, and upon graduation, joined the 1st Marine Division as Executive Officer, 5th Marines. On March 17, 1978 he assumed command of the 1st Battalion, 5th Marines. General Beans relinquished command upon the Battalion's return from Okinawa on Aug. 18, 1979.
He attended the State Department's top level school, the Executive Seminar for National and International Affairs, from September 1979 to June 1980. Joining the Organization, Joint Chiefs of Staff, on June 20, 1980, he first served as the Southeast Asia Branch Chief, J-5, until May 15, 1981, when he was reassigned to the Chairman's Staff Group as the Marine Corps Member until June 24, 1983.
General Beans was assigned as the Deputy Director, Personnel Management Division, Headquarters Marine Corps on June 24, 1983. While serving in this capacity, he was selected in February 1984 for promotion to brigadier general. He was advanced to that rank on May 10, 1984 and assumed his assignment as Assistant Division Commander, 3d Marine Division/Deputy Commander III NIAF/CG, 9th Marine Amphibious Brigade, Fleet Marine Force, Pacific, Okinawa, Japan. Returning to the United States in July 1985, he was assigned duty as the Commander, Forward Headquarters Element/ Inspector General for the United States Central Command, MacDill AFB, Florida, in August 1985. He served in this capacity until August 14, 1986. General Beans was assigned duty as the Commanding General, 5th Marine Amphibious Brigade, FMF, Camp Pendleton, Calif., on Sept. 5, 1986. He was assigned additional duty as the Commanding General, Landing Force Training Command, Pacific, on Sept. 3, 1987. He served in this capacity until May 5, 1988, and assumed his current assignment to AC/S C4I2 on July 1, 1988. He retired on 1 July, 1989.
General Beans' decorations include: the Navy Distingiushed Service Medal; the Silver Star Medal; Defense Superior Service Medal; Legion of Merit with Combat "V"; Bronze Star Medal with Combat "V"; the Navy Commendation Medal with Combat "V"; Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry gold and silver star; and the Vietnamese Staff Service Honor Medal, 1st Class.
Major General James Lewis Day was born 5 October 1925, in East St. Louis, Illinois. He enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1943 and participated in combat action during World War II in the Marshall Islands, on Guam and on Okinawa, where he earned the Medal of Honor for heroism during the fight for Sugar Loaf Hill. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Political Science and a Masters of Business Administration degree. In September 1952, he completed The Basic School at Quantico, Virginia, and was transferred to Korea where he served with Company C, 1st Battalion, 7th Marines and the 1st Reconnaissance Company. First Lieutenant Day served as the S-3 officer, Marine Corps Supply Center, Barstow, California, until July 1954, when he was transferred to Camp Pendleton, California, for duty as the commanding officer, Company C, Marine Corps Test Unit One. He was promoted to captain in December 1954. Capt Day remained at Camp Pendleton until May 1956, and was then assigned as Operations Officer of the Recruit Training Command, Marine Corps Recruit Depot, San Diego. In September 1957, he was transferred to Okinawa and served as Commanding Officer, 4.2 Mortar Company, and later served as a battalion operations officer with the 9th Marines, 3d Marine Division. Returning stateside in December 1958, he was assigned as Instructor, Tactics Group, The Basic School, Quantico. He was promoted to major in August 1962 and attended the Amphibious Warfare School, also at Quantico. Major Day was transferred to the 4th Marine Corps District in July 1963 and served as Inspector-Instructor, 43d Rifle Company, Cumberland, Maryland. In April 1966, Maj Day served his first tour in Vietnam as Commanding Officer, 1st Battalion, 9th Marines, 3d Marine Division. Returning to Camp Pendleton in June 1967, he was assigned as the Commanding Officer, 1st Battalion, 28th Marines, 5th Marine Division. He was promoted to lieutenant colonel in July 1967 and in January 1968, he was reassigned as Battalion Commander, 2d Infantry Training Regiment, Camp Pendleton. Lieutenant Colonel Day served at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, from July 1969 to June 1971 and attended the Army War College, Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania, from July 1971 to June 1972. After graduation, he served his second tour in Vietnam as Operations Officer, 9th Marine Amphibious Brigade, III Marine Amphibious Force. He was reassigned as Commanding Officer, Camp Fuji, Japan, in March 1973. He was promoted to colonel in November 1973 and was transferred to Philadelphia for duty as Deputy Director, and later, Director, 4th Marine Corps District. He remained in that billet until 1 April 1976, when he was advanced to brigadier general. He assumed duties as Assistant Depot Commander, Marine Corps Recruit Depot, San Diego, in May 1976, and on 1 November 1977, he became Commanding General of the Depot, serving in that capacity until 11 March 1978. On 29 April 1978, he was assigned duty as Deputy Director for Operations, J-3, NMCC, Joint Chiefs of Staff, Washington, D.C. During July 1979, BGen Day was assigned duty as the Assistant Division Commander, 1st Marine Division/Commanding General, 7th Marine Amphibious Brigade, Fleet Marine Force, Pacific, Camp Pendleton. He was promoted to major general on 1 August 1980, and assumed duty as the Commanding General, 1st Marine Division, and was ultimately assigned the additional duty as Commanding General, I MAF, on 1 July 1981. He served in that capacity until August 1982 when he was assigned duty as the Deputy Chief of Staff for Training, Headquarters, U.S. Marine Corps, Washington, D.C. In July 1984, he was assigned duty as the Commanding General, Marine Corps Base, Camp S. D. Butler/Deputy Commander, Marine Corps Bases, Pacific (Forward)/Okinawa Area Coordinator, Okinawa, Japan. He served in this capacity until his retirement on 1 December 1986. Upon his retirement, he was presented the Distinguished Service Medal for exceptionally meritorious service to the Government of the United States for duties while serving in his final duty station. Major General Day was presented the Medal of Honor on 20 January 1998, over a half a century after the World War II battle on Okinawa in which he distinguished himself. He died of a heart attack later that year on 28 October 1998 in Cathedral City, California. He was laid to rest in Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery, San Diego, California. Major General Day's personal decorations included the Medal of Honor, the Silver Star Medal with two gold stars in lieu of second and third awards; the Defense Superior Service Medal; Legion of Merit with combat "V;" the Bronze Star Medal with Combat "V;" the Navy Commendation Medal with Combat "V" and gold star in lieu of a second award; and six Purple Hearts.
