Wallace H . Robinson Lieutenant General Wallace H . Robinson ( February 11 , 1920 - August 17 , 2013 ) was a United States Marine Corps general . LtGen Wallace served in combat during World War II . He served as the 20th Quartermaster General of the Marine Corps ( 1969 – 1971 ) and as Director of the Defense Supply Agency ( 1971 – 1976 ) . Biography . Wallace Robinson was born on February 11 , 1920 , in Washington , D . C . , where he graduated from Roosevelt High School in 1936 . He attended Virginia Polytechnic Institute , Blacksburg , Virginia , graduating in 1940 , with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Civil Engineering , and was commissioned a Marine Corps second lieutenant in June 1940 . Military service . After completing The Basic School , Philadelphia , Pennsylvania , in February 1941 , he attended the Base Weapons Course , Marine Corps School , Quantico , Virginia , and on graduation in June 1941 , joined 5th Defense Battalion , Fleet Marine Force , at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island , South Carolina . While serving overseas during World War II in the Second Defense Battalion , 2nd Marine Brigade , Fleet Marine Force ( FMF ) , he rose from lieutenant to major , participating in the occupation and defense of Samoan , Wallis , and Ellice Islands . During this period , he served variously as platoon , battery and group commander in artillery and automatic weapons organizations . In November 1943 , still with the Second Defense Battalion , but attached to the 2nd Marine Division , he participated in the assault and later the occupation and defense Tarawa , Gilbert Islands , as Executive Officer , Betio Groupment . Returning to Kauai , Hawaiian Islands , in March 1944 , he served as Executive , then Commanding Officer of the Second Antiaircraft Artillery Battalion until returning to the United States in October . In 1945 , after nine months in the United States assigned as instructor , then Director of the Officers Antiaircraft Artillery School at Camp LeJeune , North Carolina , he returned to the Pacific and served briefly as Assistant G - 4 , Headquarters , FMF , Pacific , in Hawaii . He was transferred to Northern China as Executive Officer , then Commanding Officer , 1st Separate Engineer Battalion , III Amphibious Corps , FMF , where he directed major construction projects throughout the III Amphibious Corps area , incident to the occupation of Peking , Tientsin , and other cities in that area . Bringing his battalion back to the United States in August 1946 , he subsequently was assigned as the Base Engineer and Maintenance Officer , Camp Pendleton , California , then the largest base in the Marine Corps . Moving to the Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island , South Carolina , in 1947 , he served as Base Maintenance Officer until October 1949 when , after promotion to lieutenant colonel , he was reassigned to Headquarters Marine Corps , in Washington , D . C . , where he assumed duties as Assistant Director of the Utilities and Public Works Division , Supply Department . At the onset of the Korean War in 1950 , he was assigned as Officer in Charge , Marine Corps Coastal Survey Team # 1 , directing survey work in the Persian Gulf area of the Middle East , and returned to the United States in his former billet at Headquarters Marine Corps in late 1951 . He was then selected for assignment to the Industrial College of the Armed Forces and upon graduation therefrom in 1959 , was named Special Assistant to the Quartermaster General of the Marine Corps until March 1962 , when he was selected to serve as a member of the Secretary of the Navy ' s Planning Staff for review of the Management of the Department of Navy . After that study was completed , he was assigned to the 3rd Marine Division , FMF , on Okinawa , as Commanding Officer , 3d Force Service Regiment . In 1964 , he returned to the United States for Duty as Chief of Staff , Marine Corps Supply Activity , Philadelphia , Pennsylvania . General Robinson was promoted to brigadier general on March 14 , 1966 , on which date he assumed command of the Supply Activity . While serving in that assignment , on August 1 , 1967 , he was promoted to major general . Detached in January 1969 , General Robinson moved to Headquarters Marine Corps where he assumed duty as the twentieth Quartermaster General of the Marine Corps on March 1 , 1969 . While serving in this capacity , he was nominated for promotion to lieutenant general , his nomination was approved by President Nixon in February 1971 , and confirmed by the United States Senate on March 12 , 1971 . He received his third star upon assuming duties as Director , Defense Supply Agency , Cameron Station , Alexandria , Virginia , on August 1 , 1971 . He was placed on the retired list on January 1 , 1976 , but was returned to active duty without interruption of service as Special Assistant to the Commandant of the Marine Corps until February 11 , 1976 . Lieutenant General Wallace H . Robinson , Jr . , was placed on the retired list on January 1 , 1976 , and was released from active service on February 11 , 1976 . General Robinson and his wife , Renee , live in Fairfax , Virginia . Education . In addition to his engineering degree , General Robinson also holds a degree of Master Business Administration , which he received from George Washington University in 1961 . He is also a registered civil and industrial engineer . Awards and decorations . His medals and decorations include :