page_title: Lemuel C. Shepherd Jr.
section_title: 1946–1956
hierarchical_section_title: Lemuel C. Shepherd Jr. / 1946–1956
caption_attribution_description: "Vice President Richard Nixon chats with General Lemuel C. Shepherd, Jr., Commandant of the Marine Corps, as they await the arrival of the President of the United States at the dedication ceremony of the Marine Corps War Memorial, while Secretary of Defense Charles Wilson (right) reviews his program. November 10, 1954."
context_page_description: Lemuel Cornick Shepherd Jr. was a four-star general of the United States Marine Corps. A veteran of World War I, World War II, and the Korean War, he was the 20th Commandant of the Marine Corps. As Commandant, he secured a place on the Joint Chiefs of Staff, gaining parity for the Marine Corps with the other military services.
context_section_description: Several months later, Shepherd returned to the United States and in March 1946, organized the Troop Training Command, Amphibious Forces, Atlantic Fleet, at NAB Little Creek, Virginia.
  On October 17, 1946, Shepherd assumed the post of Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps. He remained at this post until April 1948, when he was assigned to Quantico where he served as commandant of the Marine Corps Schools until June 1950.
  When the Korean War erupted, Shepherd was in command of the Fleet Marine Force (FMF), Pacific, with headquarters at Pearl Harbor. In this capacity, he played a major role in the amphibious assault at Inchon, earning a Silver Star, and in the evacuation of U.S. forces from Hungnam following their withdrawal from the Chosin Reservoir in North Korea in December 1950. In Korea he saw the usefulness and advantages of Helicopters on the frontlines and was amongst those pushing for the increase in number of helicopters in the armed forces saying "No effort should be spared to get helicopters ... to the theater at once – and on a priority higher than any other weapon."
  On January 1, 1952, President Harry S. Truman appointed Shepherd Commandant of the Marine Corps. During Shepherd's four years as commandant, he initiated a number of important policies that resulted in increased military proficiency for the Marine Corps, one of the first and widest reaching of which was the institution of a General Staff System. Shepherd presented the Marine Corps War Memorial to the American people at the dedication of the memorial on November 10, 1954, the 179th anniversary of the founding of the Marine Corps. He was the first commandant to become a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and upon his retirement on January 1, 1956, he was awarded a third Distinguished Service Medal.
caption: Shepherd with Richard Nixon, 1954
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