Word Celebrity Blog

David Monroe Shoup


























Early years

David Monroe Shoup was born December 30, 1904, at Battle Ground, Indiana. He was a 1926 graduate of DePauw University, Greecastle, Indiana, and a member of the Reserve Officers Training Corps at the University. He served for a month as a second lieutenant in the Army Infantry Reserve before he was commissioned a Marine second lieutenant on July 20, 1926.

He was ordered to Marine Officers Basic School at the Philadelphia Navy Yard, Lieutenant Shoup's instruction was interrupted twice by temporary duty elsewhere in the United States, and by expeditionary duty with the Sixth Marines in Tientsin, China. After serving in China during most of 1927, he completed Basic School in 1928. He then served at Quantico, Virginia; Pensacola, Florida; and San Diego, California.

From June 1929 to September 1931, Lieutenant Shoup was assigned to the Marine detachment aboard the USS MARYLAND. By coincidence, the USS MARYLAND was the flagship for the assault on Tarawa 12 years later -- providing emergency Naval gunfire support with her 16-inch guns early on D-Day. On his return from sea duty, he served as a company officer at the Marine Corps Base (later Marine Corps Recruit Depot), San Diego, until May 1932 when he was ordered to the Puget Sound Navy Yard, Bremerton, Washington. He was promoted to first lieutenant in June 1932.

Lieutenant Shoup later served on temporary duty with the Civilian Conservation Corps in Idaho and New Jersey form June 1933 to May 1934. Following duty in Seattle, Washington, he was again ordered to China in November 1934, serving briefly with the Fourth Marines in Shanghai, and, subsequently, at the American Legation in Peiping. He returned to the United States, via Japan, early in June 1936 and was again stationed at the Puget Sound Navy Yard. He was promoted to captain in October 1936.

Captain Shoup entered the Junior Course, Marine Corps Schools, Quantico, in July 1937. On completing the course in May 1938, he served as an instructor for two years. In June 1940, he joined the Sixth Marines in San Diego. He was promoted to major in April 1941.

One month later, Major Shoup was ordered to Iceland with the Sixth Marines and, after serving as Regimental Operations Officer, became Operations Officer of the 1st Marine Brigade in Iceland in October 1941. For his service in Iceland during the first three months after the United States entered World War II, he was awarded the Letter of Commendation with Commendation Ribbon. He assumed command of the 2d Battalion, Sixth Marines, in February 1942.

On returning to the States in March, the 1st Marine Brigade was disbanded and he returned with this battalion to San Diego. In July 1942, he became Assistant Operations and Training Officer of the 2d Marine Division. He was promoted to lieutenant colonel in August 1942.

Sailing from San Diego aboard the USS MATSONIA in September 1942, Lieutenant Colonel Shoup arrived at Wellington, New Zealand, later that month. From then until November 1943, he served as G-3, Operations and Training Officer of the 2d Marine Division during its training period in New Zealand. His service in this capacity during the planning of the assault on Tarawa earned him his first Legion of Merit with Combat "V". During this period he also served briefly as an observer with the 1st Marine Division on Guadalcanal in October 1942 and with the 43d Army Division on Rendova, New Georgia, in the summer of 1943, earning a Purple Heart in the latter operation.


Colonel David M. Shoup, USMC






















Promoted to colonel November 9, 1943, Colonel Shoup was placed in command of the Second Marines (Reinforced), the spearhead of the assault on Tarawa. During this action he earned the Medal of Honor as well as a second Purple Heart.

An excerpt from the field notebook Colonel David Shoup carried during the battle of Tarawa reveals a few aspects of the personality of its enigmatic author: "If you are qualified, fate has a way of getting you to the right place at the right time -- tho sometimes it appears to be a long, long wait." For Shoup, the former farm boy from Battle Ground, Indiana, the combination of time and place worked to his benefit on two momentous occasions, at Tarawa in 1943.



























Col. David Monroe Shoup, center, with map case, confers with Maj. Thomas Culhane




Colonel Shoup was 38 at the time of Tarawa, and he had been a Marine officer since 1926. Unlike such colorful contemporaries as Merritt Edson and Evans Carlson, Shoup had limited prior experience as a commander and only brief exposure to combat. Then came Tarawa, where Shoup, the junior colonel in the 2d Marine Division, commanded eight battalion landing teams in some of the most savage fighting of the war.

Time correspondent Robert Sherrod recorded his first impression of Shoup enroute to Betio: "He was an interesting character, this Colonel Shoup. A squat, red-faced man with a bull neck, a hard boiled, profane shouter of orders, he would carry the biggest burden on Tarawa." Another contemporary described Shoup as "a Marine's Marine," a leader the troops "could go to the well with."

First Sergeant Edward G. Doughman, who served with Shoup in China and in the Division Operations section, described him as "the brainiest, nerviest, best soldiering Marine I ever met." It is no coincidence that Shoup also was considered the most formidable poker player in the division, a man with eyes "like two burn holes in a blanket."

