General Alexander Archer Vandegrift, USMC, Commandant of the USMC, Medal of Honor.

Banana Wars;
Battle of Cayotepe
Battle of Le Trou
Battle of Fort Capois

Mexican Revolution;
Battle of Veracruz

World War II;
Battle of Guadalcanal
Battle of Empress Augusta Bay

Other awards

Navy Cross
Navy Distinguished Service Medal
Companion of the Order of the Bath (United Kingdom)
Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (United Kingdom)
Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Orange-Nassau (Netherlands)
Grand Officer of the Legion of Honour (France)

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"His grandfather, Robert Carson Vandegrift, ended the Civil War as a sergeant after service in the 19th Virginia, Army of Northern Virginia under the command of Robert E. Lee. Carson, as he was called, had served in America’s most brutal war surviving the horrific battles of Antietam, 2nd Manassas and the 3-day carnage that was Gettysburg. At Gettysburg, the 19th Virginia participated in what is popularly called “Pickett’s Charge”. For the future Marine Corp General, Archer’s early days must have included his grandfather’s stories of a war whose scars and memories were still vivid. Archer attended the University of Virginia, and in January 1909, was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Marine Corps. Newly commissioned and wearing his dress blues, Alexander Archer Vandegrift proudly stepped in front of his aged grandfather to ask the old soldier’s opinion of him in the new uniform. Bunk Mann reported that the old Civil War trooper looked hard at his grandson and stated: “It looks like you are in shape but I never thought I’d see the day when a grandson of mine was wearing a blue uniform.” The older man could not help but be proud of his grandson as the young man stood there in the present, asking advice of the past, and looking forward to the future."