LtGen William M. Keys
Lieutenant General William M. Keys United States Marine Corps Ret.
Vietnam - Navy Cross Recipient
General William M. Keys retired from the Marine Corps 1 September 1994. His last active duty assignment was the Commander, U.S. Marine Corps Forces, Atlantic; Commanding General, Fleet Marine Force, Atlantic; Commanding General, II Marine Expeditionary Force; Commander, Marine Striking Force, Atlantic; Commander, U.S. Marine Corps Forces, South (Designate); and the Commander, U.S. Marine Corps Forces, Europe (Designate). He was advanced to his final grade and assumed his duties on 25 June 1991. A native of Fredericktown, Pennsylvania, General Keys was commissioned a second lieutenant in the U.S. Marine Corps upon his graduation from the U.S. Naval Academy with a B.S. degree in June 1960. His professional military education includes The Basic School, Amphibious Warfare School, and the Command and Staff College, all at Quantico, Virginia. General Keys is also a graduate of the National War College in Washington, D.C., and holds an M.S. degree from American University, and an honorary Ph.D. in Public Service from Washington and Jefferson College. Designated an infantry officer, General Keys served at every level of operational command: initially as a platoon leader with 3d Battalion, 2d Marine Regiment; as a company commander with the 1st Battalion, 9th Marine Regiment in Vietnam; as Commanding Officer, 3d Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment; as Regimental Commander of the 6th Marines; and as Commanding General, 2d Marine Division during Desert Storm combat operations in Southwest Asia. There he led the Division in its successful assault across the Kuwaiti border, breaching Iraqi barriers and minefields, and into Kuwait City. He also served an early tour with the Marine Detachment aboard the USS Long Beach, and a second tour in Vietnam as an advisor to the Vietnamese Marine Corps. He held the following principal staff assignments: Infantry Officers? Monitor, Personnel Management Division, Headquarters Marine Corps; Marine Corps Liaison Officer to the U.S. Senate; Special Projects Directorate in the Office of the Commandant; Aide de Camp to the Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps; Deputy Director, and subsequently Director, Personnel Management Division, Manpower and Reserve Affairs Department, HQMC; and the Deputy Joint Secretariat, Joint Chiefs of Staff, Washington, D.C. General Keys? decorations and medals include: the Navy Cross; Distinguished Service Medal; Silver Star Medal; Legion of Merit with Combat ?V?; Bronze Star with Combat ?V?; Defense Meritorious Service Medal; Combat Action Ribbon; Presidential Unit Citation; Navy Unit Commendation; Meritorious Unit Commendation; National Defense Service Medal; Vietnam Service Medal with four bronze stars; Republic of Vietnam Cross of Gallantry with Palm and Silver Star; Republic of Vietnam Armed Forces Honor Medal (First Class); Republic of Vietnam Meritorious Unit Citation (Gallantry Cross Color); Republic of Vietnam Meritorious Unit Citation (Civil Actions Color); and the Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal.
LtGen Frank Libutti
Lieutenant General Frank Libitti
United States Marine Corps (Ret)
At the time of his retirement, Lieutenant General Frank Libutti was the Commander, U.S. Marine Corps Forces Pacific/Commanding General, Fleet Marine Force, Pacific/Commander, U.S. Marine Corps Bases, Pacific headquartered at Camp H. M. Smith, Hawaii. He assumed command on June 22, 1999.
General Libutti is a native of Huntington, Long Island, New York. Following graduation from The Citadel, he entered the Marine Corps Officer Candidate Program in August 1966 and was commissioned a second lieutenant in October of that year. In March 1967, he was assigned to duty with the 1st Battalion, 9th Marines in Vietnam, where he served as an Infantry Platoon Commander.
In 1968, he returned to Quantico for duty at the Officer Candidates School. During this tour, he served consecutively as Chief Instructor, Tactics Section; Commanding Officer, and Branch Head, Academic Section. He was promoted to captain in November 1969. Upon completion of his duties at Quantico, he remained there to attend the Amphibious Warfare School.
General Libutti transferred to Amphibious Squadron THREE, San Diego, California, in 1972, for duty as Squadron Combat Cargo Officer. Upon completion of a two-year tour there, he was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 2d Marines, 2d Marine Division, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, as an Infantry Company Commander for 14 months, followed by staff positions at the Battalion Headquarters. There, he served as the Logistics Officer and later as the Operations Officer.
