Wendell Cushing Neville – Major General, United States Marine Corps

Born on May 12, 1870 in Portsmouth, Virginia, he graduted from the United States Naval Academy in 1890.

After two years at sea, he was commissioned a Second Lieutenant, USMC, July 1892. Promoted to First Lieutenant in February 1994. He took part in the Spanish-American War and played a role in the landings at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba in June 1898 and the establishment of Camp McCalla there.

He was promoted to Captain in March 1899 and led a company of the 4th Marine Battalion under Major William Biddle in the Peking Relief Column during the Boxer Rebellion in August-October 1900.

He was then ordered to the Philippines where he was military governor of Basilan Province, 1901-02. He was promoted to Major in 1904 and during 1905-06 he was a fleet Marine officer, Atlantic.

When political unrest in Cuba called for armed intervention by the United States, he commanded a battalion, part of Colonel Littleton W. T. Waller’s Brigade, that took Havana on October 1, 1906. In 1909-10, he commanded a battalion in Nicaragua and, after promotion to Lieutenant Colonel in February 1914, commanded the 2nd Marine Regiment in the capture of Vera Cruz, Mexico, in April 1914, winning the Medal of Honor. In 1915-17, he was in command of the Marine Guard at the US Legation, Peking, China, receiving promotion to Colonel in August 1916.

In Decemebr 1917, he was sent to France to command the 5th Marine Regiment in World War I. He led the 5th, a unit of the United States Army’s 2nd Division, in Aisne-Marne action, at Chateau-Thierry and at Belleau Wood. In July 1918, he moved up to command of the 4th Marine Brigade, comprised of 5th and 6th Marine Regiments and saw further action at Soissons, in the St. Mihiel and Blanc Mont operations and Meuse-Argonne offensive.

After occuption duty, he returned to the United States as a Brigadier General in 1919. He was promoted to Major General in December 1923 and was named commander of Fleet Marine Force, United States Fleet, and in March 1927 took command of the Marine Barracks, Quantico, Virginia. In 1929, he succeeded John A. Lejeune as Commandant of the Marine Corps.

He died on July 8, 1932 in Edgewater, Florida, and was buried in Section 6 of Arlington National Cemetery.

NEVILLE, FRANCES A H W/O W C

• DATE OF DEATH: 12/04/1927
• DATE OF INTERMENT: Unknown
• BURIED AT: ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY
• WIFE OF WC NEVILLE – MAJ GENJ USMC

NEVILLE, WENDELL C
MAJOR GEN COMM US MARINE CORPS

• VETERAN SERVICE DATES: Unknown
• DATE OF DEATH: 07/08/1930
• DATE OF INTERMENT: 07/11/1950
• BURIED AT: SECTION 6  SITE LOT 8409
• ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY

Michael Robert Patterson

Michael Robert Patterson was born in Arlington and is the son of a former officer of the US Army. So it was no wonder that sooner or later his interests drew him to American history and especially to American military history. Many of his articles can be found on renowned portals like the New York Times, Washingtonpost or Wikipedia.

Reviewed by: Michael Howard