Vernon E. Megee

Infobox Military Person
name= Vernon E. Megee
born= 1900
died= death year and age|1992|1900
placeofbirth= Tulsa, Oklahoma
placeofdeath= Albuquerque, New Mexico
placeofburial= Arlington National Cemetery


caption= General Vernon Megee
nickname=
allegiance= United States of America
branch= United States Marine Corps
serviceyears= 1919-1959
rank= General
commands=
unit=
battles=World War II
awards=Legion of Merit with V device Bronze Starwith V device
laterwork=Superintendent, Marine Military Academy

Vernon Edgar Megee was a United States Marine Corps four star general. Megee was promoted to four stars upon retirement as a "tombstone general".

Biography

Megee was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma on June 5, 1900. After attending Oklahoma A&M College from 1917 to 1919, he enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1919, and spent the next two years stationed at Paris Island. In 1921 he was selected for Officer Candidate School and upon graduation was commissioned a second lieutenant in 1922. For the next several years he held many positions in Marine forces stationed abroad, including tours of duty in Haiti, Nicaragua and China. In 1931 he qualified as a naval aviator, and was assigned to San Diego.

From 1940 to 1943 Megee was a member of the U.S. Naval Aviation mission to Peru. He later served as commander, Third Marine Aircraft Wing in the Pacific and participated in the Iwo Jima and Okinawa campaigns. After the war he became an instructor at the National War College, and was promoted to Brigadier general in December 1946. Megee finished his bachelor degree with Oklahoma A&M in 1950, then served in a variety of positions in the Department of Defense and held several commands Marine Corps Air Station, Cherry Point Commanding General, Aircraft, Fleet Marine Force, Pacific, First Marine Aircraft Wing, and Commanding General, Aircraft, Fleet Marine Force, Atlantic. He was promoted to Lieutenant General in January 1956 and from 1956 to 1957 he was assistant commandant and chief of staff of the Marine Corps.

Megee retired from the Marine Corps in November 1959 and settled at Austin, Texas. He returned to graduate school at the University of Texas, earning his Master of Arts degree in 1963, and then helped organize the Marine Military Academy at Harlingen, Texas, where he served as Superintendent and President of the Board of Trustees from 1964 to 1988. He was a member of the National Rifle Association and wrote numerous articles on firearms for various sporting magazines. Megee died in Albuquerque, New Mexico on January 14, 1992 and was buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

Awards and decorations

His awards and decorations included the Distinguished Service Medal, the Legion of Merit with Combat "V", the Navy and Marine Corps Medal, the Bronze Star with Combat "V", the Navy Unit Commendation with one bronze star in lieu of a second award, the Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal, the Expeditionary Medal with one bronze star, the Second Nicaraguan Campaign Medal, the Yangtze Service Medal, the American Defense Service Medal with Base clasp, the American Campaign Medal, the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with three bronze stars, the World War II Victory Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Korean Service Medal with two bronze stars, the United Nations Service Medal, the Peruvian Aviation Cross, First Class, the Korean Order of Military Merit Taiguk with Silver Star, the Korean Presidential Unit Citation, and the Philippine Liberation Ribbon

ee also

References

* [http://www.eisenhower.utexas.edu/listofholdingshtml/listofholdingsM/MegeeVernonPapers191992.pdf Vernon Megee papers, University of Texas]
* [http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/vemegee.htm Arlingtoncemetery.net entry]
* [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E0CE6DB123FF93AA25752C0A964958260 NY Times obituary]
* [http://www.mclm.com/tohonor/vemegee.html Marine Corps Legacy Museum article]

External links

* [http://www.eisenhower.archives.gov/listofholdingshtml/finding_aids_m.html Papers of Vernon E. Megee, Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library]