Promoted to major in May 1977, General Libutti was reassigned as the Executive Officer, Marine Barracks, Naples, Italy. He returned from overseas in August 1980 to attend the Command and Staff College at Quantico. Following graduation, he was transferred to Headquarters Marine Corps, Washington, D.C., for duty as the Head of the Career Management Section, Manpower Department. In May 1982, he was promoted to lieutenant colonel and reassigned as the Assistant Secretary of the General Staff for the Office of the Assistant Commandant and Chief of Staff, where he served through May 1983. He was reassigned in June 1983 as the Senior Marine Aide to the Commandant of the Marine Corps.
From August 1985 until June 1986, General Libutti attended the National War College, Washington, D.C. Following graduation, he was assigned as the Executive Officer, 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, Camp Pendleton, California. General Libutti was reassigned as the Commanding Officer of 1st Reconnaissance Battalion, where he remained in command until October 1987, when he was designated as the Commanding Officer, Contingency MAGTF 1-88 and promoted to colonel.
Returning to Camp Pendleton in May 1988, General Libutti served as the Assistant Chief of Staff, Intelligence, 1st Marine Division. He assumed command of the 11th MEU in August 1988 and remained in command until July 1990. The following month, General Libutti was reassigned to the Office of the Chairman, Joint Chief of Staff, for duty as the Marine Corps Member of the Chairman's Staff Group. While serving in this capacity, he was selected in December for promotion to brigadier general and was promoted to that grade on March 23, 1992. General Libutti was then assigned as the Commander, Forward Headquarters Element/Inspector General of the United States Central Command, MacDill AFB, Fla., on July 10, 1992. On August 18, 1992, he was designated Commanding General, Joint Task Force Provide Relief (emergency airlift of food to Somalia and Kenya), a position he held until November 1992, at which time he resumed his duties in Tampa.
He was promoted to major general and assumed duties as Commanding General, 1st Marine Division on July 22, 1994. He served as the Division Commander until June 7, 1996. During his last assignment, he served as the Commanding General, III Marine Expeditionary Force/Commander, Marine Corps Bases Japan until June 8, 1999.
General Libutti received the Defense Distinguished Service Medal while serving as the Assistant Chief of Staff C/J-5, United Nations Command, Combined Forces Command, United States Forces Korea and as Commander, Marine Forces Korea. He held this position from June 20, 1996 until July 20, 1997. He was promoted to his current rank of Lieutenant General on July 10, 1997.
General Libutti's personal decorations include: Defense Distinguished Service Medal (first award), the Silver Star Medal; Defense Superior Service Medal with two bronze oak leaf clusters; Legion of Merit with gold star; Purple Heart with two gold stars; Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal; Republic of Korea Chonsu Medal: and the Combat Action Ribbon. General Libutti was also presented with the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Star, by the Emperor of Japan for service dedicated to the security of Japan and the mutual cooperation between Japan and the United States.
MGen Donald J. Fulham
Major General Donald J. Fulham
United States Marine Corps (Ret)
Major General Donald J. Fulham was born on July 4, 1928, in McMinniville, Oregon and enlisted in the Marine Corps on August 2, 1948. Upon completion of recruit training at Marine Corps Recruit Depot, San Diego, Calif., he was transferred to the Marine Corps Air Station, El Toro, Calif., where he served with Headquarters Squadron.
Following his discharge in August 1948, he attended Linfield College where he earned a B.S. degree in Business Administration (1952). He was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Marine Corps on November 26, 1952.
After completing The Basic School, Quatico, VA., in May 1953, he was ordered to Camp Pendleton, Calif., where he was assigned as a Platoon Commander, and later, Executive Officer of Company F, 2d Battalion, 3d Marines, 3d Marine Division. In July 1953, the battalion deployed from Camp Pendleton to Camp Fuji, Japan. From February 1954 to October 1954, he served with the 1st Marine Division in Korea as Executive Officer of Company H, 3d Battalion, 1st Marines.
From November 1954 to September 1956, he served as the Executive Officer of the Marine Detachment aboard the USS INTREPID (CVA-11). While serving in this capacity, he was promoted to captain in March 1956.
During September 1956, he was ordered to Billings, Montana, as Inspector-Instructor, until January 1960. The following month, he was transferred to Camp Lejeune, N.C., where he initially served as an S-4 Officer of the 3d Battalion, 2d Marines, and later, Commanding Officer of Company I. In July 1962, he was assigned as the Assistant S-3, 2d Marines, and in April 1963, he was promoted to major.
Leaving Camp Lejeune, in July 1963, he reported back to Quantico, and attended the Amphibious Warfare School. Upon completion, he returned to El Toro, as the Assistant S-3 of Marine Aircraft Group-33.
From November 1965 until December 1966, he served with the 3d Marine Division as S-3, 4th Marines; G-3, Task Force Delta; and G-3, 3d Marine Division (Forward). In January, he was assigned as Executive Officer, 3d Battalion, 26th Marines, and inMarch as Commanding Officer, 1st Battalion, 9th Marines.
Returning to Quantico in August 1967, he was assigned as an instructor at the Amphibious Warfare School, until January 1970. During his tour at Quantico, he was promoted to lieutenant colonel in October 1967.
He participated in the Special Education Program at American University, graduating in June 1971 with a master's degree in Management. During July, he transferred to Vietnam, as Team Chief, Command Center, Military Assistance Command in Siagon.
On his return to the United States in April 1972, he was ordered to Headquarters Marine Corps, Washington, D.C., as Head, Management Engineering Branch, until June 1973. He was promoted to colonel in July 1973 and reported to the Naval War College, Newport, R.I., where he was a student until the following July. He then returned to Headquarters Marine Corps, where he served as Deputy Director, Personnel Procurement Division.