In December 1943, he became Chief of Staff of the 2d Marine Division. For outstanding service in this capacity from June to August 1944, during the battles for Saipan and Tinian, he was again awarded the Legion of Merit with Combat "V". He returned to the United States in October 1944.

On his return to the States Colonel Shoup served as Logistics Officer, Division of Plans and Policies, Headquarters Marine Corps. He was again ordered overseas in June 1947. Two months later he became Commanding Officer, Service Command, Fleet Marine Force, Pacific. In June 1949, he joined the 1st Marine Division at Camp Pendleton as Division Chief of Staff. During this time, he appeared as himself in the film Sands of Iwo Jima that was filmed at Camp Pendleton.

A year later he was transferred to Quantico where he served as Commanding Officer of the Basic School from July 1950 until April 1952. He was then assigned to the Office of the Fiscal Director, Headquarters Marine Corps, serving as Assistant Fiscal Director. He was promoted brigadier general in April 1953.

On his return to the States, Col Shoup served as Logistics Officer, Division of Plans and Policies, Headquarters Marine Corps. He was again ordered overseas in June 1947. Two months later he became Commanding Officer, Service Command, Fleet Marine Force (FMF), Pacific. In June 1949, he joined the 1st Marine Division at Camp Pendleton as Division Chief of Staff.


























In July 1953, General Shoup was named Fiscal Director of the Marine Corps. While serving in this capacity, he was promoted to major general in September 1955. Subsequently, in May 1956, he began a brief assignment as Inspector General for Recruit Training. Following this, he served as Inspector General of the Marine Corps from September 1956 until May 1957. He returned to Camp Pendleton in June 1957 to become Commanding General of the 1st Marine Division.

General Shoup joined the 3d Marine Division on Okinawa in March 1958 as Commanding General. Following his return to the States, he served as Commanding General of the Marine Corps Recruit Depot, Parris Island, from May to October 1959. On November 2, 1959, he was promoted to lieutenant general and assigned duties as Chief of Staff, Headquarters Marine Corps.

General Shoup was nominated by President Dwight D. Eisenhower on August 12, 1959 to be the 22d Commandant of the Marine Corps, and his nomination for a four-year term was confirmed by the Senate. Upon assuming his post as Commandant of the Marine Corps on January 1, 1960, he was promoted to four-star rank.

Major General Shoup was selected to become commandant over more qualified lieutenant generals, the ulterior motive (thought by some marines) of President Eisenhower was to downsize the Marine Corps.

David Shoup had joined the Corps after passing through Army ROTC, and the President believed that the Major General would be sympathetic to his belief that the Marine Corps should be restricted to units no larger than regiments. By the time President Eisenhower left office in 1961 he had submitted a budget for a Marine Corps of three divisions and three air wings, numbering a total of 175,000 personnel. General Shoup had managed to reverse President Eisenhower’s opinion of the value of the Marine Corps.

His time in office saw the beginning of limited operations in Vietnam with Marine helicopter units flying from Soc Trang, an abandoned airstrip south of Saigon.

In late 1961, Shoup criticized the first SIOP nuclear war plan as un-American, specifically the plan to attack mainland China with nuclear weapons in the event of a war with the USSR, regardless of whether the Chinese were involved.


Post-military

General Shoup retired to Arlington, Virginia, in 1963.

On January 21, 1964, shortly after his retirement, General Shoup was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal by President Lyndon B. Johnson for exceptionally meritorious service as Commandant of the Marine Corps.

After his retirement, Shoup became an outspoken critic of the Vietnam War. He publicly supported the Vietnam Veterans Against the War (VVAW) VVAW by 1971.  In May 1966, he said about the building war in Vietnam: “I believe if we had, and would, keep our dirty, bloody, dollar-crooked fingers out of the business of these nations so full of depressed, exploited people, they will arrive at a solution of their own. That they design and want. That they fight and work for... and not the American style, which they don't want. Not one crammed down their throats by the Americans.     ”

This statement ties back to an assessment made by Shoup that "in every case... every senior officer that I knew... said we should never send ground forces into Southeast Asia."

General Shoup died on January 13, 1983 after a long illness and was buried in Arlington National Cemetery.


























The Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS Shoup (DDG-86) was named for General Shoup in 1999.

In 2009, the Indiana War Memorial renamed a meeting room in honor of General Shoup.



Honors And Decorations -


























Medal of Honor Citation
Rank and organization: Colonel, U.S. Marine Corps, commanding officer of all Marine Corps troops on Betio Island, Tarawa Atoll, and Gilbert Islands, from 20 to November 22, 1943.

The President of the United States takes pride in presenting the MEDAL OF HONOR to

COLONEL DAVID M. SHOUP
UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS

For service as set forth in the following CITATION:

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty as commanding officer of all Marine Corps troops in action against enemy Japanese forces on Betio Island, Tarawa Atoll, Gilbert Islands, from 20 to November 22, 1943. Although severely shocked by an exploding enemy shell soon after landing at the pier and suffering from a serious, painful leg wound which had become infected, Col. Shoup fearlessly exposed himself to the terrific and relentless artillery, machine gun, and rifle fire from hostile shore emplacements. Rallying his hesitant troops by his own inspiring heroism, he gallantly led them across the fringing reefs to charge the heavily fortified island and reinforce our hard- pressed, thinly held lines.

