Richard Marshall
Encyclopedia
Richard Jaquelin Marshall (June 16, 1895 August 3, 1973) was a Major General
Major general (United States)
In the United States Army, United States Marine Corps, and United States Air Force, major general is a two-star general-officer rank, with the pay grade of O-8. Major general ranks above brigadier general and below lieutenant general...

 in the US Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...

.

He served in the 1st Division
U.S. 1st Infantry Division
The 1st Infantry Division of the United States Army is the oldest division in the United States Army. It has seen continuous service since its organization in 1917...

 during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

 and became the Chief of Staff of United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...

 Forces in the Pacific Theater of Operations
Pacific Theater of Operations
The Pacific Theater of Operations was the World War II area of military activity in the Pacific Ocean and the countries bordering it, a geographic scope that reflected the operational and administrative command structures of the American forces during that period...

 by the end of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

.

Early life

Richard J. Marshall was born at the "Crag," in Markham, Fauquier County, Virginia, June 16, 1895. His family moved to Portsmouth, Virginia
Portsmouth, Virginia
Portsmouth is located in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of the U.S. Commonwealth of Virginia. As of 2010, the city had a total population of 95,535.The Norfolk Naval Shipyard, often called the Norfolk Navy Yard, is a historic and active U.S...

 in 1903 where he, his mother, brother and sister lived with their maternal grandfather, Richard Coke Marshall, a colonel for the Confederacy
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...

 in the Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...

 and great grandson of the first supreme court justice, John Marshall
John Marshall
John Marshall was the Chief Justice of the United States whose court opinions helped lay the basis for American constitutional law and made the Supreme Court of the United States a coequal branch of government along with the legislative and executive branches...

. He attended public schools and Norfolk Academy
Norfolk Academy
Norfolk Academy is an independent co-educational day school in Norfolk, Virginia. Chartered in 1728, it is the oldest secondary school in Virginia and the eighth oldest in the United States...

 in Norfolk.

In 1911 he entered Virginia Military Institute
Virginia Military Institute
The Virginia Military Institute , located in Lexington, Virginia, is the oldest state-supported military college and one of six senior military colleges in the United States. Unlike any other military college in the United States—and in keeping with its founding principles—all VMI students are...

, Lexington, Virginia
Lexington, Virginia
Lexington is an independent city within the confines of Rockbridge County in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The population was 7,042 in 2010. Lexington is about 55 minutes east of the West Virginia border and is about 50 miles north of Roanoke, Virginia. It was first settled in 1777.It is home to...

. After graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering
Electrical engineering
Electrical engineering is a field of engineering that generally deals with the study and application of electricity, electronics and electromagnetism. The field first became an identifiable occupation in the late nineteenth century after commercialization of the electric telegraph and electrical...

 in 1915 (#8 in his class) he went to work for Consolidated Electric Light and Power Co., in Baltimore
Baltimore
Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...

, Maryland. He enlisted in the 4th Maryland Infantry, National Guard while employed in Baltimore. When the Guard was called into the service for the Mexican Border War
Border War (1910–1918)
The Border War, or the Border Campaign, refers to the military engagements which took place in the Mexican-American border region of North America during the Mexican Revolution. The Bandit War in Texas was part of the Border War...

, 18 June 1916, he was commissioned First Lieutenant and Battalion Adjutant.

While at Eagle Pass, Texas, in August, 1916 he took examinations for the Regular Army and was commissioned 2nd Lt of Field Artillery with the First Provisional Class on November 1916. In March, 1917 he joined first Regular Army unit, 8th Field Artillery at Ft. Bliss, Texas.

World War I

After war was declared in April, 1917, expansion of the Regular Army was accelerated and the 2nd Battalion of the 8th Field Artillery was sent to Ft. Sill, Oklahoma, to form the 14th Field Artillery . In May he was transferred to the 6th FA, one of the oldest Regular Army units, which was at Douglas, Arizona, preparing for overseas service as part of the First Division. The lst Div was the first fighting unit sent to the American European Forces then forming in France, and Marshall had achieved First Lieutenant.

