Roy Stanley Geiger | |
|---|---|
 Lieutenant General Roy S. Geiger, U.S. Marine Corps | |
| 1st Military Governor of Guam | |
| In office July 21, 1944 – August 10, 1944 | |
| Preceded by | Hideyoshi Obata (last Japanese military governors) |
| Succeeded by | Henry Louis Larsen |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1885-01-25)January 25, 1885 |
| Died | January 23, 1947(1947-01-23) (aged 61) |
| Resting place | Arlington National Cemetery |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
| Nickname | "Jiggs"[2] |
| Military career | |
| Allegiance | United States |
| Branch | United States Marine Corps |
| Years of service | 1907–1947 |
| Rank | General |
| Commands | 1st Marine Aircraft Wing I Amphibious Corps III Amphibious Corps Tenth Army Fleet Marine Force, Pacific |
| Battles / wars | |
| Awards | |
Roy Stanley Geiger (January 25, 1885 – January 23, 1947) was aUnited States Marine Corps four-stargeneral who served inWorld War I andWorld War II. In World War II, he became the first Marine Corps general to lead afield army.
Geiger commanded theIII Amphibious Corps in theBattle of Okinawa in 1945 before assuming the command of theU.S. Tenth Army upon the combat death of its commander, Lt. GeneralSimon Bolivar Buckner Jr. Geiger successfully led the Tenth Army until relieved by GeneralJoseph Stilwell.
Geiger was born inMiddleburg, Florida.
Geiger attended Florida State Normal and Industrial College. In 1907, Geiger earned aBachelor of Laws degree fromStetson University College of Law.[3]
Geiger enlisted in the Marine Corps as a private on November 2, 1907, inSt. Paul, Minnesota, and was sent toNaval Station Norfolk for his initial training. Geiger spent most of his enlisted time at theMarine Barracks, Washington, D.C., where he was also promoted to corporal on June 2, 1908. Following a series of professional examinations and the passing of a Naval Medical Board he accepted his commission as asecond lieutenant on February 5, 1909.[4]
Following attendance at the Marine Officers' School atPort Royal, South Carolina, he served as a member of the Marine detachments aboardWisconsin andDelaware. In August 1912, he was assigned toNicaragua, where he participated in the bombardment, assault and capture of the hills called Coyotepe and Barranca. Further foreign shore duty followed in thePhilippines and China with the First Brigade and with the Marine detachment, American Legation,Peking, China, from 1913 to 1916.
In March 1916, Geiger joinedNaval Air Station Pensacola,Florida, as a studentnaval aviator. He successfully completed the course and was designated a naval aviator in June 1917. He was designated Naval Aviator # 49 (Marine Corps Aviator # 5) on June 9, 1917.[5]
Further training followed and in July 1918, he arrived in France. He served with5 Group,Royal Air Force atDunkirk. He commanded a squadron of the First Marine Aviation Force and was attached to the Day Wing,Northern Bombing Group. He was detached to the United States in January 1919. For distinguished service in leading bombing raids against the enemy, he was awarded theNavy Cross.
From December 1919 to January 1921, he was a squadron commander with the Marine Aviation Force attached to the1st Provisional Marine Brigade inHaiti. Upon return to the United States and after duty at the Marine Flying Field, Marine Barracks,MCB Quantico,Virginia, he attendedCommand and General Staff School atFort Leavenworth, Kansas. He graduated in June 1925. Again he went to foreign shore duty, commanding Observation Squadron Two with the First Brigade in Haiti.
In August 1927, he returned to Quantico as a squadron officer and instructor at the Marine Corps Schools, and in May 1928, was assigned to duty in the Aviation Section, Division of Operations and Training, at Marine Corps Headquarters. After attending theU.S. Army War College and graduating in June 1929, he was ordered to Quantico, where he was assigned duty ascommanding officer, Aircraft Squadrons, East Coast Expeditionary Force. He returned to Washington and served as the officer in charge, Marine Corps Aviation from 1931 to 1935, a billet currently held by a lieutenant general that is now known as the deputy commandant for aviation.[6]
In June 1935, he returned to Quantico as commanding officer, Aircraft One,Fleet Marine Force. From June 1939 to March 1941, he was a student at the Senior and the Advanced Courses,Naval War College,Newport, Rhode Island. This was followed with a brief tour of duty in the Office of the Naval Attaché, London.
In April 1941, Geiger made his way from Lisbon to Gibraltar, where he changed from civilian clothes to his military uniform. He had lunch with the governor at Government House, in a visit which lifted British morale in Gibraltar. He was on his way to the Western Desert, as the first U.S. military observer attached to the British 8th Army. In August, he became commanding general,1st Marine Aircraft Wing, Fleet Marine Force, in which capacity he was found upon the United States' entry into World War II.