Upon arrival on shore, he assumed command of all landedtroops and, working without rest under constant, withering enemy fire during the next 2 days, conducted smashing attacks against unbelievably strong and fanatically defended Japanese positions despite innumerable obstacles and heavy casualties. By his brilliant leadership daring tactics, and selfless devotion to duty, Col. Shoup was largely responsible for the final decisive defeat of the enemy, and his indomitable fighting spirit reflects great credit upon the U.S. Naval Service.

A complete list of the general's medals and decorations includes:

The Medal of Honor, the Distinguished Service Medal,
The Legion of Merit with Combat "V" and Gold Star in lieu of a second award,
The Letter of Commendation with Commendation Ribbon, the Purple Heart with Gold Star in lieu of a second award,
The Presidential Unit Citation, the Yangtze Service Medal, The Expeditionary Medal,
The American Defense Service Medal with Base clasp,
The European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal,
The Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with four bronze stars,
The American Campaign Medal,
The World War II Victory Medal,
The National Defense Service Medal,
The British Distinguished Service Order.




















DAVID M. SHOUP DEAD AT 78


EX-COMMANDANT OF MARINE CORPS

WASHINGTON, January 16, 1983 – General David M. Shoup, a retired Commandant of the Marine Corps, a World War II hero and early, outspoken critic of United States involvement in the Vietnam War, died Thursday of a heart ailment at the Circle Terrace Hospital in Alexandria, Virginia.  He was 78 years old and lived in Alexandria.

























General Shoup, who won the Medal of Honor for gallantry at Tarawa in the Pacific, said he believed the extensive buildup of American forces in Vietnam was unjustified.  He called President Johnson’s contention that the Vietnam War was vital to United States interest “pure, unadulterated poppycock.”

In 1966, three years after his retirement from the Marine Corps, General Shoup told students of Pierce College in Los Angeles that he did not think “as related to the present and future safety of this country” that “the whole of Southeast Asia was worth a single American life.”

“People keep honking about four Presidents having made commitments,” he said in an interview in 1968.  “We never made commitments, legal or otherwise, to furnish combat-type forces to anyone.”

General Shoup, a short, chunky man who had a quiet, matter-of-fact way of speaking, was named Commandant of the Marine Corps in 1959 after 33 years in the service.

General Shoup’s appointment by President Eisenhower caused bitterness among ranking Corps officers.  He was advanced over nine other officers, including three lieutenant generals, all of whom immediately applied for retirement.

In 1962, testifying before a special preparedness subcommittee of the Senate formed to investigate anti-Communist indoctrination in the armed forces, General Shoup criticized the panel for sending investigators to question enlisted Marines.  The Marine Corps should not be teaching hate, he said; it should be teaching men how to defend themselves and their country.

Among his first actions as head of the Marine Corps was to end the use of swagger sticks “except for those who need them.”  They promptly disappeared.  He also ended the traditional practice of escorting Marines convicted by a court-martial off the post with drummers playing the death march.

In command of the Marines in the attack on Japanese-held Beito Island of Tarawa, November 20-22, 1943, then-Colonel Shoup earned the highest military honor for valor.

On the first night of the assault, Colonel Shoup was wounded in the leg by shrapnel, but, according to the citation be received, he “fearlessly exposed himself to the terrific and relentless artillery, machine gun and rifle fire.”

Stranded a half mile down the beach from their landing point, Colonel Shoup rallied his troops and, the citation read, “gallantly led them across the fringing reefs to charge the heavily fortified island and reinforce our hard-pressed, thinly held lines.”

After Tarawa he served through the battles of Saipan and Tinian in the Mariana Islands.David Monroe Shoup was born in Battle Ground, Indiana, on December 30, 1904.  He graduated from DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana, in 1926.

After graduation, he spent a month as a Lieutenant in the United States Army Infantry Reserve and was then transferred to the Marine Corps on June 26, 1926.  He studied at the Basic School for Marine Officers at the Philadelphia Navy Yard, and served several years on the battleship USS Maryland off China.

Later he served as an instructor at the Marine Corps Training and Instructional Center at Quantico, Virginia.

Colonel Shoup was commanding a Marine Detachment in Iceland at the time of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.


ZOLA DeHAVEN SHOUP,

On January 28, 2003. Preceded in death by her husband, General David Monroe Shoup, United States Marine Corps (Retired); Survived by daughter, Carolyn Lamar of North Carolina; brother,

Floyd DeHaven of Indiana; granddaughters, Catherine Chase of New York, Vicky Watkins of North Carolina, Martha Shoup of Colorado; grandson, Kenneth Shoup of Virginia; and great-granddaughter, Becky Watkins of North Carolina.

Funeral services were held on Thursday, February 13, 9 a.m. in Fort Myer Chapel. Interment Arlington National Cemetery.