May 01, 2006
Solomon Islands hero helped preserve Corps

By Robert F. Dorr and Fred L. Borch
Special to the Times

Gen. Alexander Archer Vandegrift, a Medal of Honor recipient, fought to preserve the Marine Corps as a separate service following World War II.

Born in Charlottesville, Va., in 1887, “Archie” Vandegrift enlisted in the Corps in 1908 and was commissioned a second lieutenant in 1909.

Vandegrift earned his first star in 1940 and became assistant commander of 1st Marine Division in 1941. After the U.S. entered World War II, he received his second star.

On Aug. 7, 1942, Vandegrift and 19,000 Marines landed on Guadalcanal and seized a Japanese airfield. However, the Japanese quickly mounted a counterattack against the Americans by air and on land.


This forced the Navy to withdraw its ships from the area before all of Vandegrift’s supplies and equipment had been brought ashore. Japanese soldiers began attempts to overrun the Marine-held airfield.

The Marines successfully fought off a number of fanatical night attacks by the Japanese during four months of fighting while also overcoming malaria and supply shortages. It was the first major ground success against the Japanese.

The Marines suffered more than 680 dead and 1,500 wounded, but they killed 26,000 Japanese. The “casualties, though severe, were by no means disproportionate to the results achieved,” said Vandegrift, who received the Navy Cross for his service as the division’s commanding general during attacks on Guadalcanal, Tulagi and Gavutu in the Solomon Islands.

Vandegrift was later awarded the Medal of Honor for the occupation and defense of the islands from Aug. 7 through Dec. 9, 1942.

In January 1944, Vandegrift became the 18th commandant of the Marine Corps; in April 1945, he received his fourth star as the first Marine officer on active duty to achieve the rank of general.

After World War II, President Truman, in an attempt to make the U.S. armed forces more efficient and effective, proposed a radical reorganization that would end the Marine Corps’ role as a viable military combat organization.

Not only would there be no legislative authority for a Marine Corps, but the proposed reorganization suggested the end of the service as a separate fighting force.

Vandegrift appeared before Congress and persuaded lawmakers that the Corps must be retained as an independent and viable force. Vandegrift and other Marines were so successful in support of the continued existence of the Corps that Truman was forced to abandon his plan.

Congress instead passed legislation that spelled out the service’s role and function, which has remained in effect.

Vandegrift retired from active duty in 1949. He died in Maryland in 1973 at age 86.

Robert F. Dorr, an Air Force veteran, can be reached at robert.f.dorr@cox.net. Fred L. Borch retired from the Army after 25 years and can be reached at borchfj@aol.com

Ellie