In May 1978, he returned to Camp Lejeune as Chief of Staff, 2d Marine Division. While serving in this capacity, he was selected in February 1980 for promotion to brigadier general. He was advanced to that grade on April 18, 1980 and assigned duty as the Director, Personnel Procurement Division at Headquarters Marine Corps on April 30, 1980. General Fulham was assigned duty as the Commanding General, Marine Corps Base, Camp Lejeune, N.C., on July 8, 1982. He was advanced to major general on April 8, 1983. In July 1984, he was assigned duty as the Assistant Chief of Staff, J-5/C-5, U.S. Forces, Korea. In June 1986, he returned to San Diego, assuming command of the Marine Corps Recruit Depot/Wester Recruiting Region, serving in that billet until his retirement on October 1, 1988.
His personal decorations include: the Distinguished Service Medal, the Defense Superior Service Medal, the Legion of Merit with Combat "V", the Bronze Star Medal with Combat "V"; the Navy Commendation Medal; and the numerous unit awards and foreign decorations from World War II, Korea and Vietnam.
Major General Fulham and his wife, the former Ann Gary of Catlett, Virginia, have three children, Donna, Erin and Gray.
BGen Matthew Caulfield
BGen Matthew P. Caulfield
United States Marine Corps, Ret.
Major General Matthew P. Caulfield is the Deputy Commander for War-fighting/Director, MAGTF Warfighting Center, MCCDC, Quantico, Va.
General Caulfield was born in New York City. He was commissioned through the Platoon Leaders Class after graduation from Fordham University in 1958. He received an M.S. degree from George Washington University in 1966; an MBA from Harvard University in 1972; and is a 1963 graduate of the Army Special Warfare School in Fort Bragg, N.C.
Upon graduation from The Basic School in Quantico, Va., General Caulfield was assigned to the 2d Marine Division, Camp Lejeune, N.C., where he served in a variety of infantry command and staff billets.
Promoted to captain in 1963, he was assigned to sea duty as the commanding officer of the Marine Detachment, USS HOLLAND, homeported in Rota, Spain. Returning to the United States in 1965, he was assigned as the Marine Corps Representative to the Naval Audit Office, Washington, D.C.
After graduation from the Amphibious Warfare School, Quantico, Va., in June 1967, he was ordered to Vietnam, where he served as the commanding officer, Company I, 3d Battalion 26th Marines, until his promotion to major in November 1967. He then assumed duties as the operations officer, and later became the executive officer, 3d Battalion, 26th Marines. During this period General Caulfield participated in numerous campaigns, including the siege of Khe Sanh. On return to the United States in September 1968, General Caulfield reported to the Office of the Secretary of Defense where he served as a military analyst for Southeast Asia programs. From 1970-1972 he attended the Harvard University Graduate School of Business.
From 1972 through 1975 General Caulfield was assigned to the 1st Marine Division, Camp Pendleton, Calif., as the Assistant Chief of Staff (Comptroller) and later, the battalion commander, 3d Battalion, 5th Marines. In June 1975,General Caulfield transferred to the 3d Marine Division on Okinawa, where he served as commanding officer, Battalion Landing Team 1/9.
General Caulfield returned to the United States in 1976 and served as operations officer of the Landing Force Training Unit in Coronado, Calif., until he was selected in 1977 to attend the Royal College of Defense Studies in London, England. Upon graduation in 1978, he transferred to the Marine Barracks, Washington, D.C., as the Director of the Marine Corps Institute.
Upon promotion to colonel in 1980, General Caulfield was assigned to Headquarters Marine Corps, Washington, D.C., in the Plans, Programs and Operations Department. From 1982-1983 he served as a military fellow in the Council of Foreign Relations in New York.
General Caulfield was assigned the duties as Deputy Director, the Military Office, the White House on May 4, 1983. While serving in this capacity, he was selected for promotion to brigadier general in February 1985. He was advanced to that grade on April 18, 1985. He was assigned duties as Commanding General, Landing Force Training Command, Atlantic/Commanding General, 4th Marine Amphibious Brigade, NAB, Little Creek, Norfolk, Va., on April 29, 1986. Returning to the Washington, D.C. area, he was assigned duty as the Director, Inter-American Region (ISA), Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense on June 13, 1988. General Caulfield served in this capacity until he was assigned duty as Deputy Commander for Training and Education/Director, Marine Air-Ground Training and Education Center, MCCDC/Commander, Marine Corps Schools, Quantico, Va., on Dec. 30, 1988. He was promoted to major general on March 15, 1989. General Caulfield assumed his current assignment on July 2, 1990.
General Caulfield's personal decorations include: the Defense Distinguished Service Medal; the Legion of Merit with Combat "V" and two gold stars in lieu of a second and third award; the Bronze Star with Combat "V"; Meritorious Service Medal; Purple Heart Medal; and the Combat Action Ribbon.
MGen George W. Smith
Major General George W. Smith United States Marine Corps (Ret)
Major General George W. Smith retired from the Marine Corps on August 1, 1977.
General Smith was born July 8, 1925, in Harrisburg, graduated from Camp Hill Pa. High School in 1943. He received his B.A. degree in Political Science from Dickinson graduation in March 1949.
General Smith enlisted in the Marine Corps Reserve in September 1943, and participated in the Okinawa Campaign in 1945 and attained the rank of corporal prior to his discharge in February 1946. He was commissioned a Reserve second lieutenant in March 1949, and served as a platoon leader with the 6th Infantry Battalion, USMCR, Harrisburg. During this period he attended the Associate Armored Company Officers Course, Armored School, Fort Knox, Ky., completing the course in December 1950.
