Alfred M. Gray Jr.

Alfred M. Gray Jr.
Born (1928-06-22) June 22, 1928
Rahway, New Jersey
Allegiance United States
Service/branch United States Marine Corps
Years of service 1950–1991
Rank General
Commands held Commandant of the Marine Corps
Marine Forces Atlantic
II Marine Expeditionary Force
2nd Marine Division
33d Marine Amphibious Unit
4th Marine Regiment
2nd Marine Regiment
1st Battalion, 2nd Marines
1st Radio Battalion
Battles/wars Korean War
Vietnam War
Awards Defense Distinguished Service Medal (2)
Navy Distinguished Service Medal (2)
Army Distinguished Service Medal
Air Force Distinguished Service Medal
Coast Guard Distinguished Service Medal
Silver Star
Legion of Merit (2)
Bronze Star Medal (4)
Purple Heart (3)

Alfred M. Gray Jr. (born June 22, 1928) is a retired United States Marine Corps general who served as the 29th Commandant of the Marine Corps from 1 July 1987 until his retirement on 30 June 1991 after 41 years of service.

Early life and education

Gray was born on June 22, 1928 in Rahway, New Jersey, the son of Emily and Alfred Mason Gray.[1] The family moved to the Jersey Shore community of Point Pleasant Beach.[2] He transferred from Rahway High School to Point Pleasant Beach High School, where he played baseball, basketball and football, graduating as part of the class of 1946.[3]

Gray studied at Lafayette College, and received a Bachelor of Science degree from State University of New York. He has honorary degrees from Lafayette College, Monmouth University, Norwich University, the National Defense Intelligence College, and Franklin University.[4] He married the former Jan Goss of Burlington, Vermont on July 20, 1980.[1][5]

Marine career

Gray enlisted in the United States Marine Corps in 1950. He served overseas with Fleet Marine Force (FMF), Pacific, attaining the rank of sergeant before being commissioned a second lieutenant in April 1952. By definition, serving in the enlisted ranks prior to becoming an officer makes Gray a "mustang," which generally commands more respect in the Corps because of the combination of officer smarts and enlisted practicality. His early tours included service with 11th Marines and 7th Marines, 1st Marine Division in Korea, the 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, and Headquarters Marine Corps, Washington, D.C., during which he saw service in Guantanamo Bay and Vietnam.[6]

As a major, Gray joined the 12th Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division in Vietnam in October 1965, serving concurrently as regimental communications officer, regimental training officer, and artillery aerial observer. He took command of the Composite Artillery Battalion and United States Free World Forces at Gio Linh in April 1967. In September, Gray was reassigned to the III Marine Amphibious Force in Da Nang where he commanded the 1st Radio Battalion elements throughout I Corps until February 1968. Following a brief tour in the United States, he returned to Vietnam from June to September 1969 in conjunction with surveillance and reconnaissance matters in the I Corps area.

After his Vietnam War tour, Gray served as Commanding Officer of the 1st Battalion, 2nd Marines, Battalion Landing Team 1/2; the 2nd Marine Regiment; the 4th Marine Regiment; and Camp Commander of Camp Hansen, Okinawa, Japan. While commanding the 33rd Marine Amphibious Unit and Regimental Landing Team-4, and concurrently serving as Deputy Commander, 9th Marines Amphibious Brigade, Gray directed the Southeast Asia evacuation operations in 1975.

Advanced to brigadier general in March 1976, Gray served as Commanding General, Landing Force Training Command, Atlantic, and the 4th Marine Amphibious Brigade. Promoted to major general in February 1980, he assumed command of the 2nd Marine Division, FMF, Atlantic, Camp Lejueune, North Carolina, in June 1981. Following his promotion to lieutenant general on August 29, 1984, he was reassigned as Commanding General, FMF, Atlantic/Commanding General, II Marine Expeditionary Force, and Commanding General, FMF, Europe. Gray was promoted to general and became Commandant of the Marine Corps on July 1, 1987. His appointment as Commandant of the Marine Corps was recommended by Jim Webb, then Secretary of the Navy.[7]

Gray presided over changes in training in the 1970s with an emphasis on large-scale maneuver in desert and cold-weather environments, and changed Marine doctrine to one of maneuver warfare in the 1980s. This transformation from the Vietnam War-era is sometimes called the second enlightenment of the Marine Corps (the first being under Major General John A. Lejeune), and included development of a robust maritime special operations capability, emphasis on the education of leaders, establishment of Marine Corps University, and development of a long-range desert operations capability. As a reminder that the primary role of every Marine is a rifleman, he had his official photograph taken in the Camouflage Utility Uniform, the only commandant to have done so.

Gray appeared as himself on the Birthday Ball episode of Major Dad, a second-season episode that celebrated the 215th birthday of the Marine Corps. Appearing on 60 Minutes in the 1980s, he addressed the graduating class at the Naval Academy. He summarized the core of leadership—civilian or military, "If you come and join my Marines, I want you to know that your 'number one' job is to take care of the men and women you are privileged to lead."

