World War II Database

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbaseAlexander Archer Vandegrift was born in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. He attended the University of Virginia and was commissioned in the Marine Corps as a second lieutenant on 22 Jan 1909. After some time in New Hampshire, he was sent to the Caribbean Islands, participating in the assault on Coyotepe, Nicaragua and the occupation of Vera Cruz, Mexico. After another short period serving in Philadelphia, he once again was sent on foreign service in Haiti, battling the Cacos bandits. His next foreign tour of duty was not until 1927 when he was sent to China to serve as Operations and Training Officer of the 3rd Marine Brigade with headquarters in Tientsin. Between 1928 and 1934, he served in the Washington DC region. In Jun 1935 he returned to China as a lieutenant colonel to serve as executive officer and then commanding officer of the Marine Detachment at the American Embassy in Beijing. In the following year, he returned to Washington DC to fill the role of the Military Secretary to the Major General Commandant of the Marine Corps. In Mar 1940, he was appointed Assistant to the Major General Commandant, and the following month was promoted to brigadier general.

ww2dbaseWhen the United States entered the war in Dec 1941, Vandegrift was promoted to the war time rank of major general and sent to the South Pacific the following May. On 7 Aug 1942, he led ashore the 1st Marine Division in the first large-scale offensive action against the Japanese at the Solomon Islands. For his leadership in the assault on Guadalcanal, Tulagi, and Gavutu, he was awarded the Navy Cross. Later that year, for his courage during the defense of those islands against Japanese counterattacks, he was awarded the Medal of Honor. The citation for his Medal of Honor award was as follows:

ww2dbaseIn Jul 1943, he assumed command of the 1st Marine Amphibious Corps. On 1 Jan 1944, with the rank of lieutenant general, he was sworn in as the 18th Commandant of the Marine Corps. He was the first Marine to hold the rank of four-star general while being on the active roster in the Corps' history. On 4 Apr 1945, he was promoted a full general.

ww2dbaseAfter the war, Vandegrift retired from active service on 31 Dec 1947. He passed away in 1973 at National Naval Medical Center, Bethesda, Maryland, United States after a long illness. He rests in peace at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia.

Alexander Vandegrift Interactive Map

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Alexander Vandegrift Timeline

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2.  C. Peter Chen says:
9 Mar 2006 03:53:59 PM

Errors have been corrected. Thanks so much for letting us know, Fred!

3.  Alan Chanter says:
13 Sep 2013 12:38:25 AM

After the war, General Vandegrift fought another battle, this time in the halls of Congress, with the stakes being the survival of the Marine Corps. His counter-testimony during Congressional hearings in the spring of 1946 was instrumental in defeating initial attempts to merge or "unify" the U.S. Armed Forces. Although his term as Commandant ended on 31 December 1947, General Vandegrift would live to see the passage of Public Law 416, which preserved the Corps and its historic mission. His official retirement date of 1 April 1949 ended just over forty years of service.

General Vandegrift oulived his wife, Mildred, and his only son, Colonel Alexander A Vandegrift Jr., who fought in both World War II and Korea. He spent most of his final years in Delray, Florida. He died on 8 May, 1973.

Source: First Offensive: The Marine Campaign for Guadacanal.