The following people are tombstone lieutenant generals in the United States Marine Corps. A tombstone promotion transferred an officer to the retired list with the rank of the next higher grade.
From 1925 to 1959, Marine Corps officers could retire with a tombstone promotion to the rank but not the pay of the next higher grade if they were specially commended for the performance of duty in actual combat before the end of World War II. The original 1925 authorization was limited to officers too old to be promoted to a higher grade, so those holding the highest grade of major general did not qualify for a tombstone promotion until 1938, when eligibility was expanded to cover any officer with a qualifying combat citation.Acts of March 4, 1925 () and June 23, 1938 (). In October 1941, retiring major general James C. Breckinridge received a tombstone promotion to lieutenant general, the first Marine to achieve three-star rank. Retired major generals John A. Lejeune and John T. Myers were advanced to lieutenant general in April 1942, after tombstone promotions were extended to officers who retired before 1938.Act of February 23, 1942 ().
Dozens of major generals retired with a tombstone promotion to lieutenant general. By January 1, 1957, 18 of the 21 living retired lieutenant generals—86 percent—had never served in that rank on active duty. Congress stopped all tombstone promotions effective November 1, 1959.Act of August 11, 1959 ().
List of U.S. Marine Corps tombstone lieutenant generals Each entry lists the officer's name, date appointed major general,Dates appointed are taken from officers' first appearances as active-duty major generals in the Register of the Commissioned and Warrant Officers of the United States Navy and Marine Corps or from contemporary news reports, which may be different from dates of rank listed in later editions of the Register. date retired and advanced to lieutenant general,Dates retired are taken from the Register of the Commissioned and Warrant Officers of the United States Navy and Marine Corps. and other biographical notes.
A major general's date of rank, as listed in the Register of the Commissioned and Warrant Officers of the United States Navy and Marine Corps, often predated his actual date of appointment by several years. This was because the Navy had only one flag grade, rear admiral, which was divided into a lower half and upper half. Rear admirals advanced automatically from lower to upper half by seniority instead of selection, so the date of rank for a rear admiral of the upper half remained the date he was promoted to rear admiral of the lower half. Since rear admirals of the upper half ranked with major generals and the lower half with brigadier generals, the Officer Personnel Act of 1947 assigned major generals the same dates of rank they held as brigadier generals.Act of August 7, 1947 [Officer Personnel Act of 1947] ().
Name Date appointed major general Date retired Notes (1867–1942)Retired as major general; advanced to tombstone lieutenant general, effective 23 Feb 1942. Major General Commandant of the Marine Corps, 1920–1929. (1871–1952) (1877–1942) First Marine Corps lieutenant general. (1881–1954) (1884–1947) (1885–1975) (1890–1962) (1891–1991) (1888–1970)Appointed lieutenant general, 1 Jan 1947; reverted to major general, 1 Jul 1949; retired as lieutenant general, 1 Sep 1950. (1891–1960)Released from prisoner of war camp and retroactively promoted to major general in 1945. (1891–1970) (1893–1978) (1892–1966)Appointed lieutenant general, 1 Jan 1948; reverted to major general, 24 Apr 1950; retired as lieutenant general, 1 Jul 1950. (1893–1953) (1896–1978) (1894–1973) (1895–1971) (1895–1967) (1891–1969) (1890–1976) (1895–1977) (1894–1955) (1893–1955) (1896–1985)Appointed lieutenant general, 22 Feb 1951; reverted to major general, 1 Feb 1952; retired as lieutenant general, 1 Jul 1954. (1897–1970)Retired as tombstone lieutenant general, 1 Jun 1951; recalled to active duty as lieutenant general, 1 Jun 1951–23 Jun 1953. (1895–1968)Appointed lieutenant general, 2 Aug 1954; reverted to major general, 9 Sep 1955; retired as lieutenant general, 1 May 1957; recalled to active duty as lieutenant general, Jul 1960–Aug 1961, Feb 1962–Jul 1963, and Aug 1964–Nov 1964. (1894–1973) (1896–1994) (1895–1972) (1893–1964) (1894–1972) (1901–1978) (1899–1967) (1901–1991) (1899–1985) (1898–1992) (1900–1976) (1898–1971) (1901–1980) (1902–1979) (1903–1963) (1896–1973) Marine Corps Reserve.
Legislative history The following list of Congressional legislation concerns tombstone promotions to the grade of lieutenant general in the United States Marine Corps. Each entry lists an act of Congress, its citation in the United States Statutes at Large, and a summary of the act's relevance.Legislative history compiled from the Register of the Commissioned and Warrant Officers of the United States Navy and Marine Corps.
Each entry lists an act of Congress, its citation in the United States Statutes at Large, and a summary of the act's relevance.
Legislation Citation Summary Act of March 4, 1925 Authorized officers who were specially commended for performance of duty in actual combat during World War I, and who retired because of ineligibility for promotion due to age, to be placed on the retired list with the rank of the next higher grade and three-fourths of the active-duty pay of the grade in which serving at the time of retirement. Act of June 23, 1938 Authorized officers who were specially commended for performance of duty in actual combat, to be placed on the retired list with the rank of the next higher grade and three-fourths of the active-duty pay of the grade in which serving at the time of retirement. Act of February 23, 1942 Authorized officers who were specially commended for performance of duty in actual combat, and who retired before June 23, 1938, to be advanced on the retired list to the rank of the next higher grade and three-fourths of the active-duty pay of the grade in which serving at the time of retirement (John A. Lejeune, John T. Myers). Act of August 7, 1947[Officer Personnel Act of 1947] Assigned date of rank for a major general to be the same as his date of rank as brigadier general. Authorized officers who were specially commended for performance of duty in actual combat on or before December 31, 1946, to be placed on the retired list with (or advanced on the retired list to) the rank of the next higher grade and three-fourths of the active-duty pay of the grade in which serving at the time of retirement. Act of October 12, 1949[Career Compensation Act of 1949] Repealed authorization for officers who were specially commended for performance of duty in actual combat, to retire with three-fourths of the active-duty pay of the grade in which serving at the time of retirement. Act of August 11, 1959 Repealed authorization for officers who were specially commended for performance of duty in actual combat, to retire with the rank of the next higher grade, effective November 1, 1959.
See also Tombstone promotion Lieutenant general (United States) List of United States Marine Corps tombstone generals List of United States Marine Corps lieutenant generals on active duty before 1960 List of United States Navy tombstone vice admirals List of United States Coast Guard tombstone vice admirals
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