KRULAK-VICTOR

Excerpts from article published on 5/22/2015 in San Diego Union-Tribune in series on “Veterans Who Made A Difference To Their Country”:

SHORT STATURE  -  TALL LEGACY

One of the obstacles Victor Krulak faced when he graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1934 was his own body.  Krulak stood just 5 foot 4 inches tall and weighed 116 pounds.  He was too short and light to be commissioned in the Marine Corps.  But Krulak, who had been nicknamed "Brute" by his classmates because of his small stature, wasn't deterred.  What he did became part of Marine lore.  He later said he had his friends draw straws to see who got the chance to hit him on the head, with the hope of raising a lump that would make him just tall enough to meet the height requirement.  While the ploy didn't work, Krulak did land a commission in the Corps which he parlayed into a 34-year career that included service in three wars.  He retired in 1968 as a three-star General, and some say he would have gained a fourth star and the position of Commandant of the Marine Corps if he had not publicly criticized President Lyndon Johnson over strategy in the Vietnam War.

In his 2010 biography of Krulak, called "Brute," Robert Coram wrote that the Denver native overcame a less than promising start in life to become "the most important officer in the history of the United States Marine Corps, a man of dazzling intellect and extraordinary vision who was at the center of or deeply involved in some of the most important issues facing America during the tumultuous middle years of the 20th century."  Among the accomplishments credited to Krulak: an instrumental role in the development of the Higgins Boat, an amphibious landing craft considered pivotal to the Allied victory in World War II; and the concept of using helicopters to penetrate behind enemy lines in Vietnam.  Krulak was also part of an influential group of officers that successfully lobbied Congress to maintain the Corps as a separate service rather than folding it into the Army.

General Charles C. Krulak, one of "Brute" Krulak's three sons, agreed wholeheartedly with Coram's assessment.  "Brute" Krulak, said his son, "was part of the smallest service in the nation but he had a 200-pound brain and a vision for war fighting that took us into the 21st century."  Charles Krulak achieved the pinnacle that his father dreamed of — serving as Commandant from 1995 to 1999.  As his career advanced he spoke to his father by phone nearly every day, right around noontime.  "He was such a reservoir of experience, wisdom and great advice that I always had somebody I could call to get a sanity check on just about anything I was doing," said Charles Krulak, now president of Birmingham-Southern College in Alabama.

"Brute" Krulak had a reputation as a tough taskmaster for those under his command and he was a particularly exacting boss when it came to his subordinates' written communications, said Richard Rothwell, a retired Marine and president of the Camp Pendleton Historical Society.  Krulak's own writing skills were top-notch.  After his retirement from the Marines he penned a much-praised memoir and history of the Corps titled "First to Fight."  But Rothwell, who knew the famed Marine and his family well, having been in Cub Scouts with one of Krulak's sons and regularly briefing Krulak when they were stationed in Hawaii, said there was more to Krulak than the authoritarian general.  For example, at the funeral of Krulak's wife, Amy, Rothwell recalled Krulak's emotional recitation of the words to "Sweet Leilani," his wife's favorite song.  "He had a human side that many of the people who worked for him probably didn't see," Rothwell said.  And when Rothwell was wounded in combat in Vietnam, Krulak, then a Commanding General, called Rothwell's parents personally to let them know their son would be OK.  When off-duty Krulak exhibited a lighter side.  He became known for throwing lively birthday parties that featured Fish House Punch, a concoction dating back to the Revolutionary War that included rum, brandy, lemons and sugar.

After retirement from the military, Krulak went to work as an executive for Copley Newspapers, the former parent company of The San Diego Union-Tribune.  According to Charles Krulak, his father was entitled to be buried at Arlington National Cemetery but chose instead to be interred at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery in San Diego because of an affection for the community that dated back to his time as Commanding General of Marine Corps Recruit Depot.  "He had a deep and abiding love for San Diego and (its) people," Charles Krulak said.

Submitted by CDR Roy A. Mosteller, USNR (Ret)