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The Marine Corps Research Center at Quantico, Va., was renamed the “General Alfred M. Gray Marine Corps Research Center Archives and Libraries,” in honor of Gen. Alfred M. Gray '50, the 29th Commandant of the Marine Corps, on Nov. 15, 2001. Gray was instrumental in establishing the center during his tour as Commandant from 1987-91.
Gen. James L. Jones, current Commandant, said at the rededication ceremony, “It is fitting that we rename this research center in honor of the man who conceptualized it and, with the help of a handful of dedicated people, created this world class institution that would serve as the focal point of the Marine Corps' professional military education.”
Gray is known for his commitment to the ongoing education of every Marine. He instituted a required reading program, established the School of Advanced Warfare, and began the accreditation process for both Command and Staff College and Marine Corps War College.
The editor of Marine Corps Gazette, Col. John P. Glasgow Jr., wrote of Gray's achievements, “It is one thing to build something. It is an entirely different thing to sustain it. To do this, he put the best and the brightest in charge of the schools…It all worked because of this single visionary.”
Among Gray's many leadership assignments, he served as commanding general, Landing Force Training Command, Atlantic, and 4th Marine Amphibious Brigade; commander, 2nd Marine Division, Fleet Marine Force (FMF), Atlantic, Camp Lejeune; commanding general, FMF Atlantic/commanding general, II Marine Amphibious Force, and commanding general FMF, Europe. He directed the Southeast Asia evacuation operations in 1975.
Gray attended Lafayette for three years before leaving in 1950 to enlist in the Marine Corps for duty in Korea. He holds a bachelor's degree from State University of New York, a military science degree from Norwich University, and a doctor of strategic intelligence degree from Defense Intelligence College.
