Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1944-03-12
Washington General Has Opened Highway to Toxic
Over Which Marines Hope He Will Lead Them

Florida fell after sharp fighting Ga
vutu, a mile-long seaplane base, was
almost sunk" by naval gunfire and
bombing, but still the marines had q
tough fight to gain toehold on the
beach, and then had to battle for every
square inch Of the rater-pocked island.
On Tulagi, desperate Japanese were
held at bay in a ravine on the southeast
end Of the island. Their defense was q
network Of caves and dugouts, COM
municating with each other by radio.
Marines had to prize them out OF each
stronghold. sneak up on Japs intrenched
in caves. climb down steep cliffs to drop
hand grenades in foxholes and comb the
island for snipers who hid themselves
cleverly in tall grass and trees.
Death Brushed Close
No stranger to this fighting was Gen.
Rupertus. On the first night Of the land
ing on Tulagi, death brushed close to
him. As he lay in . depression in the
beach during q downpour Of rain, two
Japs jumped over him, but failed to
see him in the darkness.
Another day the general had . close
call b cause Of the conmendable zeal Of
one Of his sentries. The soldier, whose
perception had been sharpened by weeks
Of jungle warfare, heard a movement
on the trail which led to his post in
Tulagi. As he waited, tense to kill or be
killed the sentry glimpsed marine dun
garees through the bushes, but this
meant nothing-the Japs used to dress
as marines to inf1ltrate their lines. The
soldiers trigger finger itched, but he
held it long enough to call halt" The
voice that promptly answered his chal-
lenge was that of Gen. Rupertus, who
had been on q one-man patrol along the
front lines.
Hellish fighting in the steaming jun
giles Of the Solomons through the fall
Of 1s42 and most Of 1913 at last brought
complete victory. The successful oper-
alton commanded by Gen. Rupertus won
for him the Navy Cross and the acco-
lade Of Gen. vandegrift. who said: God
favors the bold and strong Of heart"
When Gen. vandegrift was recalled to
the United States to become COM
mandant Of the Marine Corps, Gen. Ru-
pertus succeeded him as commander Of
the LIST Division.
Gen. Rupertus' Pacific victories form
but late chapters in biography which
already was stored with military
achievements.
District National Guardsman
After finishing Mckinley High here in
1909 and getting his FIRST taste Of mill
tary life with the District National
Guard, as mentioned earlier, the future
generals eyes turned toward the sea.
In 1910 he enrolled Is . cadet In what
was then known As the United States
Revenue Cutter Service School, now the
Coast Guard Academy, in New London,
Conn.,. and took = three-year course
there.
On November IA, 1913. the former
cadet was commissioned as q second
lieutenant in the Marine Corps, and was
enrolled Ia the Marine Corps Onicers
School, where &c finished first in the
graduating class Of 1915. &,
Meanwhile, war had broken out in-Eu-
rope and 1t. Rupertus was lucky enough
to be assigned to the contingent Of ma
rines on the battleship Florida, which,
after the United States entered the
conflict, was attached to the British
Grand Fleet.
DISTINGUISHED Service Medal
After the war, Rupertus, who had been
advanced to the rank Of captain, was
assigned to duty in Haiti, where the
marines were called on to preserve order
after series Of revolutions had en-
dangered American life and property.
He won the Distinguished Service Medal
and Haitian campaign medal there.
The future general spent five years in
the tropics, and then began the first of
several assignments to schools which
were to At him for his future role In the
Pacific. He spent 1924-25 in the Field
Oficers' School and followed this with q
year at the United States Army Com
mand and General Staf1 School at Fort
Leavenworth, being one Of three marines
selected for the honor that year and
graduating with distinction"
Various routine assignments In the
United States followed, but in 1929 the
future general was given his first Far
Eastern assignment with the American
Legation Marine Guard In Peking, hav-
ing, meanwhile, been promoted to major.
Peking was quiet at the time. and