John Archer Lejeune ( ; January 10, 1867 – November 20, 1942) was a United States Marine Corps lieutenant general and the 13th Commandant of the Marine Corps. Lejeune served for nearly 40 years in the military, and commanded the U.S. Army's 2nd Division during World War I. After his retirement from the Marine Corps he became superintendent of the Virginia Military Institute.
Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune in North Carolina was named in his honor during World War II.
Biography Lejeune was born on January 10, 1867, at the Old Hickory Plantation near Lacour, Louisiana, in Pointe Coupee Parish. He was the son of Confederate army captain Ovide Lejeune (1820–1889).Harrelson, Randy, and Costello, Brian (2012). New Roads and Old Rivers: Louisiana's Historic Pointe Coupee Parish. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press. p. 117. He is French ancestry on his father's side. He attended the preparatory program at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge from September 1881 to April 1884, leaving to prepare for the entrance exam for the United States Naval Academy.Bartlett, p. 194 He secured an appointment as a midshipman at the Academy, from which he graduated in 1888, ranking second academically in his class of thirty-two midshipmen.Bartlett, pp. 195–196 At the completion of a two-year cruise as a midshipman, he was appointed to Naval Engineering, but was desperate to join the Marine Corps. Exhausting all conventional channels, he contacted his senator and eventually the Secretary of the Navy arranged his appointment to the Marine Corps.Bartlett, p. 196 He was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Marine Corps on July 25, 1890. His immediate family was very involved with the Marine Corps, particularly during World War II. His daughter, Eugenia Lejeune, and his grandson, James Blair Glennon Jr., served with the Corps during the war and after. His granddaughter, Jeanne Glennon Hull, served in the Navy's WAVES and was married to Lt. Col. William Frederick Harris in 1946.
U.S. Marine Corps career
1890s After receiving his Marine Corps commission, Lejeune was assigned to Marine Barracks, New York, on March 31, 1890, for Marine Corps "indoctrination and instruction". Afterwards, he reported for duty to the Marine Barracks, Norfolk, Virginia, on November 3, 1890. While in Norfolk, he met Ellie Harrison Murdaugh; they were engaged just before he began his first tour of sea duty.Bartlett, p. 197 From October 1, 1891, to July 28, 1893, Lejeune served on board and was promoted to first lieutenant on February 26, 1892. On August 28, 1893, he was assigned to the Norfolk Marine Barracks, where he served until July 31, 1897. While stationed in Norfolk this second time, he married Murdaugh on October 23, 1895.
On August 2, 1897, Lejeune assumed command of the Marine Guard of the , where he served throughout the Spanish–American War. On the morning of August 9, 1898, he commanded the approximately 30-man landing party at Cape San Juan, Puerto Rico that covered the withdrawal of 35 U.S. Navy bluejackets from and 60 civilian refugees from the town of Fajardo that had been quartered at the Cape San Juan Light that the sailors had defended against a force of approximately 200 Spanish Army troops and civil guard the previous night during the Battle of Fajardo. He was reassigned from Cincinnati on February 17, 1899, and on February 18, 1899, joined the to command the Marine Guard on board. He was promoted to captain on March 3, 1899, and left his position on the Massachusetts on May 10, 1900.
1900–1916 From July 3, 1900, to November 12, 1900, Captain Lejeune was assigned to recruiting duty at Boston, Massachusetts. On November 22, 1900, he reported at the Marine Barracks, Pensacola, Florida, to command a Marine detachment there. From January 12 to January 21, 1903, Captain Lejeune was on duty at the Norfolk Barracks, he was en route to duty at New York City on January 26, 1903. He was promoted to major on March 3, 1903, Bartlett, p. 46 and was on duty assigned to Headquarters Marine Corps in Washington, D.C., from May 15, 1903, to August 8, 1903.
On August 8, 1903, Major Lejeune was assigned to to command the Marine Battalion on board that vessel, joining the ships company August 16, 1903. On October 23, 1903, the battalion, with Lejeune in command, was transferred to . From December 16 to December 21, 1904, Major Lejeune was on shore duty on the Isthmus of Panama in command of this battalion, leaving there on the latter date on board .
From January 27, 1905, to May 20, 1906, Lejeune served at the Marine Barracks, Washington, D.C. He then returned to Panama in command of a battalion of Marines from May 29 to July 6, 1906, the battalion being transported both ways on board , returning to Washington Marine Barracks. On March 29, 1907, Major Lejeune was detached from command of the Washington Barracks and ordered to the Philippines. His family—his wife and three daughters—accompanied him on this overseas duty.
Arriving in the Philippines on May 2, 1907, Lejeune assumed command of the Marine Barracks and Naval Prison, Navy Yard, Cavite, on May 6, 1907. He assumed command of the First Brigade of Marines on June 15, 1908, and was promoted to lieutenant colonel on May 13, 1909.Bartlett, p. 52 He was detached on June 8, 1909, and ordered to return to the United States. He then attended the United States Army War College, graduating in 1910.