Marshall saw combat throughout 1918 at the Soissons Battle
Battle of Soissons (1918)
The Battle of Soissons was a World War I battle, waged during 18 July to 22 July 1918, between the French and the German armies....

, St. Mihiel offensive, and the Meuse-Argonne
Meuse-Argonne Offensive
The Meuse-Argonne Offensive, or Maas-Argonne Offensive, also called the Battle of the Argonne Forest, was a part of the final Allied offensive of World War I that stretched along the entire western front.-Overview:...

. It was during this period when he met his distant cousin George C. Marshall, who became a mentor to him for all his future military career. The story goes (as told to his daughter, Harriette Marshall Olson) that he was sitting on a rock, covered with mud, looking very sad when a senior officer came riding by on his horse, stopped and asked him why he looked so sad. He answered that his troops had been overrun, and they had many casualties. The officer asked, "What is your name?" He answered "Marshall." The officer, "That's my name, as well." The next question was, "Where did you go to school?" The answer was "VMI" and the response was, "That's where I went to school, too!" Throughout the rest of their lives they remained friends and in contact through correspondence, where the senior Marshall always addressed the junior as simply, "Marshall".

On the morning of November 1, 1918 Marshall was wounded by fragments of a German 105 mm shell, and was in Army hospitals in France until March, 1919. He had been promoted to Captain and was a battery commander of B Battery 6 Field Artillery.

Between the wars

Upon returning to the U.S. after the war, Marshall was assigned to the postwar Quartermaster Corps. He oversaw construction of Fitzsimons Hospital, Denver, Colorado. He was Quartermaster at Ft. Benning, Georgia 1924, then attended Quartermaster School in 1926, graduated in 1927 and was assigned to Ft. Monmouth, NJ.

In 1929 he was sent to the Philippine Islands and assigned as Quartermaster of the Harbor Defenses of Manila and Subic Bays
Harbor Defenses of Manila and Subic Bays
The Harbor Defenses of Manila and Subic Bays were part of the Philippine Department of the United States Army prior to and during World War II....

. He took up residence on Corregidor Island at Fort Mills
Fort Mills
Fort Mills was the location of US Major General George F. Moore's headquarters for the Philippine Department's Harbor Defenses of Manila and Subic Bays. This was one of the locations at which, under the National Defense Act of 1935, coastal artillery training was conducted.-References:*McGovern,...

 where he had under his direction the start of construction of the West end of the Malinta Hill Tunnel
Malinta Tunnel
The Malinta Tunnel is a tunnel complex built by the United States Army Corps of Engineers on the island of Corregidor in the Philippines. It was initially used as a bomb-proof storage and personnel bunker, but was later equipped as a 1,000-bed hospital. The main tunnel, running east to west, is ...

. In World War II this same Tunnel became General MacArthur's Command Post on Corregidor.

Marshall returned to the U.S. in 1932, attending Command and Staff School at Ft. Leavenworth, Ks, followed by the Army Industrial College, Washington, D.C. He graduated in 1935 and after summer maneuvers with the First Army entered the Army War College, graduating 1936. He was then placed in charge of the Water Transportation Branch.

In 1939, upon the request of General Douglas MacArthur
Douglas MacArthur
General of the Army Douglas MacArthur was an American general and field marshal of the Philippine Army. He was a Chief of Staff of the United States Army during the 1930s and played a prominent role in the Pacific theater during World War II. He received the Medal of Honor for his service in the...

, Marshall was assigned to duty again in the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...

. A vacancy had occurred through the return of Col. Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower was the 34th President of the United States, from 1953 until 1961. He was a five-star general in the United States Army...

 to duty in the U.S. The officers on this duty were assisting Gen. MacArthur in advising the Philippine Commonwealth Government in forming and training an army for the defense of the Islands after Independence which was to be granted in 1946. He was on this duty in July 1941 when Gen. MacArthur was recalled to active duty. He was detailed to General Staff with troops and Deputy Chief of his Command, the United States Army Forces in the Far East. In October, 1941 he was promoted to temporary Colonel.