In March 1951, General Smith completed the 3d Special Basic Course at Marine Corps Schools, Quantico, Va., and was transferred to Camp Lejeune, N.C., as a platoon leader, 2d Tank Battalion, 2d Marine Division, and later became Aide and Assistant Secretary, Joint Landing Force Board. He was promoted to first lieutenant in April 19S1, and released from active duty in December 1952, returning to the 2d Tank Battalion the following October as a company commander. He was promoted to captain in July 1953, and integrated into the regular Marine Corps the following December.
In April 1954, General Smith was reassigned to the 3d Marine Division in Japan, serving as a company commander until February 1955, when he was ordered to Korea as an assistant operations officer with the 1st Tank Battalion, 1st Marine Division.
General Smith returned to the United States in May 1955, as a Tactics Instructor at The Basic School, Quantico. Upon completion of the Amphibious Warfare School, Junior Course, at Quantico in June 1958, he was transferred to the 1st Marine Division, Camp Pendleton, Calif., as a rifle company commander and infantry battalion S-3 officer, remaining there until October 1959, when he was reassigned to the 3d Marine Division on Okinawa as S-3 Officer, Transplacement Battalion. He was promoted to major in December 1958.
Returning to the United States in February 1961, General Smith reported to Marine Barracks, Washington, D.C., for duty as Operations and Training Officer, remaining there until July 1963, when he was assigned as Marine Officer Instructor, Northwestern University, Evanston, Ill. He was promoted to lieutenant colonel in July 1965.
General Smith became the G-2 and G-3 Advisor, Marine Corps Component, U.S. Naval Advisory Group, Korea, in June 1966, and in August 1968, he was ordered to the Republic of Vietnam for duty as Commanding Officer, 1st Battalion, 9th Marine Regiment, 3d Marine Division, and later, as Division G-3 Officer. Upon returning to the United States in October 1969, he reported to Headquarters Marine Corps, Washington, D.C., and served as Assistant Head, and later as Head Operations Branch, G-3 Division. He was promoted to colonel in January 1970, and the following July he attended the Army War College, Carlisle Barracks, Pa., completing the course in June 1971, when he was reassigned as Commanding Officer The Basic School. In May 1973, General Smith became the District Director, 4th Marine Corps District. Following his advancement to brigadier general on June 11, 1974, he was reassigned as Director, Information Systems Support and Management Division, Headquarters Marine Corps. He assumed in June 1975 command of the First Marine Brigade, Fleet Marine Force, Pacific. He assumed duty as Commanding General, 3d Marine Division, Okinawa, Japan in July 1976 with advancement to major general. General Smith served in this capacity until his retirement on August 1, 1977.
General Smith's personal decorations and awards include the Silver Star Medal, the Legion of Merit with Combat "V", the Navy Commendation Medal with Combat "V", the Combat Action Ribbon, the Army Distinguished Unit Citation, the Navy Unit Commendation, the Navy and Marine Corps Meritorious Unit Commendation, the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with one bronze star, the World War II Victory Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Korean Service~ Medal, the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, the Vietnam Service Medal with four bronze stars, the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry with silver star, the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry with Palm, and the Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal. Major General Smith and his wife, the former Nancy Louise Reese, of Johnstown, Pennsylvania, have four children, Deborah, Anne, George Jr., and Andrew.
Gen Michael W. Hagee
General Michael W. Hagee
United States Marine Corps
33rd Commandant 14 Jan 2003 - 2006 General Hagee graduated with distinction from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1968 with a Bachelor of Science in Engineering. He also holds a Master of Science in Electrical Engineering from the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School and a Master of Arts in National Security and Strategic Studies from the Naval War College. He is a graduate of the Command and Staff College and the U.S. Naval War College.
General Hagee's command assignments include: Commanding Officer Company A, 1st Battalion, 9th Marines (1970); Platoon Commander, Company A and Commanding Officer Headquarters and Service Company, First Battalion, First Marines (1970-1971); Commanding Officer, Waikele-West Loch Guard Company (1974-1976); Commanding Officer, Pearl Harbor Guard Company (1976-1977); Commanding Officer, 1st Battalion, 8th Marines (1988-1990); Commanding Officer, 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable) (1992-1993); Commanding General, 1st Marine Division (1998-1999); and Commanding General, I Marine Expeditionary Force(2000-2002).
General Hagee's staff assignments include: Communications-Electronics Officer, 1st Marine Air Command and Control Squadron (1971); Assistant Director, Telecommunications School (1972-1974); Training Officer, 3d Marine Division (1977-1978); Electrical Engineering Instructor, U.S. Naval Academy (1978-1981); Head, Officer Plans Section, Headquarters Marine Corps (1982-1986); Assistant Chief of Staff, G-1, 2d Marine Division (1987-1988); Executive Officer, 8th Marines (1988); Director Humanities and Social Science Division/Marine Corps Representative, U.S. Naval Academy (1990-1992); Liaison Officer to the U.S. Special Envoy to Somalia (1992-1993); Executive Assistant to the Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps (1993-1994); Director, Character Development Division, United States Naval Academy (1994-1995); Senior Military Assistant to the Deputy Secretary of Defense, Washington, D.C.; Executive Assistant to the Director of Central Intelligence (1995-1996); Deputy Director of Operations, Headquarters, U.S. European Command (1996-1998); and Director Strategic Plans and Policy, U.S. Pacific Command (1999-2000).
