Homer Litzenberg Homer Laurence Litzenberg ( January 8 , 1903 - June 27 , 1963 ) was a decorated Lieutenant General in the United States Marine Corps , serving in Haiti , World War II , and the Korean War . His final rank was awarded at his retirement for valor in battle . He retired from the post of Inspector General of the Marine Corps on May 31 , 1959 , after more than 37 years of service . Litzenberg is best known for commanding the 7th Marine Regiment during the Battle of Chosin Reservoir . Biography . Early years . Litzenberg was born in 1903 in Steelton , Pennsylvania . He graduated from high school in Philadelphia and served two years in the Pennsylvania National Guard . Litzenberg began his Marine Corps career as an enlisted Marine , graduating from the Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island in 1922 as a private . After a tour of duty in Haiti , he was commissioned a Second Lieutenant on February 19 , 1925 . He served in expeditionary duty in Nicaragua in 1928 and 1929 ; and with Marine Detachments aboard the , , , and . He graduated from the U . S . Army Infantry School at Fort Benning , Georgia in 1933 , and subsequently served for two years as Advisor - Instructor of a Marine Reserve battalion in Philadelphia . He then spent two years in Guam as Aide to the Governor , Head of the Police Department , and Inspector - Instructor of the Guam Militia . From 1938 to 1943 , and again from September 1944 to May 1946 , he served in Washington , D . C . in the War Plans Sections of the offices of the Chief of Naval Operations , the Commander in Chief , United States Fleet , and the Joint Chiefs of Staff . World War II . At the beginning of World War II , Major Litzenberg was assigned to Headquarters , Commander in Chief , U . S . Fleet , and served in England during combined planning with the British on the conduct of the war . He also participated in the amphibious assault on Casablanca , French Morocco in November 1942 . After his return to the United States , General Litzenberg organized and commanded the 3rd Battalion , 24th Marines , 4th Marine Division . He later served as regimental executive officer during the assault on Roi - Namur , Kwajalein Atoll , Marshall Islands , where he earned his first Silver Star . In March 1944 , he joined the Fifth Amphibious Corps as Assistant Operations Officer , and participated in the Battle of Saipan and Battle of Tinian . Korean War . In June 1946 , the general was assigned to the Staff of Commander , Seventh Fleet , and served as Seventh Fleet Liaison Officer with General of the Army George C . Marshall and the Chinese Ministry of Defense in Nanking , China , until February 1947 , when he became Plans Officer and Marine Officer on the Staff of Commander , Naval Forces Western Pacific . He returned to Washington in August 1948 to attend the National War College , and in May 1949 was named Commanding Officer of the 6th Marine Regiment , 2nd Marine Division , at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune , North Carolina . At Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton , California , on August 17 , 1950 , he formed and assumed command of the 7th Marine Regiment which sailed for duty in Korea on September 1 , 1950 . While in Korea , Litzenberg ' s 7th Marines took part in the Battle of Inchon and the Battle of Chosin Reservoir for which he was awarded the Navy Cross . Post - war years . General Litzenberg returned to the United States in April 1951 , and was assigned duties at Marine Corps Headquarters , Washington . In December of the same year he was named Legal Aide and Legislative Counsel to the Commandant . Later he served as Director of the Marine Corps Development Center at Quantico , Virginia ; as Assistant Division Commander , 3rd Marine Division , in Japan ; and as Assistant to the Force Commander , Fleet Marine Force , Atlantic . In October 1954 he was named Inspector General of the Marine Corps , and held this post at Headquarters Marine Corps , Washington , for thirteen months . The general served next as Commanding General , Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune , North Carolina , from December 1 , 1955 until May 11 , 1956 , and then as Commanding General , Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island , South Carolina , from May 12 , 1956 until March 15 , 1957 , when he returned to Korea . There , he served as Senior Member of the United Nations Command component of the Military Armistice Commission , negotiating with the Communists at Panmunjom . On his return from Korea , he was assigned his last tour of duty at Headquarters Marine Corps on December 7 , 1957 as Inspector General of the Marine Corps , serving in this capacity until his retirement on May 31 , 1959 . General Litzenberg completed the following service schools : Marine Corps Basic School , 1925 ; Infantry School , Fort Benning , Georgia , 1933 ; Command and General Staff School , Fort Leavenworth , Kansas , 1938 ; and the National War College , 1949 . His various ranks and the dates on which he was promoted are : Second Lieutenant , February 1925 ; First Lieutenant , March 1931 ; Captain , March 1936 ; Major , June 1940 ; Lieutenant Colonel , May 1942 ; Colonel , May 1944 ; Brigadier General , July 1 , 1951 ; Major General , July 1 , 1954 ( Date of rank - July 1 , 1951 ) ; and Lieutenant General on the Retired List , May 31 , 1959 . Litzenberg died on June 27 , 1963 and is buried at Arlington National Cemetery . Awards . Litzenberg ' s decorations include :