John C. Chapin
Personal Information
Description
Captain John C. Chapin received a Bachelor degree in History from Yale University in 1942 and was commissioned later that year. During World War II he served as a rifle platoon leader in the 24th Marines, 4th Marine Division, and was wounded in action during the assault landings on Roi-Namur and Saipan. He was transferred to duty at the Historical Division, Headquarters Marine Corps, where he wrote the first official histories of the 4th and 5th Marine Divisions. At the end of war, he returned to university and received a M.A. degree in History from George Washington University. After graduating, became a volunteer at the Marine Corps Historical Center where he continued writing about military history. His works include A History of VMFA-115 and Uncommon Men: The Sergeants Major of the Marine Corps.
Books
...And a Few Marines
It was apparently an insignificant event when a few Marine planes flew into a muddy airfield at Tacloban on the island of Leyte in the Philippines on 3 December 1944. All around them were the elements of the massive U.S. Army invasion which had begun on 20 October. Seven infantry divisions and six Army Air Force (AAF) air groups dominated the island scene. It was the start of a major campaign in which Marine aviation would play a major role.
Uncommon Men
Who were these leaders? How did they achieve their position as the Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps - the enlisted man's general? What can we learn from their careers about how the modern Marine Corps works and selects those who guide it? Marine Captain John Chapin provides the answers to these and other questions in Uncommon Men: The Sergeants Major of the Marine Corps. This book is a study of the careers, lives, and working environment of the first eleven men to hold the senior enlisted billet in the United States Marine Corps.