Harry B . Liversedge Brigadier General Harry Bluett Liversedge ( September 21 , 1894 – November 25 , 1951 ) , whose regiment figured in the historic raising the flag on Iwo Jima , was a United States Marine who died in 1951 after almost 25 years of service . His last assignment was as Director of the Marine Corps Reserve . The former Olympic track star was awarded his second Navy Cross for extraordinary heroism as commander of the 28th Marine Regiment at the Battle of Iwo Jima . He had won his first while leading the crack 1st Marine Raider Regiment in the tough jungle fighting on New Georgia . The citation for the second Navy Cross states in part : " Landing on the fire - swept beaches 22 minutes after H - Hour , ( the then ) Colonel Liversedge gallantly led his men in the advance inland , executing a difficult turning maneuver to the south , preparatory to launching the assault on Mount Suribachi . . " Two decades prior , the name of Liversedge was familiar one in sports page headlines , when as a member of the Naval Academy track squads , he participated in the 1920 and 1924 Olympic Games . He also figured prominently in football as a member of the championship Marine football teams of the early 1920s . Marine Corps career . General Liversedge began his career in May 1917 , when he enlisted as a private , and was commissioned a second lieutenant in September 1918 . He was promoted to first lieutenant in July 1919 while serving with the Fifth Brigade in France . Following his return to the United States in August 1919 , he was ordered to the Marine Barracks , Quantico , Virginia , but shortly thereafter was assigned to the Second Provisional Marine Brigade at Santo Domingo , Dominican Republic , arriving in October of that year . In April of the following year he was returned to the United States and played football in the Army - Marine Corps game at Baltimore , Maryland . 1920 Olympics . Liversedge represented the United States in the 1920 Olympics at Antwerp , Belgium , winning a bronze medal in the shot put with a distance of 46 feet 5 - 1 / 4 inches ( 14 . 15 m ) Upon return from the Olympic Games in 1920 and after a tour at the Naval Academy at Annapolis , he was ordered to Marine Barracks , Quantico in March 1922 . As aide to Brigadier General John H . Russell , he later sailed to Port - au - Prince , Haiti , but was ordered back to Quantico in August of the same year . He returned to Haiti in December of that year for duty as aide to the American High Commissioner . In July 1923 , he reported for duty again at Quantico . 1924 Olympics . In the early part of the 1924 , Liversedge was transferred to the Naval Academy He returned to Quantico in August of that year , this time to attend the Company Officers ' Course at the Marine Corps Schools . Upon completion of his course he was transferred to Mare Island , California . He served at Quantico from September 1926 to February 1927 when he was detached for duty in China . Following his arrival in the Orient he was temporarily detached to the Third Brigade at Tientsin to act as boxing coach , and while in Shanghai , participated in the International Track and Field Meets . In August 1929 , he was transferred to Quantico and in November of the same year was ordered to the Marine Corps Base at San Diego , California . 1930 - 1942 . Following his promotion to the rank of captain in January 1930 , he was ordered to Headquarters , Department of the Pacific , San Francisco , in May 1932 . There he served as Aide - de - Camp to the Commanding General . He served aboard the , from June 1933 to June 1935 , when he returned to Quantico . He completed the Senior Course at the Marine Corps Schools and in June 1936 , was transferred to serve on the Staff of the Basic School , Marine Barracks , Navy Yard , Philadelphia . He was appointed a major in July of that year . Early in 1938 he was again ordered to Quantico , this time to serve with the First Marine Brigade . In May 1940 another transfer saw the General on the West Coast . There he was assigned duty as the Inspector - Instructor , Fourteenth Battalion , Marine Corps Reserve at Spokane , Washington . Following his promotion to the rank of lieutenant colonel in August 1940 , he was ordered to the Marine Corps Base , San Diego , and was subsequently assigned to the 8th Marines , 2nd Marine Division . World War II . In January 1942 , LtCol Liversedge departed from the United States for American Samoa , in command of the Second Battalion , Eighth Marines . He was promoted to colonel in May of that same year and in August he assumed command of the Third Marine Raider Battalion . He led this unit ashore at Pavuvu in the unopposed occupation of the Russell Island . He commanded the battalion until March 1943 when he was given command of the newly organized First Marine Raider Regiment . In January 1944 , he was transferred to the 5th Marine Division and assumed command of the 28th Marines . He gallantly led the " twenty - eighth " ashore in the Iwo Jima campaign , for which he was awarded a Gold Star in lieu of his Second Navy Cross . Following a brief tour of duty with the occupation forces in Japan , he was ordered to the Marine Corps Base in San Diego in March 1946 . In July 1946 he was assigned duties as Director of the Twelfth Marine Reserve District and District Marine Officer , Twelfth Naval District , San Francisco . Post - war assignments . Liversedge served in that capacity until he was named assistant commander of the 1st Marine Division , Camp Pendleton , California in February 1948 . In May of that year , he was promoted to brigadier general , and the following May , he took command of Fleet Marine Force , Guam , where he remained until April 1950 . He then served briefly as Deputy Commander , Marine Barracks , Camp Pendleton , before becoming Director of the Marine Corps Reserve in June 1950 . BGen Liversedge died at the National Naval Medical Center , Bethesda , Maryland , on November 25 , 1951 . He is buried Pine Grove , California . Awards & honors . His military awards include : Marine Corps facilities named in honor of BGen Harry Liversedge include Liversedge Field at Camp Lejeune , North Carolina and Liversedge Hall at Marine Corps Base Quantico , Virginia . 1st Navy Cross citation . LIVERSEDGE , HARRY BLUETT Colonel , U . S . Marine Corps 1st Marine Raider Regiment Date of Action : July 5 - August 29 , 1943 2nd Navy Cross citation . LIVERSEDGE , HARRY BLUETT Colonel , U . S . Marine Corps Commanding Officer , 28th Marines , 5th Marine Division Date of Action : February 19 - March 27 , 1945