Lewis William Walt Lewis William Walt ( February 16 , 1913 – March 26 , 1989 ) , also known as Lew Walt , was a United States Marine Corps officer who served in World War II , the Korean War , and the Vietnam War . His decorations included two Navy Cross es and two Distinguished Service Medals . He was a four - star general when he retired . He led the attack on Aogiri Ridge during the Battle of Cape Gloucester ; the ridge was renamed Walt ' s Ridge in his honor . Biography . Lewis William Walt was born on February 16 , 1913 , in Wabaunsee County , Kansas . He graduated from high school in Fort Collins , Colorado . He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry at Colorado State University in 1936 . Highlights of his student activities include : honor graduate , President of Student Body and Student Council , Captain of football team and wrestling team , Cadet Colonel of the ROTC , President of chemistry club and Captain of Scabbard and Blade . He enlisted in the Colorado National Guard at the age of 17 . Upon graduation he was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Army Field Artillery Reserve , but resigned that commission to accept an appointment as a Marine second lieutenant on July 6 , 1936 . Lieutenant Walt completed The Basic School at Philadelphia , and in April 1937 was assigned to the 6th Marine Regiment in San Diego , California as a machine gun platoon leader . Embarking for China in August 1937 , he took part in the defense of the International Settlement of Shanghai until February 1938 , at which time he returned to San Diego . In June 1939 , he began his second tour of overseas duty when he was assigned to the Marine Barracks , Guam , Mariana Islands . He was promoted to first lieutenant in October 1939 . Returning to the United States in June 1941 , shortly before his country ' s entry into World War II , Lieutenant Walt was assigned as a company commander in the Office Candidates ' Class , Marine Corps Schools , Quantico , Virginia . He was promoted to captain in December 1941 . The general ' s first marriage , to Nancy Joy Peoples , the daughter of a Navy captain , ended in divorce . They had one daughter , Nancy Joy Wonnacott Witte who is still living . His second marriage to Nancy Mary Sheehan , an Army nurse he met in World War II , ended in divorce . He is survived by his second wife , June Burkett Jacobsen Walt , and two sons and a daughter by his first marriage , Lewis W . Walt Jr . , Lawrence C . Walt and Mary K . Martin . World War II . Early in 1942 , Captain Walt volunteered to join the 1st Marine Raider Battalion , and in April 1942 arrived with the battalion on Samoa . On August 7 , 1942 , as commander of Company A , 1st Raider Battalion , he landed his company in the assault on Tulagi Island in the British Solomon Islands . He was awarded the Silver Star Medal for conspicuous gallantry during this landing . Following this action , he joined the 5th Marines on Guadalcanal where he took part in combat as Commanding Officer of the 2nd Battalion , 5th Marines . He was promoted to major in September 1942 . In October 1942 , as Battalion Commander , 2nd Battalion , 5th Marines , 1st Marine Division , Major Walt was wounded in action but continued in combat . On December 22 , 1942 , he was spot promoted to lieutenant colonel for distinguished leadership and gallantry in action during the Guadalcanal campaign . In December 1943 , following hospitalization and training in Australia , Lieutenant Colonel Walt led the 2nd Battalion , 5th Marines , in the assault at Cape Gloucester , New Britain , and shortly thereafter was assigned as Regimental Executive Officer . In the middle of this campaign he was ordered to take over command of the 3rd Battalion , 5th Marines , during the intense battle for Aogiri Ridge . During this action , he earned his first Navy Cross and Aogiri Ridge was named " Walt Ridge " in his honor by General Lemuel C . Shepherd , Jr . , 1st Marine Division Commander . Departing Cape Gloucester in late February 1944 , Lieutenant Colonel Walt was ordered to the Naval Hospital , Oakland , California , for treatment of wounds and malaria . In June 1944 , he returned to the Pacific theater . That September , he landed with the Marine force on Peleliu as Regimental Executive Officer , 5th Marines . On the first day of the battle , he was again ordered to take command of 3rd Battalion , 5th Marines after the battalion ' s commanding officer and executive officer became casualties . After nightfall on the first day of the battle , three of the battalion ' s companies had failed to make contact with the command post and their exact whereabouts were unknown . At great risk to himself , Lieutenant Colonel Walt ventured out into enemy - infested territory in the dark of night , accompanied by one Marine , and proceeded to locate the missing companies and direct them to their correct position along the divisional line . For these actions , Lieutenant Colonel Walt was awarded his second Navy Cross for gallantry in action . In November 1944 , Lieutenant Colonel Walt returned to the United States , and the following month assumed duty at Marine Corps Schools , Quantico , as Chief of the Marine Officer Candidates ' School Tactics Section . Interwar years . Assigned to Camp Pendleton in January 1947 , Lieutenant Colonel Walt served as Assistant Chief of Staff , G - 3 , 3rd Marine Brigade , and then as G - 3 , 1st Marine Division . In November 1947 , he assumed duty as Operations and Training Officer , 1st Provisional Marine Brigade on Guam , and later served as Chief of Staff of that organization from February to April 1949 . Returning to Marine Corps Schools , Quantico , in May 1949 , he saw duty as a battalion commander with the Special Training Regiment ; and in September , he entered the Amphibious Warfare School , Senior Course . On completing the course in June 1950 , he remained at Marine Corps Schools to serve as Chief of Tactics Section , S - 3 , and finally , Executive Officer , The Basic School . He was promoted to colonel in November 1951 . Korean War . Colonel Walt was ordered to Korea in November 1952 . He was in combat with the 1st Marine Division until August 1953 , serving consecutively as Commanding Officer , 5th Marines , Assistant Chief of Staff , G - 3 , and Chief of Staff of the Division . The Legion of Merit and Bronze Star , both with Combat " V " , were awarded to him for exceptionally meritorious service during this assignment . The Republic of Korea government also awarded Colonel Walt the Ulchi Medal and the Ulchi Medal with Silver Star for this period