Wallace M Greene Jr.
Wallace M Greene Jr.
People Buried Here
Epitaph
~ Semper Fidelis ~
Description
Wallace: Four-Star General (23rd Commandant) US Marine Corps. As Chief of Staff of the Marine Corps and then as Commandant, General Greene sponsored and encouraged a small group of officers to brainstorm a look 20 years into the future to see what a modern battlefield might be like and what it would require. The result was a study called MarCor 85, and its broad outlines are part of Marine Corps doctrine today. In 1956, General Greene was ordered to the Marine recruit depot at Parris Island, South Carolina. Six recruits had drowned during an unauthorized night training march. The tragedy shook the Marine Corps to its institutional and cultural foundations.
General Greene was put in charge of recruit training at the base and later served as commanding general of the base itself. He put an end to such long-standing practices as mass punishments and physical abuse of recruits.
General Greene is buried in Section 30 of Arlington National Cemetery. His wife, Vaughan Hemsley Greene (29 June 1912-26 March 2001) is buried with him. He spent 37 years in uniform.