Front and Center Newsletter – Vol. 2, No. 4, April 2024

General Al Gray died early on Wednesday March 20, 2024 at the age of 95. He was a leader and friend of Carolina Museum of the Marine, serving on the Executive Committee of our Board of Directors since October 17, 2017. The Marine Corps Times, reporting on General Gray’s passing, referred to him as: “the enlisted Marines’ commandant.” General Gray focused on the mission, and in pursuit of this he ensured that enlisted Marines, and especially young Marines, were well trained and cared for. This is an important lesson for all, and the Carolina Museum of the Marine with General Gray’s guidance realized that the Museum could be an effective platform for offering instruction on how to be both a better human being and a citizen of our country.

We are starting to do this today through the Al Gray Marine Leadership Forum. Our purpose is instruction concerning the art and science of thinking carefully and clearly, and the principles and traits of people able to lead themselves and others. Here is the signed intent from General Gray:

When General Gray joined Carolina Museum of the Marine, we became visible in a way we had not been up to that time. In many respects, we owe our success to his personal involvement and leadership. We are building a Museum that will tell General Gray’s story to ensure his legacy endures.

We were blessed to announce the ground-breaking ceremony (scheduled for 17 May) while he was still with us and know he is proud of this accomplishment. The museum is being built at Lejeune Memorial Gardens, a place that was dear to General Gray. We are ready to build a museum that will remember the accomplishments of Carolina Marines and Sailors and, through the Al Gray Marine Leadership Forum, teach the understanding and disciplines of leading self and leading others displayed by our Marines and Sailors.

General Gray’s devotion to remembering the Marines killed in Beirut in 1983 is well known. Nearly every year, between that event and now, General Gray was here in Jacksonville for the Beirut Memorial Ceremony. This past year, General Gray was here, but he was so ill that he didn’t sit on the dais and he didn’t speak. Rather, he sat in the audience with the rest of us. At General Gray’s passing, General Eric Smith, the current commandant, eulogized him with these words:

“He was a ‘Marine’s Marine’—a giant who walked among us during his career and after, remaining one of the Corps’ dearest friends and advocates even into his twilight,… His contributions are many, including the development of our maneuver warfare doctrine, Warfighting, which remains, to this day, the philosophic bedrock of how we fight as Marines. Although he will be missed by all, his legacy will endure and his spirit will continue to live among us.”