On September 3, 1942, he was stationed atGuadalcanal to lead theCactus Air Force during the early part of theGuadalcanal campaign. Until November 4, he was commander of the combined Army, Navy and Marines Air Forces stationed here, of which the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing was part. He was awarded aGold Star in lieu of a secondNavy Cross for his service on Guadalcanal.
His citation reads in part,"Despite almost continuous bombardment by enemy aircraft, hostile naval gunfire and shore based artillery, the combined total of Army, Navy and Marine Corps units stationed at Guadalcanal under Major General Geiger's efficiently coordinated command succeeded in shooting down 268 Japanese planes in aerial combat and inflicting damage on a number estimated to be as great ... Sank six enemy vessels, including oneheavy cruiser, possibly sank threedestroyers and one heavy cruiser, and damaged 18 other ships, including one heavy cruiser and fivelight cruisers."
Geiger was recalled toHeadquarters Marine Corps in May 1943, to become theDirector of Aviation. In November 1943, he returned to the field, this time as commanding general of theI Amphibious Corps and led the corps from November 9, to December 15, 1943, in theBattle of Bougainville, for which he was awarded theDistinguished Service Medal.
RedesignatedIII Amphibious Corps in April 1944, he led this organization in the invasion and subsequentrecapture of Guam during July and August 1944, and in the assault and capture of the southernPalau Islands in September and October of the same year. For those operations he was awarded two Gold Stars in lieu of a second and third Distinguished Service Medal.
Geiger led this corps into action for the fourth time as part of theTenth Army in the invasion and capture ofOkinawa. On June 18, 1945, Geiger assumed command of the Tenth Army following the death in combat of Lt. GeneralSimon Bolivar Buckner Jr. for the final five days of the battle. He was relieved by GeneralJoseph Stilwell. To this day, Geiger remains the only Marine Corps officer to have ever held command of afield army.[7][8] Geiger was appointed commanding general of theFleet Marine Force, Pacific in July 1945 and was promoted tolieutenant general.[9] Geiger was the only Marine Corps representative at thesurrender of Japan aboard theUSS Missouri (BB-63) on September 2, 1945.[7]
He returned to Washington, D.C., andPensacola, Florida, in September and October 1945 before resuming his duties.[10] Geiger was transferred to Headquarters, U.S. Marine Corps in November 1946.[11][12]
Geiger was promoted tofour-star general posthumously by the 80th Congress to be effective from January 23, 1947.[13]
Geiger's military decorations and awards include:
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| Naval Aviator Badge | |||||||||||
| Navy Cross w/ one5⁄16" Gold Star | Navy Distinguished Service Medal w/ two5⁄16" Gold Stars | Army Distinguished Service Medal | |||||||||
| Navy Presidential Unit Citation w/ one3⁄16" Bronze Star | Marine Corps Expeditionary Medal w/ two3⁄16" Bronze Stars | Nicaraguan Campaign Medal (1912) | World War I Victory Medal w/ Ypres-Lys, France 1918,clasps (two3⁄16" Bronze Stars) | ||||||||
| Haitian Campaign Medal (1921) | Nicaraguan Campaign Medal (1933) | American Defense Service Medal w/ "Base" clasp (one3⁄16" Bronze Star) | American Campaign Medal | ||||||||
| Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal w/ one3⁄16" Silver Star | World War II Victory Medal | DominicanOrder of Military Merit Combat Division 1st Class | NicaraguanMedal of Distinction and Diploma | ||||||||
For his part in the action on Okinawa he was awarded theArmy Distinguished Service Medal. His citation reads in part:
While Geiger was inPensacola, Florida, he met Eunice Renshaw Thompson,[17] who became his wife, Eunice Renshaw Geiger. They had two children, Roy and Joyce.[18][19]
Geiger's daughter Joyce Geiger Johnson (1918–2011) trained to become a member of the U.S. Olympic swim team, but pneumonia prevented her from making it to the1936 Summer Olympics. She was a Red Cross Chairman inQuantico, Virginia. She also became a field director of theGirl Scouts.[19]
Geiger's son was Roy Stanley Geiger Jr. (1920–2014), who was an Army colonel.[14][18]
Following a short visit to his home inPensacola, Florida, Geiger was admitted toBethesda Naval Hospital. On January 23, 1947, Geiger died of complications fromlung cancer inBethesda, Maryland.[20]
Geiger is buried atArlington National Cemetery, inArlington, Virginia.[21]
| Military offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Officer in Charge, Aviation November 6, 1931 – May 29, 1935 First term | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Commanding Officer of the1st Marine Aircraft Wing August 20, 1941 – April 21, 1943 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Director of Aviation May 13, 1943 – October 15, 1943 Second term | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by Restored Title last held byGeorge McMillin | Governor of Guam July 21 – August 10, 1944 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Commanding General of theTenth United States Army 1945 | Succeeded by |
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This article incorporatespublic domain material from websites or documents of theUnited States Marine Corps.
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