Lieutenant Colonel Lejeune embarked on board on May 26, 1912, with the Second Regiment, First Provisional Brigade Marines, for Cuba. He disembarked at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, on June 8, 1912, and was in command of the District of Santiago from June 9 to July 14, 1912. On July 15, 1912, Lejeune embarked on board and sailed for Colón, Panama. July 18–29, 1912, was spent at Camp Elliott, Panama.
The Marine Corps Association was founded on April 25, 1911, at Guantanamo Bay by the officers of the 1st Provisional Marine Brigade, under command of Colonel Littleton W. T. Waller. Although the 1st Provisional Marine Brigade disbanded shortly after, the MCA remained active. Two years later, again at Guantanamo Bay, officers of the 2d Provisional Marine Brigade, commanded by Colonel Lincoln Karmany, formally organized the Marine Corps Association. Colonel Karmany appointed then-Lt. Colonel John A. Lejeune as its first head of the executive board. After returning to the United States, Lejeune was again called upon for expeditionary duty. He sailed from Philadelphia, February 20, 1913, as second in command of the First Regiment, Second Provisional Brigade Marines, and disembarked February 27, 1913, at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Then-Lt. Colonel Lejeune became the first head of the Marine Corps Association with the goal of professional advancement among Marines. He returned to Philadelphia on board USS Prairie on May 2, 1913.
On November 27, 1913, Lejeune sailed from New York with the 2nd Advanced Base Regiment, his ultimate destination Veracruz, Mexico, but returned to the United States to receive his promotion to colonel on February 25, 1914.Bartlett, p. 63
Col. Lejeune participated in the Tampico Affair. Colonel Lejeune and his unit eventually landed in Mexico on April 22, 1914, and participated in the United States occupation of Veracruz. He returned home in December 1914, this time to report to Marine Corps Headquarters in Washington, D.C., to become the Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps to Major General George Barnett, Commandant of the Marine Corps. He was promoted to brigadier general on August 29, 1916.Bartlett, p. 64
World War I With the American entry into World War I in April 1917, Lejeune assumed command of the newly constructed Marine Barracks, Quantico, Virginia; however, his overseas service was inevitable, and in June 1918, he arrived at Brest, France. He was promoted to major general on July 1, 1918.
Upon reporting to General John J. Pershing, Commander-in-chief (CinC) of the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) on the Western Front, he was assigned to succeed Brigadier General Charles R. Boardman in command of the 64th Infantry Brigade of the 32nd Division but later assumed command of the 4th Marine Brigade, part of the 2nd Division, immediately following the attack of the division in the Battle of Soissons. Of note, Earl Hancock Ellis was then serving as the brigade's adjutant.
On July 28, Lejeune assumed command of the 2nd Division after its former commander, Major General James Harbord, had been reassigned to command the Services of Supply of the AEF. He was the second marine officer to hold an army divisional command, Brigadier General Charles A. Doyen having previously commanded the division for two weeks.
Lejeune commanded the 2nd Division during the victorious action at the Battle of St. Mihiel, the largest operation yet fought by the AEF, in mid-September. The operation was a success, and Lejeune sent an order of congratulations to the men of his command:
Lejeune emphasized tightly coordinated action that emphasized extensive rehearsal and disciplined artillery gunnery. This discipline enabled infantry elements to follow closely behind barrages that would otherwise be far too risky. This "leaning on the artillery" meant that the enemy faced direct assault while still reverting from the shock of a bombardment.
Lejeune stated his philosophy as "The key to combat effectiveness is unity – an esprit that characterizes itself in complete, irrevocable, mutual trust. Now my infantry trusts my artillery and engineers, and my artillery and engineers know this so they will go through hell itself before they let down the infantry. My infantry believe that with such support they are invincible-and they are." Marshal Pétain praised Lejeune as "a military genius who could and did do what the other commander said couldn't be done."
During the war, he was recognized by the French government as a strategist and leader, as evidenced by the Legion of Honor, and the Croix de guerre bestowed upon him by France. The C-in-C of the AEF, General Pershing, awarded Lejeune the U.S. Army's Distinguished Service Medal. The citation for his Army DSM reads:
The U.S. Navy's Distinguished Service Medal was conferred upon him when he returned to the United States following the occupation of Germany. The medal's citation states the following:
Lejeune remained in command of the 2nd Division until August 1919, when the division was demobilized 9 months after the end of the war, including leading it in the march into Germany following the Armistice with Germany in November 1918.
In October 1919, he again was appointed commanding general, Marine Barracks, Quantico, Virginia.
Commandant of the Marine Corps Lejeune was appointed as major general and Commandant of the Marine Corps on July 1, 1920. Subsequent to that time, he left his headquarters at Washington several times for tours of inspection in Haiti, Santo Domingo, Cuba, Puerto Rico, to the West Coast and elsewhere. During his service as Major General Commandant, Lejeune presided over what is known as the first enlightenment of the Marine Corps. Lejeune directed intelligence gathering operations in the Pacific in the early 1920s, and drove changes in the organization, training, education, and equipping of Marines, thus transforming them from 19th century colonial naval infantry into a combined arms amphibious force needed to prevail in World War II. Upon the expiration of his second term as commandant, Lejeune indicated his desire not to retire from the Marine Corps, but was relieved as commandant in March 1929.
United States Marine Corps League founder