World War II

After Pearl Harbor
Attack on Pearl Harbor
The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike conducted by the Imperial Japanese Navy against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on the morning of December 7, 1941...

, Marshall was promoted to Brigadier General and remained as Deputy Chief of Staff. He was left in charge of the old Command Post at #1 Victoria in Manila when Gen. MacArthur went to Corregidor to establish his Command Post on December 24, 1941. He remained there until directed to bring the balance of the Staff to Corregidor, January 1, 1942. As the Japanese invasion of the Philippines
Japanese occupation of the Philippines
The Japanese occupation of the Philippines was the period in the history of the Philippines between 1942 and 1945, when the Empire of Japan occupied the previously American-controlled Philippines during World War II....

 advanced, the fall of Corregidor appeared imminent. As a result, on the night of March 11, 1942 MacAurthur, his family, and his staff, including Marshall, evacuated under cover of night in four PT boats of Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron Three
Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron Three
Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron Three was a United States Navy squadron based at Cavite, Philippines, from September 1941 to mid-April 1942. It was commanded by then-Lieutenant John D. Bulkeley and made up of six motor torpedo boats: PT 31, PT 32, PT 33, PT 34, PT 35, and PT 41, the last as the...

, with the lead boat commanded by Lieutenant John D. Bulkeley
John D. Bulkeley
John Duncan Bulkeley was a Vice Admiral in United States Navy and was one of the most decorated naval officers. Bulkeley received the Medal of Honor for actions in the Pacific Theater during World War II...

. After an open ocean voyage of several hundred miles they reached Mindanao, then flew to Darwin, Australia, reaching there on March 17, 1942.

From Darwin, MacArthur chose to travel south by train because of his wife's fear of flying. As Quartermaster, Marshall was sent ahead to assess troop strength and resources for the potential immediate return to the Philippines. In a historic moment, reenacted in the movie, MacArthur
MacArthur (film)
MacArthur is a 1977 American biographical war film directed by Joseph Sargent and starring Gregory Peck in the eponymous role as American General Douglas MacArthur.-Plot:...

, Marshall met MacArthur's train upon arrival in Adelaide and broke the news to him that U.S. forces in the Pacific would not be sufficient to support any sort of immediate effort to recapture the Philippines. This made clear to MacArthur the war would be more than just a few months in duration.

After a few weeks in Australia the Allied arrangements for a Southwest Pacific Command were completed and Marshall was detailed as Gen. MacArthur's Deputy Chief of Staff. In July the US Army Service of Supply, SWPA succeeded the former command for the US Army Forces in Australia and he became Commanding General, with promotion to Major General.

In early 1942 Marshall was given additional duty as Deputy Chief of Staff of USAFFE (U.S. Armed Forces Far East) when it was used to provide a US Army agency for Gen. MacArthur to exercise command over US Army troops in SWPA (South West Pacific Army). Increase in size of SWPA Command rapidly increased the administrative problems of Gen. MacArthur's Headquarters. In November, 1944, he was detailed as Gen. MacArthur's Chief of Staff, USAFFE. When MacArthur became commander of AFPAC (U.S. Army Forces in the Pacific), Marshall became Deputy Chief of Staff.

In 1945, with entry into Japan after the surrender
Surrender of Japan
The surrender of Japan in 1945 brought hostilities of World War II to a close. By the end of July 1945, the Imperial Japanese Navy was incapable of conducting operations and an Allied invasion of Japan was imminent...

, Marshall became Deputy Chief of Staff of SCAP (Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers). On October 10 he was ordered to Headquarters in Tokyo to take over the as Chief of Staff.

