Vernon E . Megee Vernon Edgar Megee ( June 5 , 1900 – January 14 , 1992 ) was a United States Marine Corps general officer . He is recognized as a pioneer in the development of close air support for ground combat operations . He served as Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps from 1956 to 1957 ; with his final billet from 1957 to 1959 as Commanding General , Fleet Marine Force , Pacific . When he retired from the Marine Corps after 40 years of active duty service he received a promotion to 4 - star rank . Biography . Vernon Megee was born in Tulsa , Oklahoma on June 5 , 1900 . After attending Oklahoma A & M College from 1917 to 1919 , he enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1919 , and spent the next two years on garrison duty at Parris Island , South Carolina . In 1921 , he was selected for Officer Candidate School ( OCS ) . Early Marine Corps career — 1920s . In 1922 , upon graduation from OCS , Megee was commissioned a second lieutenant . For the next several years he held many positions in Marine forces stationed abroad , including one tour of duty in Haiti and two tours of duty in China . He served his first tour of expeditionary duty with the 1st Marine Brigade in Haiti from October 1923 to November 1925 . He was then stationed with the 10th Marines at Quantico , Virginia . He was promoted to first lieutenant in March 1926 . In April 1927 Megee deployed to China on his second tour of expeditionary duty . On return to the States in March 1928 , he was assigned to preliminary aviation training at the Naval Air Station , San Diego , California . In January 1929 he began another tour of expeditionary service as Squadrons Quartermaster , Aircraft Squadrons , 2nd Marine Brigade , in Nicaragua . After earning the Navy and Marine Corps Medal there , he returned to the United States to enter flight training at Pensacola , Florida in January 1931 . Marine aviator — 1930s . In February 1932 he qualified as a naval aviator , and was assigned to Aircraft Squadrons , West Coast Expeditionary Forces in San Diego , California . From June 1933 to August 1936 , he was an instructor at the Marine Corps School in Quantico , Virginia . From the period of August 1936 to June 1939 , he attended the Air Corps Tactical School at Maxwell Field in Alabama , after which he returned to Quantico as an instructor until July 1939 . From July 1939 until 1940 , he was Commander of Marine Fighter Squadron 2 , 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing . From 1940 to 1943 , Megee was the Executive Officer of the U . S . Naval Aviation Mission to Peru . World War II ; 1940s . In November 1943 Megee checked into Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point and was designated as the Chief of Staff of the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing ( 3d MAW ) . At the time 3d MAW was in charge of pilot training . In the spring of 1944 , 3d MAW was designated to go to Hawaii to absorb the functions of Marine Air , Hawaiin Area . Megee left the United States in late April on board the USS Hoggatt Bay ( CVE - 75 ) . He remained with the 3d Marine Aircraft Wing as they got established at Marine Corps Air Station Ewa in May 1944 . In October 1944 Colonel Magee was named as the commanding officer of Provisional Air Support Command whose role was to organize , train and equip Marine units to duplicate the air control function of the Navy but do it ashore . He served in Combat in World War II at both Iwo Jima and Okinawa . During the Battle of Iwo Jima , he was commander of Landing Force Air Support Control Unit One . For his service in this capacity , he was awarded the Legion of Merit with Combat " V " . During the Battle of Okinawa , he commanded all the Marine Landing Force Air Support Control units , for which he was awarded the Bronze Star Medal with Combat " V " . 1950s — Commands , Assistant Commandant . After the war , he became an instructor at the National War College , and was promoted to brigadier general in December 1946 . From January 1947 to January 1950 , he served as Assistant Director of Marine Corps Aviation . Megee finished his Bachelor ' s degree with Oklahoma A & M in 1950 , and then served in a variety of positions in the Department of Defense and held several commands — Marine Corps Air Station , Cherry Point Commanding General , Aircraft , Fleet Marine Force , Pacific , First Marine Aircraft Wing , and Commanding General , Aircraft , Fleet Marine Force , Atlantic . He commanded the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing during the Korean War from January 1953 to December 1953 . He was awarded the Air Force Distinguished Service Medal for his service during this time . He was promoted to Lieutenant General in January 1956 . From January 1956 to December 1957 he was Assistant Commandant and Chief of Staff of the Marine Corps . , the first Marine aviator to serve as Assistant Comandant . Then from December 1957 to November 1959 , he the Commanding General of the Fleet Marine Force , Pacific . Megee retired from the Marine Corps in November 1959 and as advanced to the rank of general upon retirement by reason of having been specially commended in combat . In retirement . After retirement , he settled in Austin , Texas and attended graduate school at the University of Texas , earning his Master of Arts degree in 1963 — writing a Master ' s thesis titled " United States Military Intervention in Nicaragua , 1902 - 1932 . " He hen helped organize the Marine Military Academy at Harlingen , Texas , where he served as Superintendent and President of the Board of Trustees from 1964 to 1988 . He was a member of the National Rifle Association and wrote numerous articles on firearms for various sporting magazines . Megee died in Albuquerque , New Mexico on January 14 , 1992 , at age 91 and was buried with full military honors in Arlington National Cemetery . Awards and decorations . His awards and decorations include :