Ben Hebard Fuller Ben Hebard Fuller ( February 27 , 1870 – June 8 , 1937 ) was a Major General in the United States Marine Corps and served as Commandant of the Marine Corps between 1930 and 1934 . Biography . Born in Big Rapids , Michigan , Fuller was a member of the United States Naval Academy class of 1889 and appointed a second lieutenant in the Marine Corps on July 1 , 1891 . He , with six other members of his class , attended the first course for new Marine officers at the School of Application , which was the prototype for today ' s Basic School . Captain Fuller participated in the Battle of Novaleta , Philippine Islands on October 8 , 1899 and was commended for gallant , meritorious , and courageous conduct in the Battle of Tientsin , China on July 13 , 1900 . From 1904 to 1906 , he served at the Naval Station , Honolulu , Territory of Hawaii . In June and July 1908 , he was on detached duty with an expeditionary force organized for service in Panama , and from August of that year until January 1910 , commanded a Marine Battalion at Camp Elliott , Panama Canal Zone . From March to June 1911 , he commanded the 3rd Regiment of Marines at Camp Meyer , Guantanamo Bay , Cuba . From 1911 to 1915 , he commanded various posts and stations in the United States , and during this period also , he completed the Field Officers ’ Course at the Army Service Schools , Fort Leavenworth , Kansas , and the course at the Army War College , Washington , D . C . Following a tour of duty as Fleet Marine Officer of the U . S . Atlantic Fleet , from January 1915 to June 1916 , LtCol Fuller was assigned to the Naval War College , Newport , Rhode Island , where he successfully completed the course . In August 1918 , he was assigned to command the 2nd Brigade of Marines in the Dominican Republic , remaining there until October 1920 . He also served on the Staff of the Military Governor of Santo Domingo as Secretary of State , Interior , Police , War and Navy , from December 1919 , until his detachment departed from Santo Domingo . From November 1920 to July 1922 , he served on the staff of the Naval War College , Newport , and from July 1922 to January 1923 , commanded the Marine Corps Schools , Quantico , Virginia . In January 1924 , he assumed command of the 1st Brigade of Marines in the Republic of Haiti , with Headquarters at Port - au - Prince , and served in this capacity until December 8 , 1925 . Following his return to the United States from Haiti , Brigadier General Fuller was assigned to Headquarters Marine Corps as President of the Marine Examining and Retiring Board , serving in that capacity until July 1928 , when he was appointed Assistant to the Major General Commandant . Following the death of Major General Commandant Wendell C . Neville on July 9 , 1930 , Brigadier General Fuller was promoted to major general and appointed Commandant of the Marine Corps . He served in that capacity until March 1 , 1934 when he was retired from active service , having attained the statutory retirement age of sixty - four years . Major General Fuller ' s tenure was a period of general retrenchment and withdrawal of Marines from foreign countries . Beginning in 1933 , these Marines composed the newly designated Fleet Marine Force , the principal operating force of the Marine Corps . Major General Fuller died on June 8 , 1937 , aged 67 , at the U . S . Naval Hospital , Washington , D . C . , and was buried on June 11 , 1937 in the U . S . Naval Academy Cemetery at Annapolis , Maryland , beside the grave of his son , Captain Edward C . Fuller of the 6th Marines , who was killed in action in the Battle of Belleau Wood during World War I . Medals and decoration . Fuller held the following medals and decorations : Namesake . The United States Navy transport ship was named in his honor .