His personal decorations include the Defense Distinguished Service Medal with palm, Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit with two Gold Stars, Bronze Star with Combat "V", Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal with one Gold Star, Navy Achievement Medal with one Gold Star.
Senator Howell Heflin
Senator Howell Thomas Heflin
(1921—2005)
Senate Years of Service: 1979-1997
Party: Democrat
HEFLIN, Howell Thomas, (nephew of James Thomas Heflin), a Senator from Alabama; born in Poulan, Worth County, Ga., June 19, 1921; attended the Alabama public schools; graduated, Birmingham Southern College 1942; graduated, University of Alabama School of Law, Tuscaloosa, Ala., 1948; admitted to the Alabama bar in 1948 and commenced practice in Tuscumbia, Ala.; served in the United States Marine Corps 1942-1946; law professor; chief justice, Alabama supreme court 1971-1977; elected as a Democrat to the United States Senate in November 1978; reelected in 1984 and again in 1990 and served from January 3, 1979, to January 3, 1997; not a candidate for reelection in 1996; chairman, Select Committee on Ethics (Ninety-sixth, One Hundredth through One Hundred Second Congresses); was a resident of Tuscumbia, Ala., until his death due to a heart attack on March 29, 2005; interment in Oakwood Cemetery, Tuscumbia, Ala.
Interview With a Senator and a Marine by Maj Fred H. Allison, USMC(Ret)
The ranks of former Marines serving in Congress are thinning. In this interview the author profiles one of our most distinguished Marine Corps ambassadors who served brilliantly in the United States Senate. Howell T. Heflin, served as a U.S. Senator from Alabama from 1978 to 1997. He was also a Marine. He served as an infantry officer in World War II and earned the Silver Star during the Bougainville campaign and was seriously wounded at Guam. As oral historian of the Marine Corps History and Museums Division, I had the opportunity to interview Senator Heflin in August 2002 in his hometown, Tuscumbia, AL, where Heflin continues to practice law. The following are excerpts from that interview supplemented by interviews included in Senator Heflin’s biography, A Judge in the Senate (NewSouth Books, Montgomery, AL, 2001), by John and Clara Ruth Hayman.
Q: Senator Heflin, you went to Marine Corps officers’ training in Quantico shortly after the war began, what do you recall of that experience? A: I remember the first day, I went to ask a question in the room where the DI [drill instructor] was, and I said, “I’d like to ask you a question.” He said, “You knock before you come in!” You know I knocked then. Then the next thing you know I’d done something, and so I was assigned the whole weekend to clean the floor of the head with a toothbrush. I had to get down on my knees and scrub it, and the drill instructor would come around there and he’d look at it and he’d say, “That’s terrible,” and he’d mess it up and then I’d have to clean it up. I was muttering under my breath all throughout. I said, “What the devil am I into now?” This was my introduction to a “boot camp.”
Q: Where did you go after officers’ training?
A: I was assigned to the 3d Marine Division at Camp Pendleton. I joined “A” Company, 9th Regiment, and I was made a platoon commander.
Q: Who were your superior officers there?
A: When I joined the 9th Marines we had a battalion commander named, [LtCol] Jamie Sabater. Col Shepherd [Lemuel C. Shepherd, Jr.] was the regimental commander. He later became Commandant. Of course, he was a World War I veteran and that was unusual to see at the time. He had great command presence. He looked like a Marine, and he acted like a Marine. You know when you say “like a Marine.” I think we all have the same vision.
Q: Where did you see your first combat?
A: Our division went first to Guadalcanal [in August 1943]. When we got to Guadalcanal it had been secured, most of the fighting was over. But we patrolled back in the hills and our outfit had a skirmish. I think it was four or five snipers that were firing at us, and we hit the deck and fired back. But they disappeared. It was just a little firefight, not to amount to much. Another time we were walking down a trail and lo and behold we came up on a leg, a human leg that was in the path. We didn’t know what had happened, whether a Japanese had cut the leg off a Marine or something. You could tell it had been a Marine uniform. But we later found out what had happened. The Marine had a dynamite cap in his pants pocket, and it actually blew his leg off. When they removed him, they just severed his leg and took him to the hospital.
Q: I understand your regiment, the 9th Marines, was in the first wave at Bougainville. What was that experience like?
A: Yes, as a platoon leader, I and the other platoon leaders were among the first to set foot on the island. We didn’t have much resistance. They were shooting a little at us by sniper fire, and occasionally a mortar or artillery shell would land somewhere close by on the beach. We didn’t have any casualties. And we moved on in. As it developed there wasn’t really a lot of organized opposition, but there were a lot of snipers. I remember a humorous thing that happened. We had a redheaded Marine in my platoon. We must have gone in several miles from the beachhead. One night he got diarrhea. There weren’t any toilets on the frontlines, so he used his helmet. A Japanese sniper caught sight of that white, pink skin in the tropical moonlight and shot him. The bullet went in one cheek, out that cheek, into the other cheek, and out the other cheek, and he had four holes in him. After he got bandaged up, the next morning he came to me, and he was humorous and funny as anyone could be. I can’t think of his name, but we called him Red. He was from Iowa. Anyway, he said, “Lieutenant,” and he showed me his bandages and said, “I want to apply for four Purple Hearts.” I said, “Well, I want to ask you a question. How’s your diarrhea?” He said, “That’s the fastest cure I ever had.”
Q: Your unit was involved in a fairly significant battle on Bougainville, called the battle of Grenade Hill. What do you remember of that fight?
