General Thomas Holcomb
17th Commandant of the Marine Corps
1936-1943
"You will be the first officer of the Corps to hold the rank of General - the highest rank in our Armed Forces. I know of no other officer to whom that distinction more fittingly belongs."
- Secretary of the U.S. Navy, 1944On December 1, 1936, (then) Major General Thomas Holcomb was appointed to the office of Major General of the Marine Corps. Continued beyond the mandatory retirement age - by order of the President - and advanced to Lieutenant General on January 20, 1942, Lieutenant General Holcomb became the highest ranking officer ever to command the United States Marine Corps up to that time.
On January 1, 1944, President Franklin D. Roosevelt - pursuant to an act of Congress - advanced Lieutenant General Holcomb one rank on the retired list. He thus became the first U.S. Marine ever to hold the rank of General.
General Holcomb came home to his native New Castle, Delaware in 1964.
In his honor and memory
Semper Fidelis
Erected 1997 by City of New Castle and the U.S. Marine Corps Inspector-Instructor Staff of Wilmington, DE.
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Location. 39° 39.417′ N, 75° 33.867′ W. Marker is in New Castle, Delaware, in New Castle County. Marker can be reached from West 3rd Street. Located at Battery Park, New Castle. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: New Castle DE 19720, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. New Castle and Frenchtown Railroad (about 600 feet away, measured in a direct line); a different marker also named New Castle and Frenchtown Railroad (about 700 feet away); Landing Place of William Penn (about 800 feet away); Gunning Bedford House (approx. 0.2 miles away); Delaware Street Wharf Reconstruction (approx. 0.2 miles away); New Castle Harbor (approx. 0.2 miles away); Crossing the Delaware (approx. 0.2 miles away); Penn's Place (approx. 0.2 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in New Castle.
More about this marker. Attached to flagpole.
Credits. This page was last revised on February 21, 2022. It was originally submitted on July 4, 2012, by Nathan Davidson of Salisbury, Maryland. This page has been viewed 631 times since then and 15 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on July 4, 2012, by Nathan Davidson of Salisbury, Maryland. 3. submitted on February 2, 2022, by Adam Margolis of Mission Viejo, California. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.
