Army & Navy: Marines’ Loss

Outside the Marine Corps, beyond the small group of those who watch the careers of great soldiers, Major General Charles Dodson Barrett was little known. In Washington, where he served as head of the Division of Plans & Policies, his name was seldom on the guest lists of the society pages. But within the Corps he was known as a brilliant staff officer and field commander. Many thought him the ablest officer in the Marines.

Last month, without headlines, General Barrett took over one of the Marines’ biggest jobs in the Pacific. Last week he was dead at 58, circumstances unannounced. Said Lieut. General “Tommy” Holcomb, Marine Corps Commandant: “. . . the greatest individual loss the Marine Corps has suffered in my time.”