Namesake

The Marine Corps Base in Quantico, Virginia, is the home of the Alfred M. Gray Research Center. The center houses the Marine Corps Archives and Special Collections, the Quantico Base Library, and the research library for the Marine Corps University, as well a conference center. Since 2004, as part of the Marine Corps Communications Awards Program, The General Alfred M. Gray Trophy is presented annually in honor of the 29th Commandant. The award bears his name due to his contributions to modernization in intelligence and communications. The Marine Corps University Foundation retains overall responsibility for funding the Trophy, and receives a grant from Sprint. A Marine Captain on active duty serving in the military occupational specialty (MOS) 0602 Communications Information Systems Officer within the operating forces or supporting establishment is recognized with the trophy each year at an awards ceremony.[8]

Awards and decorations
Gold star
Gold star
Gold star
Gold star
Bronze star
Bronze star
Bronze star
Bronze star
Defense Distinguished Service Medal w/ 1 bronze oak leaf cluster Navy Distinguished Service Medal w/ 1 gold award star Army Distinguished Service Medal Air Force Distinguished Service Medal
Coast Guard Distinguished Service Medal Silver Star Legion of Merit w/ valor device & 1 award star Bronze Star Medal w/ valor device & 3 award stars
Purple Heart w/ 2 award stars Meritorious Service Medal Joint Service Commendation Medal Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal
Combat Action Ribbon w/ 1 award star Presidential Unit Citation w/ 1 service star Navy Unit Commendation w/ 2 service stars Meritorious Unit Commendation w/ 1 service star
Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal National Defense Service Medal w/ 2 service stars Korea Service Medal w/ 1 service star Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal
Vietnam Service Medal w/ 1 service star Sea Service Deployment Ribbon Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation Vietnam Gallantry Cross unit citation
Vietnam Civil Actions unit citation United Nations Service Medal for Korea Vietnam Campaign Medal Republic of Korea War Service Medal
Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Identification Badge

In 1991, he was awarded the Distinguished Sea Service Award by the Naval Order of the United States.

Post-Marine Corps career

Alfred M. Gray (right) and James F. Amos (left) in June 2012.

Gray serves on the Board of Directors or Board of Advisors of a number of companies, including:[4]

  • American Defense Systems, Inc. (since January 2008)
  • American Public University System – serving as Chairman Emeritus and Member, Board of Trustees,[9]
  • The Columbia Group, a privately held technical services support company that serves the U.S. military.
  • GlobeSecNine, a privately held financial investment firm.
  • Integrity Applications Inc., a privately held information assurance and security company.
  • Potomac Institute for Policy Studies, a non-profit public policy research institute – serving as Senior Fellow and Chairman of the Board of Regents[4]
  • Semper Fi Fund, a nonprofit that provides assistance to wounded and critically ill post-9/11 service members and their families (Chairman of the Board since its inception in 2004)
  • SENSIS Corporation, a privately held commercial and defense radar company (since 2000)[4]
  • SYS Technologies, Inc., an information solution company[4]
  • Norwich University board of trustees.

Gray is a member of the 2nd Marine Division Association, Marine Corps Association, Khe Sanh Veterans, Inc., and the Marine Corps League.

See also

References

 This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Marine Corps.

  1. 1 2 "Nomination of Lieutenant General Alfred M. Gray Jr. To Be Commandant of the Marine Corps". Ronald Reagan Presidential Library. June 16, 1987. Retrieved 2007-05-25.
  2. ↑ Tucker, Spencer C. Persian Gulf War Encyclopedia: A Political, Social, and Military History: A Political, Social, and Military History, p. 175. ABC-CLIO, 2014. ISBN 9781610694162. Accessed November 20, 2017. "Alfred M. Gray Jr. was born on June 22, 1928, at Rahway, New Jersey. Raised in Point Pleasant Beach, New Jersey, he attended Lafayette College but dropped out of school and enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps in 1950."
  3. ↑ General Alfred M. Gray, USMC, Point Pleasant Beach School District. Accessed November 30, 2017. "Alfred Gray graduated in 1946. After transferring from Rahway High School into 10th grade he became one of the most active members of his class."
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 "Profile: Alfred M. Gray, USMC". Forbes. 2008. Archived from the original on 8 December 2008. Retrieved October 26, 2008.
  5. ↑ "Alfred M. Gray". Marquis Who's Who (fee required for BRC). Reproduced in Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Gale, 2008. 2008. Document Number: K2016616305. Archived from the original on January 12, 2001. Retrieved October 26, 2008.
  6. ↑ "General Alfred M. Gray Jr". Who's Who in Marine Corps History. History Division, United States Marine Corps. Retrieved 2010-12-29.
  7. ↑ Cushman, John H. Jr. (June 5, 1987). "Activist General in Line for Top Marine Post". The New York Times. Retrieved March 14, 2009.
  8. ↑ "Marine Corps Order 1650.47" (PDF). Retrieved June 30, 2017.
  9. ↑ "General Alfred M. Gray, (Retired USMC)". American Public University System. 2007-05-08. Archived from the original on 8 December 2008. Retrieved 2008-10-26.

  • "General Alfred M. Gray, Chairman of the Board of Regents at the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies, is Inducted into the Hall of Honor at the National Cryptologic Museum" (Press release). Potomac Institute for Policy Studies. November 25, 2008. Retrieved December 13, 2008.
  • "General Alfred M. Gray – Retired, 29th Commandant of the Marine Corps". United States Marine Corps. Archived from the original on 2011-10-01. Retrieved January 23, 2009.

Further reading

Military offices
Preceded by
Paul X. Kelley		 Commandant of the United States Marine Corps
1987–1991		 Succeeded by
Carl E. Mundy Jr.
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