Kentucky Marine: Major General Logan Feland and the Making of the Modern USMC

10. Assistant to the Commandant

153 10 Assistant to the Commandant As the 1920s progressed, the U.S. Marine Corps under Commandant John Lejeune continued to search for its identity. Greatly reduced after the end of World War I, the Corps had difficulty deciding which direction to take. The world situation had changed dramatically. In East Asia, Japan emerged from the war with greater interests and responsibilities in the Pacific, as it assumed control of formerly German-held islands. U.S. Navy War Plan Orange recognized the possibility of a Japanese threat, and in early 1920 Chief of Naval Operations Robert Coontz had recommended that the Marine Corps create an expeditionary force on the West Coast to counter possible Japanese incursions in the Pacific. This expeditionary force, along with a similar one set up at Quantico, Virginia, would carry forward the prewar concept of advanced base forces.1 An emphasis on what became known as amphibious warfare grew fitfully during the 1920s under Commandant Lejeune. He not only supported the Corps’s traditional role on ships and in small war expeditions but also recognized the need to adapt for future amphibious operations. Earl “Pete” Ellis had painted a convincing picture in his Operation Plan 712, “Advanced Base Force Operations in Micronesia,” approved in July 1921. It served as Lejeune’s justification for ordering that “henceforth the Marine Corps would use it to guide war planning, field exercises, equipment development, and officer education.”2 Those tasks devolved to the Division of Operations and Training (DOT), commanded by Brigadier General Logan Feland. Soon after returning from Santo Domingo to take up his DOT posi- 154 KENTUCKY MARINE tion, Feland had spoken up about the need for combined maneuvers involving the U.S. Army, the U.S. Navy, and the U.S. Marine Corps. Under his guidance, the DOT oversaw training and war planning, and Feland ordered Julius Turrill, Henry Larsen, and Dion Williams to prepare for combined maneuvers at Culebra. He asked them to prepare memoranda addressing various issues, such as proper training for the evolving expeditionary force, appropriate uniforms, and adequate artillery. These studies intensified after Feland became Assistant to the Commandant in 1923.3 Hence, Feland advocated early, proper training for the evolving Marine Corps role. Feland also recognized the continuing need to be part of the navy. After training exercises in the Caribbean in 1924, Feland wrote a brief article for Leatherneck magazine, reminding Marines of their historical ties to the navy. Noting that in many places where Marines served the U.S. Navy presence remained slight, Feland chided that sometimes Marines are “prone to forget that our chief duty is one of cooperation and helpfulness to the Fleet.” He asserted, “We are part of the Navy and our history could never have been made except as a part of the Navy. Our life in the Navy is permanent; every other episode, no matter how striking, is temporary.”4 In supporting the traditional Marine Corps ties to the navy, General Feland echoed the position of Commandant Lejeune. Unlike his friend Smedley Butler, who had developed an intense dislike for navy men, especially Annapolis graduates, Lejeune valued his Naval Academy background . He believed the Marine Corps should draw most if not all of its officers from the Naval Academy, as had been the case when he graduated. In the 1920s Lejeune underscored Marines’ role in support of naval fleets, especially in operations onshore.5 Throughout the 1920s, however, the Marine Corps would be assigned other duties that interfered with progress in strategic directions. One unusual assignment came at the end of 1921. Over the past couple of years there had been several U.S. mail robberies, so Postmaster Will H. Hays asked President Warren Harding to detail Marines to protect the mail trains. On November 7, 1921, Harding forwarded that request to Secretary of the Navy Edwin Denby, who in turn passed it along to Commandant Lejeune. Feland had been on extended leave at his vacation refuge in Pennsylvania since September 16 when, on November 9, he received a Assistant to the Commandant 155 priority message revoking his leave and ordering him to return to Washington immediately.6 It was Feland’s task to put the Marine mail guard into effect. Marines were taken from the expeditionary forces at Quantico and San Diego and assigned to various key locations around the country. Feland drew up special orders for the Marines assigned to guard...