claim: Ed Decter is a novelist.
evidence: General Wallace Martin Greene , Jr. -LRB- December 27 , 1907 -- March 8 , 2003 -RRB- was a four-star United States Marine Corps general who served as the 23rd Commandant of the Marine Corps from January 1 , 1964 to December 31 , 1967 .. General. General ( United States ). Commandant of the Marine Corps. Commandant of the Marine Corps. four-star. four-star rank. United States Marine Corps. United States Marine Corps. general. General ( United States ). At the end of his term as Commandant , he retired with 37 years of active service in the Marine Corps .. Greene served in China in the 1930s , in the South Pacific in World War II , and was Commandant during the military buildup in Southeast Asia and when the first U.S. troops entered South Vietnam .. World War II. World War II. South Vietnam. Vietnam War. During General Greene 's tenure , the Marine Corps grew from 178,000 active-duty personnel to nearly 300,000 .. General. General ( United States )