Tombstone Generals
The Act of Congress of March 4, 1925, allowed officers in the Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard to be promoted one grade upon retirement if they had been specially commended for performance of duty in actual combat. Combat citation promotions were colloquially known as "tombstone promotions" because they conferred all the perks and prestige of the higher rank including the loftier title on their tombstones but no additional retirement pay. The Act of Congress of February 23, 1942, enabled tombstone promotions to three- and four-star grades. Tombstone promotions were subsequently restricted to citations issued before January 1, 1947, and finally eliminated altogether effective November 1, 1959. The practice was terminated in an effort to encourage senior officer retirements prior to the effective date of the change to relieve an overstrength in the senior ranks.
Any general who actually served in a grade while on active duty receives precedence on the retirement list over any tombstone general holding the same retired grade. Tombstone generals rank among each other according to the dates of their highest active duty grade.
The following list of tombstone generals is sortable by last name, date of rank as lieutenant general, date retired, and year commissioned.
| Name | Date of rank (LGEN) | Date retired | Commission | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | holcomb !Thomas Holcomb | 1942-01-20 !20 Jan 1942 | 1944-01-00 !Jan 1944 | 1900 (OCS) | (1879–1965) U.S. Minister to South Africa, 1944–1948. |
| 2 | smithholland !Holland M. Smith | 1944-02-28 !28 Feb 1944 | 1946-05-00 !May 1946 | 1905 (OCS) | (1882–1967) |
| 3 | schmidt !Harry Schmidt | 1946-03-01 !01 Mar 1946 | 1948-07-00 !Jul 1948 | 1909 (OCS) | (1886–1968) |
| 4 | turnage !Allen H. Turnage | 1946-10-04 !04 Oct 1946 | 1948-01-00 !Jan 1948 | 1913 (OCS) | (1891–1971) |
| 5 | hunt !LeRoy P. Hunt | 1949-07-01 !01 Jul 1949 | 1951-07-00 !Jul 1951 | 1917 (OCS) | (1892–1968) |
| 6 | hart !Franklin A. Hart | 1951-02-22 !22 Feb 1951 | 1952-08-00 !Aug 1952 | 1917 (OCS) | (1894–1967) |
| 7 | erskine !Graves B. Erskine | 1951-07-02 !02 Jul 1951 | 1953-07-00 !Jul 1953 | 1917 (OCS) | (1897–1973) Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Special Operations, 1953–1961. |
| 8 | thomas !Gerald C. Thomas | 1952-03-08 !08 Mar 1952 | 1956-01-00 !Jan 1956 | 1917 (OCS) | (1894–1984) |
| 9 | smitholiver !Oliver P. Smith | 1953-07-23 !23 Jul 1953 | 1955-09-00 !Sep 1955 | 1917 (OCS) | (1893–1977) |
| 10 | brice !William O. Brice | 1953-08-28 !28 Aug 1953 | 1956-00-00 !1956 | 1921 (Citadel) | (1898–1972) |
| 11 | schilt !Christian F. Schilt | 1955-08-01-00 !01 Aug 1955 | 1957-04-00 !Apr 1957 | 1919 (OCS) | (1895–1987) Awarded Medal of Honor, 1928. |
| 12 | noble !Alfred H. Noble | 1955-08-01-01 !01 Aug 1955 | 1956-11-00 !Nov 1956 | 1917 (OCS) | (1894–1983) |
| 13 | megee !Vernon E. Megee | 1956-01-01-00 !01 Jan 1956 | 1959-11-00-00 !Nov 1959 | 1922 (OCS) | (1900–1992) |
| 14 | pollock !Edwin A. Pollock | 1956-01-01-01 !01 Jan 1956 | 1959-11-00-01 !Nov 1959 | 1921 (Citadel) | (1899–1982) |
| 15 | twining !Merrill B. Twining | 1956-09-12 !12 Sep 1956 | 1959-10-00 !Oct 1959 | 1923 (USNA) | (1902–1996) Brother of Air Force General Nathan F. Twining. |
| 16 | robinson !Ray A. Robinson | 1956-11-01 !01 Nov 1956 | 1957-11-00 !Nov 1957 | 1917 (OCS) | (1896–1976) |
| 17 | hogaboom !Robert E. Hogaboom | 1957-12-01 !01 Dec 1957 | 1959-10-00 !Oct 1959 | 1925 (USNA) | (1902–1993) |
Read more about this topic: United States Marine Corps Generals
Famous quotes containing the words tombstone and/or generals:
“Publicity in women is detestable. Anonymity runs in their blood. The desire to be veiled still possesses them. They are not even now as concerned about the health of their fame as men are, and, speaking generally, will pass a tombstone or a signpost without feeling an irresistible desire to cut their names on it.”
—Virginia Woolf (1882–1941)
“These semi-traitors [Union generals who were not hostile to slavery] must be watched.—Let us be careful who become army leaders in the reorganized army at the end of this Rebellion. The man who thinks that the perpetuity of slavery is essential to the existence of the Union, is unfit to be trusted. The deadliest enemy the Union has is slavery—in fact, its only enemy.”
—Rutherford Birchard Hayes (1822–1893)