David Monroe Shoup (December 30, 1904, Indiana – January 13, 1983, Virginia) was a general of the United States Marine Corps who was awarded the Medal of Honor in World War II, served as the 22nd Commandant of the Marine Corps, and, after retiring, became one of the most prominent critics of the Vietnam War.
Born in Indiana to an impoverished family, Shoup joined the military for financial reasons. Rising through the ranks in the interwar era, he was twice deployed to China during the Chinese Civil War. He served in Iceland at the beginning of U.S. involvement in World War II and as a staff officer during the Pacific War. He was unexpectedly given command of the 2nd Marines and led the initial invasion of Tarawa, for which he was awarded the Medal of Honor and the British Distinguished Service Order. He served in the Marianas campaign and later became a high-level military logistics officer.
Solidifying his reputation as a hard-driving and assertive leader, Shoup rose through the senior leadership of the Marine Corps, overhauling fiscal affairs, logistics, and recruit training. He was selected as commandant by President Dwight D. Eisenhower and later served in the administration of John F. Kennedy. He reformed the Corps, emphasizing combat readiness and fiscal efficiency, against what was perceived as politicking among its officers.
Shoup opposed the military escalation in response to events such as the Cuban Missile Crisis and the Bay of Pigs invasion, but his strongest opposition was to U.S. involvement in South Vietnam. His opposition grew in strength after he retired from the military in 1963; he was strongly opposed to both the strategy of the conflict and the excessive influence of corporations and military officials upon foreign policy. His high-profile criticism later spread to include the military industrial complex and what he saw as a pervasive militarism in American culture. Historians consider Shoup's statements opposing the war to be among the most pointed and high-profile leveled by a veteran against the Vietnam War.
Early years David Monroe Shoup was born on December 30, 1904, in Battle Ground, Indiana. His family lived on a farm in Ash Grove, but moved to Covington, Indiana to live on a new farm in 1916. At age 12 he was enrolled in Covington High School, a competitive high school with an advanced curriculum. Shoup was an excellent student, maintaining high marks in French, English, physics, and history. Additionally, he was involved in several extracurricular activities, including basketball, and was class president in his senior year. He graduated in 1921. He later affectionately referred to his impoverished upbringing as that of an "Indiana plowboy." Regarded by friends as very sociable, he met Zola De Haven in his first year and later said he had been instantly attracted to her. They were both very competitive in academics and athletics, and the two dated throughout high school; they were married in 1931.
After high school, Shoup attended DePauw University, where he was one of 100 awarded the Edward Rector Scholarship, giving him full tuition. Majoring in mathematics, he joined the Delta Upsilon fraternity and maintained high marks, narrowly failing the selection criteria for Phi Beta Kappa Society. He was on the track and field and rifle teams, and also competed in the wrestling and football teams. He won the Indiana and Kentucky Amateur Athletic Union marathon in 1925. He waited tables, washed dishes and worked in a cement factory to help pay his expenses. Lack of funds compelled him to take a year off after his junior year to teach school, and his expenses were further strained when he contracted a severe case of pneumonia and incurred hospital bills. He opted to enroll in the Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) to offset his living expenses, and later recalled that this was the only reason he joined the military. He graduated from DePauw in 1926.
From an early age, Shoup was molded by the progressive ideas of Indiana politicians, sympathizing with rural progressives fighting against the interests of big businesses. He developed an anti-imperialist attitude, and his skepticism about American foreign policy, influenced by his small-town background, made him an outspoken opponent of the unnecessary use of military force. He felt the use of troops for economic or imperialist consideration was wrong, a viewpoint he would carry for his entire career.
Junior officer While at a Scabbard and Blade honors society conference in New Orleans, Louisiana, Shoup heard a speech by Major General John A. Lejeune, the Commandant of the Marine Corps, offering commissions in the U.S. Marine Corps to interested officer candidates. Shortly after being commissioned as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army Reserve in May 1926, Shoup applied, and was offered a commission in the Marine Corps. In August 1926, he resigned his commission in the army and traveled from Camp Knox, Kentucky, to Chicago, Illinois, for physical exams. On August 25, 1926, he arrived at the Marine Corps barracks at the Philadelphia Navy Yard, where he was commissioned as a second lieutenant, and commenced Marine Officers Basic School. Shoup maintained that he had never previously considered a military career and had only chosen to become a military officer for the pay. Throughout his service, he excelled in athletics and marksmanship, and during his early career he would coach recreational athletic teams in addition to his regular assignments. He quickly established himself as an assertive and demanding leader, impressing both his commanders and his subordinates. Despite his no-nonsense demeanor, those he commanded later recalled his ability to keep morale with his sense of humor. He often sported a clenched cigar, which became something of a trademark during his front-line service.
