Lieutenant General John Archer Lejeune (luh-jern), 13th Commandant of the Marine Corps, was born at Pointe Coupee, Louisiana, on 10 January 1867.
(Click on the Photo to see the generals entire career/profile)
With the outbreak of World War I, BGen Lejeune assumed command of the newly constructed Marine Barracks, Quantico, Virginia. His overseas service was, however, inevitable, and in June 1918, he arrived at Brest, France. He was promoted to major general 1 July 1918.
Today, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, bears his name and he is often referred to as "the greatest of all Leathernecks," having served more than 40 years with the Marine Corps.
The Marine Corps League takes great pride in crediting its founding in 1923 to World War I hero, then Major General Commandant John Archer Lejeune (See above for the generals career/profile). It takes equal pride in its Federal Charter, approved by An Act of the Seventy-Fifth Congress of the United States of America and signed and approved by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on August 4, 1937. The prime authority of the League is derived from its Congressional charter and from its annual National Convention held each August in different major U.S. cities throughout the nation. Today, the League boasts a growing membership of more than 61,000.
The Marine Corps League (MCL) is the only Federally Chartered Marine Corps related veterans organization in the country. At the national level, it is led by the Board of Trustees which includes an elected Commandant and fourteen (14) elected trustees. The Trustees coordinate the activities of State Departments which, in turn, coordinate the activities of over 900 community-based detachments nationwide. The day-to-day operations of the MCL are supervised by a national Executive Director and headquarters staff.
The Bill King Detachment #019, headquartered at the Stanislaus Veterans Center, established July 1946, is one of the oldest detachments in the Marine Corps League. Detachment #019 is honored to count John D. Serpa (2009), an Honorary Past National Commandant of the Marine Corps League, among our former officers. The Detachment currently has over 60 dues paying and Life members and is an IRS/State of California recognized 501(c)(4) non-profit organization.
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