IV 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. RES. 79 

Honoring the life, service, and accomplishments of Lieutenant General Victor 

H. Krulak, United States Marine Corps. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 22, 2009 

Mr. ISSA submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 

Committee on Armed Services 

RESOLUTION 

Honoring the life, service, and accomplishments of Lieutenant General Victor H. Krulak, United States Marine 

Corps. 

Whereas Lieutenant General Victor H. Krulak, United States 

Marine Corps, was born in Denver, Colorado, on January 

7, 1913, and passed away on December 29, 2008; 

Whereas Lieutenant General Krulak was commissioned a Marine Second-Lieutenant upon graduation from the United 

States Naval Academy on May 31, 1934; 

Whereas Lieutenant General Krulak’s Marine Corps service 

included— 

(1) sea duty aboard the battleship USS Arizona; 

(2) an assignment at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland; 


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•HRES 79 IH 

(3) duty with the 6th Marines in San Diego and the 

4th Marines in China from 1937 to 1939; 

(4) completion of the Junior School in Quantico, 

Virginia; and 

(5) an assignment with the 1st Marine Brigade, 

Fleet Marine Force, later called the 1st Marine Division; 

Whereas Lieutenant General Krulak was a Captain serving 

as aide to the Commanding General, General Holland M. 

Smith, of the Amphibious Corps, Atlantic Fleet, at the 

outbreak of World War II, and after volunteering and 

completing parachute training was ordered to the Pacific 

area as Commander of the 2nd Parachute Battalion, 1st 

Marine Amphibious Corps, and went into action at Vella 

Lavella, Solomon Islands, with the 2nd New Zealand Brigade; 

Whereas Lieutenant General Krulak, as a Lieutenant Colonel 

in the fall of 1943, earned the Navy Cross and the Purple Heart Medal on Choiseul Island, Solomon Islands, 

where his battalion staged a week-long diversionary raid 

to disguise the invasion of Bougainville Island, Solomon 

Islands; 

Whereas Lieutenant General Krulak later joined the newly 

formed 6th Marine Division and took part in the Okinawa campaign and the surrender of Japanese forces in 

the China area, earning the Legion of Merit with Combat 

‘‘V’’ for combat service, and the Bronze Star Medal; 

Whereas Lieutenant General Krulak served as Assistant Director of the Senior School in Quantico, Virginia, and 

later as Regimental Commander of the 5th Marines at 

Camp Pendleton, California; 


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Whereas Lieutenant General Krulak was serving as Assistant 

Chief of Staff, G–3, Fleet Marine Force, Pacific, when 

the Korean Conflict erupted, and subsequently served in 

Korea as Chief of Staff, 1st Marine Division, earning a 

second Legion of Merit with Combat ‘‘V’’ for combat 

service and the Air Medal; 

Whereas Lieutenant General Krulak served at Headquarters 

Marine Corps as Secretary of the General Staff, then rejoined Fleet Marine Force, Pacific, as Chief of Staff from 

1951 to 1955, and in July 1956 he was promoted to 

Brigadier General and designated Assistant Commander, 

3rd Marine Division in Okinawa, Japan; 

Whereas Lieutenant General Krulak served as Director, Marine Corps Educational Center, in Quantico, Virginia, 

from 1957 to 1959, and was promoted to Major General 

in November 1959 and the following month assumed 

command of the Marine Corps Recruit Depot in San 

Diego, California; 

Whereas Lieutenant General Krulak was presented a third 

Legion of Merit by General Maxwell D. Taylor, Chairman 

of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, for exceptionally meritorious 

service from 1962 to 1964 as Special Assistant for 

Counter Insurgency Activities, Organization of the Joint 

Chiefs of Staff; 

Whereas Lieutenant General Krulak was designated on 

March 1, 1964, as Commanding General, Fleet Marine 

Force, Pacific, and promoted to Lieutenant General, and 

for the next four years was responsible for all Fleet Marine Force units in the Pacific, including some 54 trips 

to the Vietnam theater; 


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•HRES 79 IH 

Whereas Lieutenant General Krulak retired on June 1, 1968, 

receiving a Distinguished Service Medal for his performance as Commanding General, Fleet Marine Force, Pacific; and 

Whereas Lieutenant General Krulak has had a tremendous 

positive impact on the United States Marine Corps: Now, 

therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives, on the 

2 occassion of the death of Lieutenant General Victor H. 

3 Krulak— 

4 (1) honors Lieutenant General Krulak for his 

5 exemplary service as a Marine officer and for dis6 playing the highest levels of leadership, professional 

7 competence, integrity, and moral courage throughout 

8 his distinguished military service of over 34 years; 

9 (2) commends Lieutenant General Krulak for 

10 his dedication and commitment to excellence as an 

11 infantry officer and leader of Marines; and 

12 (3) recognizes the tremendous dedication and 

13 fortitude with which Lieutenant General Krulak led 

14 an exemplary career in public service, having been 

15 awarded numerous citations and medals, including 

16 three Legions of Merit, a Bronze Star, and a Meri17 torious Service Medal. 

Æ 


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