Lejeune became the first head of the Marine Corps Association, an organization dedicated to professional advancement in the Marines.Īrmy Gen. Senate voted fifty-one to twelve to restore the Marine guards, and newly appointed secretary of the Navy George von Lengerke issued an order to place Marine guards back on naval vessels. Smedley Butler, recommended to the House the restoration of Marine Corps guards to naval vessels. Butler, chairman of the House Naval Affairs Committee and father of Marine Capt. Leonard Wood, a friend of Roosevelt and enemy of the Marine Corps, proposed to incorporate the Marine Corps into the Army. Removal of marines would rescind their purpose with a transfer to the Army as an eventual outcome.
The existence of the Marine Corps was tenuous at the beginning of the twentieth century as President Teddy Roosevelt, no fan of the Corps, happily incorporated a Navy request into Executive Order 969 that removed marines from naval vessels. Simon does not sugarcoat in describing the politics, the intraservice rivalry, and the challenging environment faced by the Marines during Lejeune’s career. Lejeune, along with a handful of other progressive-thinking Marine Corps officers, was instrumental in developing the concept of offensive amphibious operations to project naval power ashore. His contributions are even more noteworthy given that on the eve of World War I, the Corps numbered 13,725 marines who served around the world in numerous detachments no larger than a battalion.
Lejeune would take the Marine Corps from small detachments guarding naval vessels and installations to the world’s premier amphibious force. Simon describes Lejeune’s distinguished lineage and how it forged the character of the greatest marine. The Greatest of All Leathernecks begins with Lejeune’s upbringing in Louisiana. Lejeune is credited with reorganizing, revitalizing, and modernizing the Marine Corps by developing its renowned amphibious warfare capability. Among them, John Archer Lejeune is considered the greatest of all ”leathernecks.” In The Greatest of All Leathernecks: John Archer Lejeune and the Making of the Modern Marine Corps, Joseph Arthur Simon examines the life and contributions of Lejeune and the making of the modern Marine Corps. Marine Corps’ rich history includes countless legendary marines. Louisiana State University Press, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, 2019, 368 pagesīook Review published on: December 12, 2019 The Greatest of All Leathernecks John Archer Lejeune and the Making of the Modern Marine Corps Joseph Arthur Simon
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