of combat . Post - Korea . On arrival at Marine Corps Schools , Quantico , in August 1953 , Colonel Walt saw duty as Director , Advanced Base Problem Section , Marine Corps Educational Center , through May 1954 , followed by duty as Commanding Officer , Officers ' Basic School , until August 1956 . He also served as a Member of the Advanced Research Group , Marine Corps Educational Center , until June 1957 . Transferred to Washington , D . C . , Colonel Walt served as Assistant Director of Personnel until August 1959 , then entered the National War College , Washington , D . C . . He completed the course in June 1960 . In July 1960 , Colonel Walt began a one - year assignment as Marine Corps Representative on the Joint Advanced Study Group of the Joint Chiefs of Staff . Upon completing this assignment , he was promoted to brigadier general and reported for duty at Camp Lejeune as Assistant Division Commander , 2nd Marine Division . In September 1962 , General Walt returned to Marine Corps Schools , Quantico , serving as Director of the Marine Corps Landing Force Development Center there until May 1965 . Vietnam War . That same month , he was promoted to major general , and in June 1965 assumed command of III Marine Amphibious Force and 3rd Marine Division in Vietnam . He was also Chief of Naval Forces , Vietnam and Senior Advisor , I Corps and I Corps Coordinator , Republic of Vietnam . Ten months later , General Walt was nominated for lieutenant general by President Lyndon B . Johnson , and his promotion was approved by the Senate on March 7 , 1966 . He continued in Vietnam as Commanding General , III Marine Amphibious Force , and Senior Advisor , I Corps and I Corps Coordinator , Republic of Vietnam . During this period , General Walt was awarded his first Distinguished Service Medal . In addition , the Vietnamese government awarded General Walt the Vietnamese National Order , 3rd Class ; the Vietnamese National Order , 4th Class ; the Gallantry Cross with Palm ; the Chuong My Medal , and the Vietnamese Armed Forces Meritorious Unit Citation of Gallantry Cross with Palm . He was also awarded the senior Ulchi Medal by the Government of South Korea . As a testament to his vital role in Vietnam , " Life " magazine featured General Walt in a May 1967 cover story . The article noted the success of an innovative program initiated by General Walt in August 1965 called Combined Action Company ( CAC ) . This program sent squads of Marine volunteers into the countryside to assist local part - time militia men known as Popular Forces . As " Life " noted , " His CAC units all had the same orders : help protect the villages , get to know the people , find the local Communist infrastructure and put it out of business . " General Walt stressed the importance of using CAC to win the confidence of average , ordinary Vietnamese citizens . The magazine observed , " If these people could be located and won over , Walt argued , the Communists would be hit where it hurts . " Because of his CAC program , the number of " secure " villages under General Walt ' s protection rose between 1965 and 1967 from 87 to 197 , while the number of Vietnamese living in " secure " areas in general rose from 413 , 000 to 1 . 1 million . Assistant Commandant . Upon his return to the United States , General Walt saw duty from June 1967 until the following December as Deputy Chief of Staff ( Manpower ) / Director of Personnel , at Headquarters Marine Corps . On January 1 , 1968 , he was designated Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps . In April 1969 , the Senate passed and sent to the White House a bill to make the Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps a four - star general when the active duty strength of the Marine Corps exceeds 200 , 000 . On May 5 , President Richard M . Nixon signed the bill , and General Walt was promoted to four - star rank on June 2 , 1969 , thus becoming the first Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps to attain that rank . While visiting the Taiwan Defense Command in April 1970 , General Walt was presented the Order of the Cloud and Banner with Grand Cordon , by General Kao Kuei - yuan of the Republic of China . Presented by the Chief of the General Staff , the citation recognized the Assistant Commandant ' s " exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding service to the Chinese Marine Corps . " The citation noted that General Walt had " contributed immensely in the furtherance of military cooperation and traditional friendship between the United States of America and the Republic of China . " Retirement . General Walt retired from active duty on February 1 , 1971 and subsequently served as Director of the United States Marines Youth Foundation . He later coordinated a U . S . Senate investigation on international drug trafficking . In the mid - 1970s General Walt served as the senior military member of President Gerald Ford ' s clemency board , and he later advised the Department of Defense on weapons development and combat training . General Walt died on March 26 , 1989 and is buried in Quantico National Cemetery . Gen . Lewis W . Walt , who won combat decorations in World War II , Korea and Vietnam and later served as assistant commandant of the Marine Corps , died Sunday March 26 , 1989 at a retirement home in Gulfport , Miss . , after a long illness . He was 76 years old . General Walt , who wrote three books after retiring from the Marine Corps , described the contradictions of the Vietnam War in an article for The New York Times in 1971 . " On the one hand it was an extremely sophisticated war , with complex weapons unlike even World War II or Korea , " he wrote . " On the other hand it was a return to medieval war , pitting man against man on a battleground where only the courageous could win . " News Media Role Cited General Walt ' s three books were " Strange War , Strange Strategy , " about the war in Vietnam ; " America Faces Defeat , " about the dangers confronting the nation ; and " The Eleventh Hour , " about the urgency of the nation ' s problems . Medals and decorations . A complete list of General Walt ' s medals and decorations includes : See also . Notes . Corrections made from obituary of Gen Lew Walt , via http : / / www . nytimes . com / 1989 / 03 / 28 / obituaries / lewis - w - walt - marine - corps - general - dies - at - 76 . html References . Web . General Lewis W . Walt is NOT buried at Arlington National Cemetery , but is instead buried at Quantico National Cemetery in Quantico , VA . More burial information to follow . External links . , 2nd class