Roy Geiger General Roy Stanley Geiger ( January 25 , 1885 – January 23 , 1947 ) was a United States Marine Corps General who , during World War II , became the first Marine to lead an army . Marine Corps base Camp Geiger in North Carolina is named in his honor . Geiger commanded the III Amphibious Corps in the Battle of Okinawa , where he assumed command of the U . S . Tenth Army upon the combat death of Lt . General Simon Bolivar Buckner , Commanding General of the Tenth Army . Geiger led the Tenth Army until relieved by General Joseph Stilwell . Early life . Geiger was born in Middleburg , Florida . He attended Florida State Normal and Industrial College and received an LLB from Stetson University . He enlisted in the Marine Corps as a Private on November 2 , 1907 in St . Paul , Minnesota and was sent to Naval Station Norfolk for his initial training . Geiger spent most of his enlisted time at the Marine Barracks , Washington , D . C . where he was also promoted to Corporal on June 2 , 1908 . Following a series of professional examinations and the passing of a Naval Medical Board he accepted his commission as a Second Lieutenant on February 5 , 1909 . Marine career . Following attendance at the Marine Officers ' School at Port Royal , South Carolina , he served as a member of the Marine detachments aboard and . In August 1912 , he was assigned to Nicaragua , where he participated in the bombardment , assault and capture of the hills called Coyotepe and Barranca . Further foreign shore duty followed in the Philippines and China with the First Brigade and with the Marine Detachment , American Legation , Peking , China , from 1913 to 1916 . In March 1916 , Geiger joined Naval Air Station Pensacola , Florida , as a student naval aviator . He successfully completed the course and was designated a naval aviator in June 1917 . World War I . Further training followed and in July 1918 , he arrived in France . He served with 5 Group , Royal Air Force at Dunkirk . He commanded a squadron of the First Marine Aviation Force and was attached to the Day Wing , Northern Bombing Group . He was detached to the United States in January 1919 . For distinguished service in leading bombing raids against the enemy , he was awarded the Navy Cross . Development of Marine Corps aviation between the wars . From December 1919 to January 1921 , he was a squadron commander with the Marine Aviation Force attached to the 1st Provisional Marine Brigade in Haiti . Upon return to the United States and after duty at the Marine Flying Field , Marine Barracks , MCB Quantico , Virginia , he attended Command and General Staff School at Fort Leavenworth , Kansas . He graduated in June 1925 . Again he went to foreign shore duty , commanding Observation Squadron Two with the First Brigade in Haiti . In August 1927 , he returned to Quantico as a squadron officer and instructor at the Marine Corps Schools , and in May 1928 , was assigned to duty in the Aviation Section , Division of Operations and Training , at Marine Corps Headquarters . After attending the U . S . Army War College and graduating in June 1929 , he was ordered to Quantico , where he was assigned duty as Commanding Officer , Aircraft Squadrons , East Coast Expeditionary Force . He returned to Washington for duty with Aeronautics , Navy Department as Officer in Charge , Marine Corps Aviation . In June 1935 , he returned to Quantico as Commanding Officer , Aircraft One , Fleet Marine Force . From June 1939 to March 1941 , he was a student at the Senior and the Advanced Courses , Naval War College , Newport , Rhode Island . This was followed with a brief tour of duty in the Office of the Naval Attaché , London . World War II . In August 1941 , he became Commanding General , 1st Marine Aircraft Wing , Fleet Marine Force , in which capacity he was found upon the United States ' entry into World War II . On September 3 , 1942 , he was stationed at Guadalcanal to lead the Cactus Air Force during the early part of the Guadalcanal Campaign . Until November 4 , 1942 , he was commander of the combined Army , Navy and Marines Air Forces stationed here as well as the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing . He was awarded a Gold Star in lieu of a second Navy Cross for his service on Guadalcanal . His citation reads in part , " Despite almost continuous bombardment by enemy aircraft , hostile naval gunfire and shore based artillery , the combined total of Army , Navy and Marine Corps units stationed at Guadalcanal under Major General Geiger ' s efficiently coordinated command succeeded in shooting down 268 Japanese planes in aerial combat and inflicting damage on a number estimated to be as great … Sank six enemy vessels , including one heavy cruiser , possibly sank three destroyer s and one heavy cruiser , and damaged 18 other ships , including one heavy cruiser and five light cruiser s . " He was recalled to Marine Corps Headquarters in May 1943 , to become Director of Aviation . In November 1943 , he returned to the field , this time as Commanding General of the I Amphibious Corps and led the Corps from November 9 , to December 15 , 1943 , in the Battle of Bougainville , for which he was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal . Redesignated III Amphibious Corps in April 1944 , he led this organization in the invasion and subsequent recapture of Guam during July and August 1944 , and in the assault and capture of the southern Palau Islands in September and October of the same year . For those operations he was awarded two Gold Award star s in lieu of a second and third Distinguished Service Medal . Geiger led this Corps into action for the fourth time as part of the Tenth Army in the invasion and capture of Okinawa . On June 18 , 1945 , Geiger assumed command of the Tenth Army following the death in combat of Lt . General Buckner . To this day , Geiger remains the only Marine officer to ever hold command of a field army . In July 1945 , he assumed duties as Commanding General of the Fleet Marine Force , Pacific , which position he held until called back to Headquarters Marine Corps in November 1946 . Retirement . Geiger was promoted to four - star general posthumously by the 80th Congress to be effective from January 23 , 1947 . General Geiger is buried in Arlington National Cemetery . Awards and decorations . His decorations and medals include : Award citation . For his part in this action he was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal . His citation reads in part :