New commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps. Lieutenant General Alexander A.

New commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps. Lieutenant General Alexander A. Vandegrift, who led the American forces in the Guadalcanal and Bougainville offensives, succeeded Lieut. Genreal Thomas Holcomb as Commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps on January 1, 1944. The new commandant is a native of the U.S. state of Virginia, is 56 years old and has varved out a brilliant in the Marine Corps. In seven years the U.S. Marine Corps has grown from a force of 16.000 to one of almost 350,000. The Corps is an elite force who specialize in amphious operations and difficult assault problems.