General John A. Lejeune held which position in Marine Corps history?

• A. 13th Commandant of the Marine Corps
• B. First Commandant of the Marine Corps
• C. Grand Old Man of the Marine Corps
• D. The first Officer to be officially appointed as Commandant

Answer: (A)

The main idea here is understanding Marine Corps leadership succession. General John A. Lejeune served as the Commandant of the Marine Corps, and he held that post as the 13th person to do so, from about 1920 to 1929. This places him in the middle of the interwar period when the Corps was professionalizing after World War I and building its modern structure. He is not the first to hold the title—the first Commandant was Samuel Nicholas—and the nickname “Grand Old Man of the Marine Corps” belongs to a different historic figure, Archibald Henderson, who had the longest tenure as commandant. He also wasn’t the first officer officially appointed as Commandant, since the office existed well before his time. So the position that best fits his place in Marine Corps history is that he was the 13th Commandant.