On April 1, 1927, Shoup and nine other officers were pulled from training to accompany a detachment of Marines sent to China to protect American interests during the instability of the Chinese Civil War. Embarking from San Diego with the 2nd Battalion, 10th Marines, Shoup's contingent was to play a primarily defensive role, and not engage in military action. Still, he was personally opposed to the mission, feeling that Americans in China were exploiting its people. The contingent landed in Shanghai on 10 June aboard USS Chaumont. Initially, they conducted shore patrol around American sections of the city. On July, 5 the battalion was moved to Tianjin to protect American interests there should Chinese Nationalist troops threaten them. Shoup became seriously ill there, and remained hospitalized until it was announced U.S. troops would leave. He briefly returned to Shanghai to oversee foreign troop departures with the 4th Marines, before he departed from China on December 7, 1928.
Following this assignment, Shoup returned to the United States and completed his training. He then spent short stints at Marine bases in Quantico, Virginia, Pensacola, Florida, and San Francisco, California. From June 1929 to September 1931 he served with the Marine Detachment aboard , where he coached the boxing and wrestling squads. Following this duty he was assigned to Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego. In May 1932 he was ordered to Puget Sound Navy Yard in Bremerton, Washington, where he was promoted to first lieutenant one month later. He served on temporary duty with the Civilian Conservation Corps in Idaho and New Jersey from June 1933 to May 1934, after which he returned to Bremerton.
Shoup went back to China in November 1934, again serving briefly with the 4th Marines in Shanghai. He was soon reassigned as a legation guard in Beiping, where he taught the post's pistol and rifle teams to shoot competitively. They won at least one major competition. He also had time to observe the troops of the Empire of Japan, gaining great respect for their discipline. In 1936, he came down with a serious case of pneumonia and had to be evacuated from China. His next duty was at Puget Sound Navy Yard. In October 1936, he was promoted to captain. In July 1937 he entered Junior Course, Marine Corps Schools in Quantico, which he completed in May 1938. He then served as an instructor and Plans & Training officer with Reserve Officers Class at Quantico for two years. In June 1940 he joined the 6th Marines in San Diego, and was promoted to major in April 1941.
World War II
Staff officer
Shoup was assigned to the 1st Provisional Marine Brigade, which was moved to Iceland in May 1941, supporting an occupation there to prevent Nazi forces from threatening it. Replacing the outgoing British 49th (West Riding) Infantry Division, the brigade continued to garrison the country for several months, and he was there with the Headquarters Company at the time of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941. For his service in Iceland, he was awarded the Letter of Commendation with Commendation Ribbon. In February 1942 he was given command of the 2nd Battalion, 6th Marines. With the United States at war, 1st Provisional Marine Brigade moved to New York City, New York, in March, and was disbanded. Shoup moved with his battalion to Camp Elliott in San Diego.
In July 1942, Shoup was named as operations and training officer (then known as D-3) of the 2nd Marine Division, and he was promoted to lieutenant colonel in August 1942. The following month he accompanied the division to Wellington, New Zealand, aboard and oversaw much of its training there. He was also briefly attached to the 1st Marine Division in October 1942 as an observer during the Guadalcanal campaign, then to the 43rd Infantry Division on Rendova Island during the New Georgia Campaign in June 1943. During the latter assignment, Shoup was wounded in action and evacuated. Still, from these experiences he observed amphibious warfare techniques which would be useful later in the war.
Tarawa
In mid-1943, Shoup was transferred to the staff of Major General Julian C. Smith, commander of the 2nd Marine Division, and tasked to help plan the invasion of Betio on Tarawa Atoll. Shoup's aggressive leadership style would complement the offensive strategy his superiors were seeking in taking the atoll. He was tasked with drawing up initial plans, designating the landing beaches on Betio for the 2nd Marine Division, and overseeing some rehearsals at Efate. However, after Colonel William W. Marshall, commander of the 2nd Marines, suffered a nervous breakdown before the invasion, Smith promoted Shoup to colonel and gave him command of the regiment in spite of Shoup's lack of combat experience.