The Greatest of All Leathernecks

His father insisted he learned the exploits of Nathan Bedford Forrest, under whom John’s uncle had served and died, and his father’s hero Robert E. Lee. Lee’s published early recollections were a bedside favorite of Ovide’s to read to young John. Ironically, Lejeune would follow Lee’s footsteps in retirement after his Marine Corps career in moving to Lexington, Virginia, and taking on the superintendence of the other school in town, the Virginia Military Institute.

A review of The Greatest of All Leathernecks (LSU Press, 2019) by Joseph Simon.

Anyone who has spent any amount of time in eastern North Carolina along the Atlantic shore or was blessed to wear the insignia of the United States Marines is well-aware of the name John A. Lejeune.  In this biography by Joseph Simon we are introduced to the history, background, and legacy surrounding the man who made the modern Marine Corps. The work follows a largely chronological pattern from Lejeune’s time growing up on a post-war plantation in Reconstruction ravaged Louisiana in the 1860’s and 1870’s to his days in the Great War and later time as Commandant where he would change not only the Marines and their place in American life, but the entire United States military for a generation. To give an example, if you have ever seen a recruiting poster with a hard-looking Marine, or a television commercial advocating “the Few, the Proud, the Marines” you can thank Lejeune. His effect was wide-ranging and profound. Lejune’s early childhood on the shores of the Mississippi River shaped who he would become as he brought victory at Blanc Mont and re-organized the Marine Corps from sea-going bellhops to the most elite amphibious force the world has ever seen.

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