This Military Service Page was created/owned by
CWO2 Philip E. Montroy
to remember
Marine Gen Wallace Greene, Jr..
If you knew or served with this Marine and have additional information or photos to support this Page, please leave a message for the Page Administrator(s) HERE.
Contact Info
Home Town Waterbury
Last Address Alexandria, VA
Date of Passing Mar 08, 2003
Location of Interment Arlington National Cemetery (VLM) - Arlington, Virginia
Gen. Greene retired as the 23d Commandant of the Marine Corps on Dec. 31, 1967. During his retirement he would go on to be a founding member of the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation in 1979.
In addition to the awards shown, Gen. Greene was also awarded the Order of Service Merit, First Class and the Order of theSouthern Cross, Grand Officer.
Other Comments:
Gen. Greene was the Commandant when I enlisted in the USMC in 1965. Upon my return from Vietnam in 1967 I was assigned to HqBn, HQMC (Henderson Hall & Naval Security Station, WashDC). In 1967 I saw Gen. Greene a number of times in the Naval Annex area in Arlington. What first "jumped out at you" was how short Gen. Greene was. BUT, his ribbons spoke loud for his dedication, professionalism and experience as a true Marine Corps Officer.
Eastern Mandates Campaign (1944)/Operation Flintlock/Battle of Kwajalein Atoll
From Month/Year
January / 1944
To Month/Year
February / 1944
Description The Battle of Kwajalein was fought as part of the Pacific campaign of World War II. It took place from 31 January-3 February 1944, on Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands. Employing the hard-learned lessons of the battle of Tarawa, the United States launched a successful twin assault on the main islands of Kwajalein in the south and Roi-Namur in the north. The Japanese defenders put up stiff resistance, although outnumbered and under-prepared. The determined defense of Roi-Namur left only 51 survivors of an original garrison of 3,500.
For the US, the battle represented both the next step in its island-hopping march to Japan and a significant moral victory because it was the first time the Americans had penetrated the "outer ring" of the Japanese Pacific sphere. For the Japanese, the battle represented the failure of the beach-line defense. Japanese defenses became prepared in depth, and the battles of Peleliu, Guam, and the Marianas proved far more costly to the US.
