He served with the 6th Marines and the 4th Marines in China up until 1940. After returning stateside he was attached to the 7th Marine Defense Battalion and sent to American and Western Samoa. He rose to the rank of Major and remained deployed in the Pacific theater until early 1943. In May of 1944, after another stint stateside, he returned to the Pacific, this time as Assistant Operations Officer of the III Marine Amphibious Corps at the Battles of Saipan and Tinian. He then commanded the 3rd Battalion, 4th Marines at Okinawa. After Japan's Surrender, he served as Executive Officer of the 4th Marines and commanded the Marine Barracks at Yokosuka for almost two years.
He continued to serve in various capacities in various locations for the next 16 years, rising up the ranks along the way. In 1963 while at the Headquarters Marine Corps, where he served as Deputy Chief of Staff (Research and Development), he was promoted from Brigadier to Major General. He then served as Commanding General, Marine Corps Recruit Depot, San Diego.
In March of 1967, he assumed the role of Commanding General, 3rd Marine Division, Republic of South Vietnam. It was in this capacity, during an inspection tour, that the helicopter he was riding in exploded shortly after take-off and crashed, killing all five men aboard. That was 48 years ago today.
Major Al Chancey, who was piloting the second helicopter that day, while recalling the event some 38 years later, shared the following words:
...But I could never imagine how quickly I would come face to face with the painful realities of flying helicopters in combat. And among the things I learned this day was that there is nothing to prepare you for seeing an aircraft filled with Marines falling to earth in a ball of fire. The first reaction is unimaginable shock at the sight of an aircraft exploding in mid air only a few yards away, but the shock is momentarily tempered by total disbelief and the urgent action to avoid the debris. More lasting is the overpowering feeling of helplessness as the aircraft tumbles to earth and you realize you are witness to the last agonizing moments of life for the five Marines on board. Only later does the profound sadness settle into the pit of your stomach along with the nausea it creates. Even today, 38 years later, I often think of these few good Marines and what they might have done with their lives, and I pray that the loved ones they left behind have found peace.
Lost in the accident that day were:
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It is sometime easy to equate rank, with importance. Not to diminish the capacity that any of these men served in, and respecting the rank and duties that come with it, in the end, they are all just men. All had families. All were loved. All were mourned and will be missed as long as the memories of them remain alive. Let us do our part in keeping their memories alive. It was with honor that they served and with honor that they will be remembered.
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