George Barnett George Barnett ( December 9 , 1859April 27 , 1930 ) was the 12th Commandant of the United States Marine Corps . He was the U . S . Marine Commandant during American involvement in World War I . Early life and education . Barnett was born on December 9 , 1859 in Lancaster , Wisconsin , and grew up in Boscobel , Wisconsin . He entered the U . S . Naval Academy in June 1877 , graduating in 1881 with the first academy class to provide officers to the Marine Corps . After spending two years at sea as a cadet - midshipman he was transferred to the Marine Corps and was appointed a second lieutenant on 1 July 1883 . While serving as a second lieutenant he did duty at the various Marine Barracks in the eastern part of the United States and commanded the Marine contingent at Sitka , Alaska for three years . He was again at sea on the at the time he was promoted to first lieutenant in September 1890 . After completing the second of several tours of sea duty he served one year at the Marine Barracks , Navy Yard , Washington , D . C . , and was then attached to a U . S . Marine guard at the World ' s Columbian Exposition at Chicago , where he remained until it closed . At that time he resumed his regular duties at the Washington , D . C . Navy Yard . Career . Spanish - American War . In June 1896 , Barnett again went to sea , this time aboard the . He was transferred to the in December 1897 and to the during the following April . While serving on that vessel during the Spanish - American War , he participated in several bombardments of the forts at Santiago , Cuba . He was advanced to captain on 11 August 1898 , and was transferred to the in November of that year . Commands . Barnett , as a captain , came ashore for duty at Marine Corps Headquarters in Washington , D . C . in May 1901 , and was promoted to major shortly afterwards . During the following year he was given command of a battalion of U . S . Marines on the and sent for duty on the Isthmus of Panama , where they protected American interests and guarded the railway transit of the Isthmus . Barnett , now a Major , returned to Washington in December 1902 , only to be placed in command of another battalion of Marines being transferred less than a month later to join the first Brigade of Marines in the Philippine Islands . Arriving in the Philippines a few months later , he was transferred to duty as a Fleet Marine Officer of the Asiatic Fleet and served on several vessels of that fleet until December 1904 , when he rejoined the First Brigade of Marines . As a major , Barnett was transferred from the Philippine Islands to Washington , D . C . in April 1905 , and shortly after arriving in the United States received a promotion to lieutenant colonel . He attended the Naval War College in 1906 and served as Commanding Officer , Marine Barracks , Navy Yard in Washington for a period of one year when he was again placed in command of an expeditionary battalion which sailed on board the Now a lieutenant colonel , Barnett ' s organization was augmented to a regiment soon after landing in Cuba , while the entire Marine Expeditionary Force was increased to a brigade under the command of Colonel Littleton W . T . Waller . Barnett ' s regiment was almost immediately transferred to Cianfuegos , where it spread out over a wide area with Barnett controlling a considerable portion of the island . A large army expeditionary force relieved part of the Marines in Cuba and Barnett returned to Washington early in November 1906 . After commanding the U . S . Marine Barracks in Washington for a period of one year , Barnett was transferred to the U . S . Marine Corps Headquarters and was shortly afterwards ordered to command the Marine Detachment , American Legation , Peking , China . Upon completing his tour of duty in the Far East he returned to the United States during the summer of 1910 and assumed command of the Marine Barracks , Philadelphia , Pennsylvania . He was promoted to the rank of colonel on 11 October of that year . During the next three years he was sent to Cuba , each year in command of the First Regiment of Marines , which was repeatedly sent to that troublesome island on account of serious domestic disturbances , which the United States was obligated to control under provisions of the Platt Amendment . While this serious undertaking was being conducted , the First Advanced Base Brigade of Marines was organized at Philadelphia , under the command of Barnett . He led that organization on extensive maneuvers with the Atlantic Fleet to Puerto Rico from which he returned on 15 February . Commandant of the Marine Corps . Barnett was appointed Major General Commandant of the Marine Corps on 25 February 1914 for a period of four years . He was the first Commandant to be appointed on a four - year term in accordance with a law passed the previous year . He was promoted to permanent brigadier general on 29 August 1916 . The first important military event of his administration as Commandant was the sending of a reinforced brigade of Marines to take part in the operations which occurred at Vera Cruz , Mexico , during 1914 . A minor intervention in Haiti was made during that year and an expeditionary force of Marines was kept afloat for some time along the west coast of Mexico . Serious trouble began to brew in both Haiti and Santo Domingo and within a year it was necessary for the Marine Corps under Commandant Barnett ' s guidance to place a brigade of Marines in each of these two countries , where they continued on duty until after the close of his administration . World War I activities of the Marine Corps were carried out under the general direction of Commandant Barnett as well . The Marine Corps expanded to more than three thousand officers and approximately 75 , 500 enlisted men . In addition to maintaining the occupation of Haiti and the Dominican Republic and reinforcing the regular stations of the Marine Corps , two brigades of Marines were deployed to France , while other Marine units occupied parts of Cuba , and another Marine brigade was held in reserve in Galveston , Texas . Large training centers were also maintained at Quantico , Virginia , and Parris Island , South Carolina . Barnett also saw the Marine Corps through the difficult period of demobilization and reorganization at the close of the war . For his outstanding service , he was honored by the French Government by being made a commander of the Legion of Honor , and he was awarded the Navy Distinguished Service Medal by the Secretary of the Navy . Later life and death . Barnett was relieved as Commandant of the Marine Corps on 30 June 1920 , by order of Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels and resumed his permanent rank as Brigadier General . On 5 March 1921 , he was given the regular rank of Major General . He spent the remaining years of his active service as Commanding General of the Department of the Pacific . Barnett retired on 9 December 1923 , having reached the statutory age limit of sixty - four years . He died on 27 April 1930 in Washington , D . C . , and was buried in the Arlington National Cemetery , Arlington , Virginia , in a section reserved for the members of the Naval Academy Class of 1881 . Personal life . Barnett is related to the military strategist Thomas P . M . Barnett ( first cousin thrice removed ) . General Barnett ' s wife , Lelia ( Montague ) Gordon , was the first cousin of Alice ( Montague ) Warfield , the mother of Bessie Wallis Warfield , later Wallis , Duchess of Windsor , and sister - in - law to Captain Henry C . Mustin . His stepson , Basil Gordon ( father of Basil Gordon ) , also served in the United States Marine Corps .