The general who defended Guadalcanal and the Marine Corps
In his 1946 Senate testimony, he argued that Congress should decide the Marine Corps' future: “The bended knee is not a tradition of our Corps.”
Alexander Vandegrift was a United States Marine Corps general whose Pacific War command combined amphibious assault with determined defense. In August 1942 he led the 1st Marine Division ashore at Guadalcanal, organized the defense around Henderson Field, and held the beachhead through sustained Japanese air, land, and naval pressure, making the campaign the first major U.S. ground offensive of the war. As Commandant after the war, he defended the Marine Corps' independent role against proposals to absorb it into the Army, appealing to Congress in his 1946 Senate testimony.
Career Timeline
- 1909Commissioned second lieutenant, U.S. Marine Corps
- 1912–1914Served in expeditions in Cuba, Nicaragua, and Mexico
- 1915–1923Served in the occupation of Haiti and its constabulary
- 1942Commanded 1st Marine Division in the Guadalcanal landing and defense
- 1943Commanded I Marine Amphibious Corps at Bougainville
- 1944–194718th Commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps
- 1945First active-duty Marine promoted to four-star general
- 1964Published the memoir Once a Marine