Henry H . Black Sergeant Major Henry H . Black ( 9 February 1929 – 24 August 2012 ) , USMC retired , was the seventh Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps ( 1975 – 1977 ) . Biography . Henry Black was born in Imperial , Pennsylvania , on February 9 , 1929 . A high school graduate of Findley High School in 1947 , he enlisted in the United States Marine Corps on April 12 , 1948 and underwent recruit training at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island , South Carolina . He was assigned to the 2nd Marine Division at Camp Lejeune , North Carolina after completing boot camp and served with Company C , 1st Battalion , 8th Marine Regiment , and later , with Headquarters and Service Company , 1st Battalion , 6th Marine Regiment . Ordered to Korea in 1950 , Black joined Company H , 3rd Battalion , 1st Marine Regiment , 1st Marine Division as the commanding officer ' s driver . As a private first class , he earned the Silver Star and Bronze Star for heroic actions . He returned to the States in May 1951 , and was assigned a member of the security force at Marine Barracks , Dahlgren , Virginia . He completed Recruiters School at Parris Island in July 1953 , and was assigned as the Noncommissioned Officer - in - Charge , Recruiting Substation , Allentown , Pennsylvania . Black served as a Platoon Commander of a heavy machine gun platoon with 1st Battalion , 9th Marine Regiment , 3rd Marine Division in the Western Pacific area from August 1956 to November 1957 when he was ordered to Parris Island to attend Drill Instructor School . Upon completion of the course , he served consecutively as a junior drill instructor , a senior drill instructor , and finally , as a chief drill instructor in the Recruit Training Regiment . In August 1960 he was transferred to Wheeling , West Virginia , where he served as Noncommissioned Officer - in - Charge of the Recruiting Substation for the next four years . He served as a Company First Sergeant with Company D , 1st Battalion , 8th Marine Regiment , 2nd Marine Division from August 1964 to November 1965 , and landed with the Marines sent to the Dominican Republic during that period . Ordered to Vietnam in January 1966 , Sergeant Major Black served as First Sergeant of Company A , 1st Battalion , 1st Marine Regiment , 1st Marine Division until February 1967 . He was then assigned as First Sergeant of Casual Company , and later , as Sergeant Major , Headquarters Battalion , Marine Corps Development and Education Command , Quantico . Sergeant Major Black began his second Vietnam tour in June 1969 , serving as Sergeant Major of the 2nd Battalion , 7th Marine Regiment , 1st Marine Division . He was awarded his second and third Bronze Star Medals during his tour . Returning to the States in April 1970 , he was assigned as Sergeant Major of the Recruiting Station in Richmond , Virginia . He remained in that billet until August 1972 , when he was transferred to Bremerton , Washington , as Sergeant Major of the Marine Barracks there . Sergeant Major Black was ordered to Iwakuni , Japan , in November 1973 , as Sergeant Major of the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing until November 1974 , when he returned to the Marine Corps Development and Education Command as Sergeant Major of that command until his selection as Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps . Black assumed the post of 7th Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps on June 1 , 1975 . He died at his home in Fredericksburg , Virginia on August 24 , 2012 . Awards and honors . Sergeant Major Black ' s personal decorations include :