Biography
Neville was born in Portsmouth, Virginia and entered the Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland, in 1886 chiefly because no one else in his district desired an appointment to Annapolis that year. After graduating in 1890 and following a two-year cruise aboard a warship, as was the practice of the era, was commissioned a Marine Corps second lieutenant.
At the outbreak of the Spanish American War, 2nd Lt. Neville was assigned to the 1st Battalion, hurriedly organized under Lieutenant Colonel Robert W. Huntington for service in Cuba. The battalion staged a daring attack under heavy gunfire at Guantanamo Bay, established a beachhead and routed enemy forces in that area. For outstanding valor and leadership in that action, Lt. Neville was awarded the Brevet Medal, following its' creation in 1921, and was promoted to the brevet rank of captain.
Promoted to the permanent rank of captain a few months after the war, he was assigned to a battalion of Marines ordered to China to relieve the hard-pressed garrison at Peking during the Boxer Rebellion. He took part in four battles in that area and was again commended for his gallantry.
In the Philippine Islands not long afterwards, he was appointed military governor of Basilan Province. Following that assignment he served in Cuba, Nicaragua, Panama and Hawaii.
During the United States occupation of Veracruz, he was in command of the 2nd Advance Base Regiment. While in command of Marines landing at Veracruz, Mexico, on April 21, 1914, he displayed conspicuous gallantry. In that operation, lieutenant colonel Neville was awarded the Medal of Honor for his distinguished conduct.
In 1915, Neville returned to China where he was chosen to command the combined Allied guard at Peking, serving in that position until 1917. He was promoted to colonel in August 1916.
On January 1, 1918, he was placed in command of the 5th Regiment in France and in May moved his regiment into action at Belleau Wood where Germany’s big drive was decisively halted. In July, Neville’s command was enlarged to include the 4th Marine Brigade, which he directed during the remaining days of the war and during its occupation service in Germany. He was promoted to brigadier general in 1919.
After service with the Army of Occupation in Germany, Brig. Gen. Neville and his brigade returned to the United States in July 1919. Promoted to major general in August 1920, he served as Assistant to the Commandant of the Marine Corps and later became Commanding General, Fleet Marine Force with headquarters in San Francisco. He also commanded the Marine Barracks, Quantico, Virginia.
Maj. Gen. Neville succeeded Maj. Gen. John A. Lejeune as Commandant of the Marine Corps on March 5, 1929. Maj. Gen. Neville’s sudden death on July 8, 1930 at Edgewater Beach, Maryland, while in office as Major General Commandant, closed one of the most brilliant military careers of his day.
He was buried in Arlington National Cemetery. His grave can be found in section 6, Lot 8409.
Read more about this topic: Wendell Cushing Neville
Famous quotes containing the word biography:
“In how few words, for instance, the Greeks would have told the story of Abelard and Heloise, making but a sentence of our classical dictionary.... We moderns, on the other hand, collect only the raw materials of biography and history, “memoirs to serve for a history,” which is but materials to serve for a mythology.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“Just how difficult it is to write biography can be reckoned by anybody who sits down and considers just how many people know the real truth about his or her love affairs.”
—Rebecca West (1892–1983)
“There never was a good biography of a good novelist. There couldn’t be. He is too many people, if he’s any good.”
—F. Scott Fitzgerald (1896–1940)