James Latham Underhill (June 12, 1891 – October 7, 1991) was an officer of the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...

with the rank of

lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was norma ...

, who served as Assistant Division Commander of

4th Marine Division The 4th Marine Division is a reserve division in the United States Marine Corps. It was raised in 1943 for service during World War II, and subsequently fought in the Pacific against the Japanese. Deactivated after the war, the division was re ...

and later as Inspector of the

Fleet Marine Force, Pacific The Fleet Marine Force, Pacific (FMFPAC) is the largest maritime landing force in the world. Its units are spread across the Pacific Ocean and reports to the United States Pacific Command. It is headquartered at Camp H. M. Smith, MCB Camp H. ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Early career

James L. Underhill was born on June 12, 1891, in

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

. After the attending of local schools, he attended the

University of California The University of California (UC) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university, research university system in the U.S. state of California. Headquartered in Oakland, California, Oakland, the system is co ...

and graduated with

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

degree in 1913. Underhill was commissioned second lieutenant in the Marine Corps on August 20, 1913, and his first assignment was with Marine Officers' School at Marine Barracks

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. It had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Virginia, third-most populous city ...

World War II

Colonel Underhill was transferred to the

Headquarters Marine Corps The Headquarters Marine Corps (HQMC) is a headquarters staff within the Department of the Navy which includes the offices of the Commandant of the Marine Corps, the Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps and various staff functions. The funct ...

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, where he was appointed executive officer of the Adjutant and Inspector's Department in July 1939. He served in this capacity until March 1942, when he was appointed commander of the

Marine Corps Base San Diego Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego (MCRD San Diego) is a United States Marine Corps military installation in San Diego, California. It lies between San Diego Bay and Interstate 5, adjacent to San Diego International Airport and the former Nava ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. Underhill was also promoted to the rank of brigadier general on 28 March 1942. One year later, Brigadier General Underhill was transferred to the Command of

Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune ( or ) is a United States Armed Forces, United States military training facility in Jacksonville, North Carolina. Its of beaches make the base a major area for Amphibious warfare, amphibious assault training, an ...

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

. When

was activated in August 1943, Underhill was appointed division assistant commander. He subsequently supervised the training together with the division commander, Major General Harry Schmidt, before it was shipped out to the

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean, or, depending on the definition, to Antarctica in the south, and is bounded by the cont ...

in January 1944. Underhill commanded Preliminary Landing Group during the landing at

Kwajalein Atoll Kwajalein Atoll (; Marshallese language, Marshallese: ) is part of the Marshall Islands, Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI). The southernmost and largest island in the atoll is named Kwajalein Island, which its majority English-speaking re ...

. He landed with

25th Marine Regiment The 25th Marine Regiment (25th Marines) is one of two infantry regiments in the 4th Marine Division of the United States Marine Corps. From its headquarters in Fort Devens, Massachusetts, the regiment commands fifteen training centers in nine sta ...

and coordinated the landings with artillery support. Underhill was succeeded in his capacity of assistant division commander by

Samuel C. Cumming Samuel Calvin Cumming (October 14, 1895 – January 14, 1983) was a highly decorated officer of the United States Marine Corps with the rank of Major general (United States), major general. He is most noted for his service as assistant divis ...

on 11 April 1944. He was promoted to the rank of major general in May 1944 and also decorated with the

Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a Awards and decorations of the United States military, military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievemen ...

for his efforts during the Kwajalein operation. Major General Underhill was subsequently appointed Tinian Island Commander and was responsible for the Island's defense. He served in this capacity until November 1944, when he was appointed deputy commander of

. He served in this capacity until March 1945, when he was appointed inspector of

Postwar career

Underhill returned to the United States and was appointed president of the Postwar Personnel Reorganization Board at

in 1946. This office was tasked with study of the records of all officers, who wanted to stay in the active service. Underhill was responsible for recommendations, who would stay in active service and who would not. He finally retired from the Marine Corps on November 1, 1946. Underhill was also advanced to the rank of

for having been specially commended in combat. After his retirement from the military, he resided in

Carmel, California Carmel-by-the-Sea (), commonly known simply as Carmel, is a city in Monterey County, California, located on the Central Coast of California. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 3,220, down from 3,722 a ...

, and cooperated with the

Defense Language Institute The Defense Language Institute (DLI) is a United States Department of Defense (DoD) educational and research institution consisting of two separate entities which provide linguistic and cultural instruction to the Department of Defense, other f ...

. Underhill died on October 7, 1991, at the age of 100 in

Monterey, California Monterey ( ; ) is a city situated on the southern edge of Monterey Bay, on the Central Coast (California), Central Coast of California. Located in Monterey County, California, Monterey County, the city occupies a land area of and recorded a popu ...

Decorations

Family

Underhill had a sister and two brothers. His older brother Lewis K. Underhill was an Army lawyer and 1913 West Point graduate. His younger brother Robert M. Underhill was a University of California administrator who managed the finances of the secret Los Alamos

Project Y The Los Alamos Laboratory, also known as Project Y, was a secret scientific laboratory established by the Manhattan Project and overseen by the University of California during World War II. It was operated in partnership with the United State ...

site in New Mexico during World War II.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Underhill, James L. 1891 births 1991 deaths Military personnel from San Francisco American men centenarians University of California alumni United States Marine Corps personnel of World War I United States Marine Corps World War II generals American military personnel of the Banana Wars United States Marine Corps generals Recipients of the Legion of Merit Military personnel from Carmel-by-the-Sea, California