On September 2, 1945 he accompanied MarArthur on board the U.S.S. Missouri
USS Missouri (BB-63)
|USS Missouri is a United States Navy Iowa-class battleship, and was the fourth ship of the U.S. Navy to be named in honor of the U.S. state of Missouri...

 for the signing of the surrender treaty with the Japanese delegation.

Post-World War II

In May 1946 Marshall was ordered to temporary duty in the Office of the Chief of Staff, US Army, Washington, D.C. in order that he be available to become Superintendent of the Virginia Military Institute
Virginia Military Institute
The Virginia Military Institute , located in Lexington, Virginia, is the oldest state-supported military college and one of six senior military colleges in the United States. Unlike any other military college in the United States—and in keeping with its founding principles—all VMI students are...

.

He retired from the Army on Nov 30, 1946 and became the 7th Superintendent of VMI until he resigned in June 1952. While at VMI his neighbor, Washington and Lee University
Washington and Lee University
Washington and Lee University is a private liberal arts college in Lexington, Virginia, United States.The classical school from which Washington and Lee descended was established in 1749 as Augusta Academy, about north of its present location. In 1776 it was renamed Liberty Hall in a burst of...

, conferred upon him the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws (LL D). President Harry S. Truman
Harry S. Truman
Harry S. Truman was the 33rd President of the United States . As President Franklin D. Roosevelt's third vice president and the 34th Vice President of the United States , he succeeded to the presidency on April 12, 1945, when President Roosevelt died less than three months after beginning his...

 appointed him to serve as Deputy Chief of the Bell Mission to make an economic survey of the Philippines. He received the rank of Minister without portfolio for that appointment.

Military record and death

During his Army career, Marshall accumulated 17 decorations and service medals. He especially valued his Silver Star
Citation Star
The Citation Star was an award of the United States Army which was first established by the United States Congress on July 9, 1918. The Citation Star was a silver star device pinned to the World War I Victory Medal to denote those who had been cited for extreme heroism or valor...

 from World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

, his Distinguished Service Cross
Distinguished Service Cross (United States)
The Distinguished Service Cross is the second highest military decoration that can be awarded to a member of the United States Army, for extreme gallantry and risk of life in actual combat with an armed enemy force. Actions that merit the Distinguished Service Cross must be of such a high degree...

 from Bataan
Bataan Death March
The Bataan Death March was the forcible transfer, by the Imperial Japanese Army, of 75,000 American and Filipino prisoners of war after the three-month Battle of Bataan in the Philippines during World War II, which resulted in the deaths of thousands of prisoners.The march was characterized by...

, and Distinguished Service Medal
Distinguished Service Medal (United States)
The Distinguished Service Medal is the highest non-valorous military and civilian decoration of the United States military which is issued for exceptionally meritorious service to the government of the United States in either a senior government service position or as a senior officer of the United...

 with two Oak Leaf Clusters from the three principal command and staff positions that he held in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

.

During his last year at VMI the State of Virginia paid him the great honor of promoting him to Lieutenant General. Following the disruptions of World War II he got the VMI Foundation off the ground with an increase in funds from $100,000 to $600,000. General Marshall, a 1915 graduate, expanded the Corps of Cadets from 300 to 950 during the six years of his administration, both academic and military offerings were expanded and the faculty was enlarged to meet the demands of the growing Cadet Corps, growth made possible by the planning and completion during his administration of the new cadet barracks.

He retired in 1952 after suffering a stroke and moved to Florida . He died August 3, 1973 and is buried in Section 7 of Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington County, Virginia, is a military cemetery in the United States of America, established during the American Civil War on the grounds of Arlington House, formerly the estate of the family of Confederate general Robert E. Lee's wife Mary Anna Lee, a great...

.

Military career

  • 1907 - 1911: Attends Norfolk Academy
    Norfolk Academy
    Norfolk Academy is an independent co-educational day school in Norfolk, Virginia. Chartered in 1728, it is the oldest secondary school in Virginia and the eighth oldest in the United States...