A: On Thanksgiving Day, we were at Piva Forks; we had a big, early Thanksgiving dinner. Shortly after noon, we were moving up in the jungle, and the Japanese opened fire on us. I later heard our platoon was facing a reinforced company of Japanese on a hill, and they were just lying in wait. They waited on us until we got within 20 or 30 feet of the top of the hill and opened fire. The foliage was so thick you couldn’t hardly see until you got close to the top. Luckily none of our scouts were seriously wounded and this allowed us time to disperse two squads of Marines and form a base of fire. The Marines were able to move forward on their stomachs and find better positions to fire from. They soon pinned us down. The trajectory of our rifle fire was such that it would go up and above their emplacements and not hit them, and our mortar shells would hit the top of the trees and not get down far enough to be of any help. So we would throw grenades, and the Japanese threw grenades. They would even roll them down the hill toward us. The only way we could be effective was to get on a level and stand up where we could spray them with BARs (Browning automatic rifles). Carbaugh [Harvey Carbaugh, Heflin’s platoon sergeant] and I decided he would create a diversion and I would take a BAR because I was much taller than him and rake their machinegun nests and any Japanese I saw. Carbaugh got the other Marines in the platoon to holler and throw handgrenades and attracted the Japanese’s attention. Then I got up with the BAR and sprayed the area. Carbaugh and I felt not only had we knocked out one machinegun bunker but had probably done serious damage to another such bunker with grenade and BAR fire. Carbaugh then went down the hill to see if there was any contact with the first platoon.
While he was gone, I noticed that there was some Japanese movement around on the top of the hill, and I was afraid they were going to reman the machinegun bunker that we had knocked out. So I saw Slim Davidson who was fairly close by. He was a BAR man. I got Slim to come over to where I was, and we told the corporals in charge of two squads that they should create a diversion by hollering and throwing handgrenades. I sent word to them to holler as if they were charging the hill, using words like “banzai!” The Japanese understood that word. This was to be done on a signal from me. At the appropriate time I gave the signal and Slim and I stood up and fired into what seemed to be two Japanese machinegun bunkers and some foxholes. It seemed to quiet things down considerably. Within a short time Carbaugh was back with the word that they couldn’t make contact with 1st Platoon. About this time darkness was falling and we got the word that Col Randal wanted us to withdraw back to the bottom of the hill and get ready to prepare a more intensified attack on the top of the hill the next morning. We asked to be resupplied with grenades. Our supply people during the fight had been excellent bringing up grenades to us. There is one person I wanted to highly praise and that was our corpsman, Jim Lindsey, who was all over that hillside taking care of the wounded, and he got wounded himself, but it was not serious. He later was awarded the Silver Star. The next morning our scouts brought back the word that the Japanese had retreated from their dug-in positions at the top of the hill. So we went up the hill, and there we saw that we had destroyed several machinegun bunkers and killed a number of Japanese soldiers in fortified positions. Their bodies were there. Although the Japanese had made some effort to get their dead off of the hill, they did not succeed in getting them all. I came through miraculously well. I got some handgrenade fragments in my stomach. I could pick them out; they were only skin deep.
Q: You received a medal for this, right?
A: Yes, I got the Silver Star.
Q: How many Marines did you lose in the battle?
A: Well we lost one killed, that was PFC Don Bertsche. But I believe out of about 40 or 50, only 11 were not wounded in some manner or another.
Q: After Bougainville, the 3d Marine Division went back into combat in July 1944 during the campaign for Guam. What do you recall of that?
A: My unit was again in the first wave. Guam was a much bigger operation than Bougainville. The landing was pretty heavily opposed. The Japanese were well-fortified and were firing artillery and mortars. They knew pretty well where we were going to land, and their artillery hit the beaches and sank some of the landing craft in the harbor as they came ashore and on the beaches. We had to move forward and get to high ground as fast as we could. Going up the first hill, I got hit in my hand. The bullet went through my thumb. Well they fused it later, and I still have a stiff thumb. I kept going. A short time later I was hit in the leg. I was nearly immobile but I could still move forward. We got to the top of that hill, which was our immediate objective, secured our position, and there we were able to place mortars and fire toward the places where we saw smoke coming from, which was their artillery. We also called for air support, and it destroyed a good deal of their first line of real defense. I was evacuated to the hospital ship [USS] Solace [AH 5] later that afternoon and went back to Hawaii and spent about 6 or 7 months in various hospitals.
Q: You got out of the Marine Corps after the war, you became a lawyer, and in 1978 were elected to the U.S. Senate. As a Senator did you work for Marine Corps-favorable legislation, and did other Senators do the same for their respective Services?
A: Yes, I think it’s a natural thing for them to do that. But I think the Marine Corps is the premier Service. Those who had been Marines would always speak up and let it be known that they were former Marines. You couldn’t find out from the others what branch they belonged to. There were a lot of things that came up [that] I was involved in. I think I was helpful with Senator Stennis [John C. Stennis of Mississippi] in getting the Marine Corps fully admitted to the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Lou Wilson [Gen Louis H. Wilson] was a good friend of mine. We served together in the 9th Marines in the war. I was in the Senate when he was Commandant. I introduced Mundy [Gen Carl E. Mundy, Jr.] at his confirmation hearing. But we had a group of Marine Senators that would every now and then get together and would agree to do this or do that, just plot a little strategy. There was Dale Bumpers from Arkansas; Jim Sasser of Tennessee; John Warner [Virginia], who had been Secretary of the Navy; John Chafee of Rhode Island, who had been Secretary also; Conrad Burns [Montana]; John Glenn [Ohio]; and others. For example, I’d get with Warner, and he’s on the Republican side and I was on the Democratic side, and we’d spot opposition, and we’d kind of move in on the opposition and that sort of thing. There were always those who wanted to cut spending where they could spend it on social programs. They said they believed in a strong military, but they were always hunting ways to say that there was waste and abuse of appropriations. We all fought for the Osprey [MV–22] and the modern, up-to-date landing craft [expeditionary fighting vehicle] as well as anything the Marine Corps requested.
