Distinguished Guests, Former Commandants, Allies and Partners, Ladies and Gentlemen, Good Morning.  Thank you for being here today. Many before me have rightly praised and honored the memory of General Alfred Gray: 

His legacy and impact on our Corps, the deep and meaningful relationships he formed with many gathered here today, his embodiment of the “Marine’s Marine,” and his lifelong and honorable service to our nation. No words I can speak today will fully capture the significance of Al Gray’s legacy, but that legacy is incomplete without first recognizing the love of his life Jan. 

Jan Gray was the ideal of kindness and devotion, and a model of the selflessness required of all Marine spouses. She generously gave her time in support of our military families and to improve their quality of life. She served alongside General Gray throughout his military career and long beyond his retirement. The Marine Corps would not be the same if not for Jan. To this end, she played a key role in organizations such as the Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society, Marine Corps Scholarship Program, and Toys for Tots.  

Because of her many years of leadership and volunteer work, she received the Department of the Navy’s Public Service Award. Let us all say one final thank you to Jan. Thank you for serving our wider community. Thank you for fostering an environment where military families can thrive. Thank you for your love, fidelity, and support of Al Gray during the challenges and joys that come with a distinguished military career.  

Now, as we lay Jan to rest, beside one of our most storied Commandants and in this most hallowed ground of our Nation, I would also like us all to reflect on Alfred Gray’s legacy, his indelible mark on our Corps, and what it means to those Marines who have stood in his long shadow, myself included.

General Gray was my first Commandant, having assumed the commandancy the month after I earned my commission. I ask each of us here to recall our first months, years, and even decades in the Corps and the larger-than-life significance our commandants have played in our lives. If there was ever a man who deserved the immense reverence we have for our commandants, it was Al Gray.

He embodied everything we expect of a Marine holding our highest post. He was a true warrior, sharply intelligent, focused on warfighting, and possessed an unwavering dedication to his Marines above all. I don’t know a Marine who didn’t want to serve under Al Gray… Many fought to work for him, and all were made better by getting that opportunity.  

Heck, I’m pretty sure I did some extra pull ups in his name at TBS. It almost goes without saying that he was one of the most transformative leaders in our proud history. Enlisting in the Marine Corps in 1950 to fight in the Korean war, he would say even after his retirement that his proudest day was when he promoted to Corporal.  

Al Gray intimately knew how to lead fighting men, because from the very beginning, he was one himself. Sgt Gray was commissioned a second lieutenant in 1952, and would go on to serve with distinction in Vietnam.  

Through his gallantry and intrepidity in that conflict he was awarded the Silver Star while, at great danger to himself, he probed a path at night through an unmarked minefield to direct the rescue of three injured Marines…remaining with one of them, mortally wounded, until his passing.

Years later, Al was commander of the Second Marine Division, during the tragic bombing of the Marine Barracks in Beirut, Lebanon.  MajGen Gray was so affected by the tragedy that he offered his resignation, which, fortunately for all of us, was declined.  To the end of his life General Gray would annually attend the Beirut Memorial Observance in Jacksonville, North Carolina.  

He cared so deeply for his Marines that whether he was fighting beside you, crawling through a minefield to get to you, or comforting you years after tragedy, you knew Al Gray would always be by your side. Al was a giant of our Corps before he even assumed the duties and responsibilities of Commandant 37 years ago. 

But once he did, he used the office to transform the Marine Corps in ways that are still visible today. General Gray brought a culture of warfighting back to the center of our Corps.  Through personal example and force of will, Al Gray honed the Marine Corps into the fine point that, after the Vietnam War and the tragedy in Beirut, would achieve unequivocal success in the Persian Gulf. 

He saw the need to sharpen the Marine Corps’ intellectual foundations. He understood that the force had to balance mission accomplishment and troop welfare. General Gray spearheaded the creation of a generation of warfighters through his unwavering belief that “every Marine is a rifleman.” This very statement still differentiates Marines from the other services and forms the bedrock of our ethos.  He was a visionary leader, focused on to future but grounded by our past. Following the Vietnam war, he knew we had to change the way Marines fight our nation’s battles.  

In his landmark publication, FMFM-1 Warfighting, he placed the concept of maneuver warfare at the center of the Marine Corps. To this day Warfighting serves as the foundational document that defines how we think and fight as Marines.  In this same vein, Al Gray possessed a passion for learning, innovation, and experimentation. In large part, he built the intellectual foundation of our Corps that permeates to this day.  

We also have General Gray to thank for the foundation of the Marine Corps Warfighting Lab, the creation of the Commandant’s Professional Reading List, and his leadership during the consolidation and activation of the Marine Corps University.  

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, Alfred Gray recognized the centrality and importance of the individual Marine and our responsibility to them. As a commander he would say that he was the Marines’ “surrogate father and mother as well as their commander.”  He taught a generation of leaders, myself included, that morale and combat effectiveness are two sides of the same coin.  

We owe it to the Marines under our charge – as their surrogate father and mother – to provide them with what they need to fight and win the nation’s battles -- be it cutting edge technology or clean and livable quarters. 

To General Gray and Jan, we say thank you. Thank you for your service, your leadership, your volunteerism, and your unwavering honor, courage, and commitment. You have left an indelible mark on us all, and we are better Marines and people because of you. Every commandant, in truth, has the same goal: To leave the Marine Corps better than you found it. 

 – Alfred Gray you have unequivocally accomplished that goal. Rest in peace, General Gray. Your watch is over, but your legacy endures.

Semper Fidelis.