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Major General Donald R. GardnerU.S. Marine Corps (Retired)
After completing The Basic School at Quantico, Virginia, he was deployed as a member of the Battalion Landing Team 2/6 to the U.S. 6th Fleet and again during the Cuban contingency operations. In January, 1963, he transferred to the 2nd Reconnaissance Battalion where he served as the Assistant S-3 and as a company commander. During August, 1963, he integrated into the regular Marine Corps. Ordered to Marine Barracks, Bermuda, British West Indies, he was promoted to captain and served as the executive officer until transferred to Vietnam in May, 1966. There he participated in combat as a company commander and as the S-4 of the 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion. Following his return from overseas, he reported to Headquarters, Marine Corps, Washington, DC where he was promoted to major. Completing a second tour in Vietnam, General Gardner was awarded a scholarship to Memphis State University where he earned his Master of Arts degree in History in 1973. He then served for three years as the Marine Officer Instructor at Vanderbilt University. He attended other professional officer training including Command and Staff College and Naval War College rising to the rank of colonel. His assignments included Assistant Chief of Staff, III Marine Amphibious Force and Deputy Director of the 1st Marine Corps District. He was promoted to brigadier general and was assigned as Assistant Division Commander, 2nd Marine Division, Atlantic, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. In June, 1988, he was assigned as Commanding General, Marine Corps Base, Camp Lejeune. He was promoted to major general and served as Commanding General, III Marine Expeditionary Force/Commanding General, Marine Corps Bases, Japan. General Gardner’s awards and decorations include the Navy Distinguished Service Medal, Silver Star Medal, Legion of Merit with Combat “V” and gold star, Purple Heart, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, and the Navy Meritorious Service Medal with gold star and many others. He retired from the Marine Corps after almost forty years of service in 1994. He served as President and CEO of the Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum in New York City and, in 1999, became Chief Executive Officer of the Marine Corps University Foundation. In May, 2004, he became President of the Marine Corps University, the first civilian to hold this prestigious position. He serves on the Veterans Services Foundation for the Commonwealth of Virginia and as Director of the Senior Leadership Development Program for the U.S. Marine Corps. He and his wife Elaine have two children and reside in Chester, Virginia. |
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General
Gardner is a native of Memphis, Tennessee. While in high school, he enlisted in
the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve in 1955 rising to the rank of sergeant. Upon
graduation from Memphis State University in 1960 with a B.S. degree in History,
he was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Marine Corps Reserve.