Q: What was the mood in Congress toward the military when you were elected in 1978?
A: Coming out of the Vietnam War you had a cutback of the military and all this antimilitary feeling. Now that’s one thing Wilson did as a Commandant. He transformed the Marine Corps back into the legendary spit and polish, gung ho, ready for combat Marines, after all that hippy attitude of the Vietnam period that had crept in the Navy and Marine Corps. In my judgment he is one of the great Commandants because of that alone.
Q: How did your Marine Corps experience benefit you as a politician?
A: It was something I could be proud of. My head publicists that worked on newspaper ads and television ads in my campaigns would mention that I was a Silver Star Marine and wounded in combat. Actually in one of my races, they interviewed one of the sergeants in my company. A fellow from Mississippi named Woodrow Easterling, and he made an ad and he got to crying almost. He was genuine. I firmly believe my Marine Corps experience broadened my horizons and leadership skills. I was very progressive in racial issues. I was at Purdue and commanded blacks in the V–12 unit there. I think that the first black man commissioned in the Marines that went through Officer’s Training School was in my V–12 unit. I think one attribute you need in politics is a “take charge attitude”; it is especially important. I think command presence is an innate part of your personality, but the Marine Corps develops it.
Maj Allison is the head of the Oral History Unit, History and Museums Division, HQMC.
Source: MCA-Marines.org Website Marine Corps Gazette, 2005
MGen James R. Battaglini
Major GeneralJames R. Battaglini United States Marine Corps (Ret.) Director, Expeditionary Warfare Division (OPNAV N75)
Major General Battaglini currently serves as the Director, Expeditionary Warfare Division (OPNAV N75) Department of the Navy.
Major General James R. Battaglini received his baccalaureate degree from Mount Saint Mary's College, Emmitsburg, Maryland where he majored in accounting (1971). He also earned Masters degrees in Management from Salve Regina Newport College (1990) and in National Security and Strategic Studies from the Naval War College (1991).
His military education includes: The Basic School, Quantico, Va., (1971-72); Advanced Communications Officer Course, Quantico, Va., (1978-1979); Marine Corps Command and Staff College, Quantico, Va., (1985-1986); and the Naval War College, Newport, R.I. (1989-1990). He was commissioned a Second Lieutenant via the Platoon Leaders Class in May 1971.
Major General Battaglini's principal command tours include: Reconnaissance Platoon Leader with Company A, 3d Reconnaissance Battalion (1972-1973) and Infantry Platoon Leader with Company F, 2d Battalion, 3d Marines (1973-1974) in Hawaii; Infantry Company Commander with Company B, 1st Battalion, 9th Marines at Okinawa, Japan (1974); Guard Officer, Marine Barracks Naval Submarine Base, Bangor, Wash. (1975-1978); Headquarters and Service Company Commander (1979-1980) and Infantry Company Commander with Company C, 1st Battalion, 2d Marines (1980-1981) at Camp Lejeune, N.C.; Commanding Officer Recruiting Station, Richmond, Va., (1982-1985) and Commanding Officer Recruiting Station, Boston, Mass., (1988); Commanding Officer, 1st Battalion, 8th Marines, Camp Lejeune, N.C., and Battalion Landing Team 1/8, 22d Marine Expeditionary Unit (SOC)/CENTCOM ARG 3-91 (1991-1992); Commanding Officer, 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit (SOC), Camp Lejeune, N.C., Landing Force Sixth Fleet (LF6F) 3-95 (1994-1996); Commanding General, Marine Corps Recruit Depot/Eastern Recruiting Region, Parris Island, S.C. (1997-1999); Commanding General 1st Marine Expeditionary Brigade/Deputy Commanding General, I Marine Expeditionary Force (1997-2001); and Commanding General, Third Marine Division (2001-2002).
His principal staff assignments include: Communications Officer, 1st Battalion, 2d Marines, Camp Lejeune, N.C., (1979-1980); Operations Officer, 26th Marine Amphibious Unit, Camp Lejeune, N.C. (1981-1982); Assistant Operations Officer, Marine Air Control Group-18, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing, Okinawa, Japan (1986-1987); Head, Enlisted Recruiting Operations, Personnel Procurement Division, Manpower Department, Headquarters, U.S. Marine Corps, Washington, D.C. (1987-1989); G-3 Operations Officer, 2d Marine Division, Camp Lejeune, N.C. and during Operations Desert Shield/Desert Storm (1990-1991); Chief, United Nations Division, Strategic Plans and Policy Directorate, J-5, Joint Staff, Washington, D.C. (1992-1994); and Military Assistant and Marine Aide to the Secretary of the Navy (1996-1997).
Major General Battaglini's military decorations include: the Defense Superior Service Medal; the Legion of Merit with Gold Star; Bronze Star with Combat "V"; Meritorious Service Medal with three gold stars; Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal; Combat Action Ribbon; and various unit awards.