  • 1915: Graduates from the Virginia Military Institute
    Virginia Military Institute
    The Virginia Military Institute , located in Lexington, Virginia, is the oldest state-supported military college and one of six senior military colleges in the United States. Unlike any other military college in the United States—and in keeping with its founding principles—all VMI students are...

  • November 28, 1916: commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant
    Lieutenant
    A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...

  • 1927: Graduates from the Quartermaster School
  • 1934: Graduates from the Command and General Staff School
  • 1935: Graduates from the Army Industrial College
  • 1936: Graduates from the Army War College
  • December 1939: Assistant Military Advisor to the Commonwealth Government
    Commonwealth of the Philippines
    The Commonwealth of the Philippines was a designation of the Philippines from 1935 to 1946 when the country was a commonwealth of the United States. The Commonwealth was created by the Tydings-McDuffie Act, which was passed by the U.S. Congress in 1934. When Manuel L...

    , Manila
    Manila
    Manila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...

    , the Philippines
    Philippines
    The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...

    , under General MacArthur
    Douglas MacArthur
    General of the Army Douglas MacArthur was an American general and field marshal of the Philippine Army. He was a Chief of Staff of the United States Army during the 1930s and played a prominent role in the Pacific theater during World War II. He received the Medal of Honor for his service in the...

  • July 29, 1941: becomes Deputy Chief of Staff, US Army Forces - Far East
  • December 1941: promoted to Brigadier General
    General
    A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....

  • April 1942: Deputy Chief of Staff, Allied forces, South West Pacific Area
    South West Pacific Area
    South West Pacific Area was the name given to the Allied supreme military command in the South West Pacific Theatre of World War II. It was one of four major Allied commands in the Pacific theatres of World War II, during 1942–45...

    .
  • August 8, 1942: promoted to Major General
    General
    A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....

  • 1945: Chief of Staff - U.S. Army Forces in the Pacific
  • 1946: retires from the Army
  • 1946 - 1952: Serves as superintended of the Virginia Military Institute
    Virginia Military Institute
    The Virginia Military Institute , located in Lexington, Virginia, is the oldest state-supported military college and one of six senior military colleges in the United States. Unlike any other military college in the United States—and in keeping with its founding principles—all VMI students are...


Military decorations

  •   Distinguished Service Cross
    Distinguished Service Cross (United States)
    The Distinguished Service Cross is the second highest military decoration that can be awarded to a member of the United States Army, for extreme gallantry and risk of life in actual combat with an armed enemy force. Actions that merit the Distinguished Service Cross must be of such a high degree...

  •   Distinguished Service Medal with 2 Oak Leaf Cluster
    Oak leaf cluster
    An oak leaf cluster is a common device which is placed on U.S. Army and Air Force awards and decorations to denote those who have received more than one bestowal of a particular decoration. The number of oak leaf clusters typically indicates the number of subsequent awards of the decoration...

    s
  •   Silver Star
    Silver Star
    The Silver Star is the third-highest combat military decoration that can be awarded to a member of any branch of the United States armed forces for valor in the face of the enemy....

  •   Legion of Merit
    Legion of Merit
    The Legion of Merit is a military decoration of the United States armed forces that is awarded for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements...

  • Distinguished Service Star of the Philippines with Oak Leaf Cluster
  • Officer of the Légion d'honneur of France
    Légion d'honneur
    The Legion of Honour, or in full the National Order of the Legion of Honour is a French order established by Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of the Consulat which succeeded to the First Republic, on 19 May 1802...

  • Grand Officer of Orange-Nassau with Crossed Swords of the Netherlands
    Order of Orange-Nassau
    The Order of Orange-Nassau is a military and civil order of the Netherlands which was created on 4 April 1892 by the Queen regent Emma of the Netherlands, acting on behalf of her under-age daughter Queen Wilhelmina. The Order is a chivalry order open to "everyone who have earned special merits for...

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