Brigadier General Walter Daniel Fillmore (January 7, 1933 – June 25, 2017) was a general officer in the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

Early life

Fillmore was born in

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

, on January 7, 1933, the son of William and Dorothy Fillmore. He studied

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

at the

University of Rhode Island The University of Rhode Island (URI) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Kingston, Rhode Island, United States. It is the flagship public research as well as the land-grant university of the state of Rhode Island ...

and later obtained a master's degree in education from

Georgia State University Georgia State University (Georgia State, State, or GSU) is a Public university, public research university in Atlanta, Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1913, it is one of the University System of Georgia's four research universities. It is also the ...

Career

Fillmore enlisted in the Marine Corps in February 1951. He was commissioned a

second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

in December 1953 and served as an infantry platoon commander in Marine Corps Test Unit #1. Fillmore also served with the Marine detachment aboard the . From 1957 to 1963, he was based at

Camp Lejeune, North Carolina Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune () is a United States military training facility in Jacksonville, North Carolina. Its of beaches make the base a major area for amphibious assault training, and its location between two deep-water ports ( Wilmingt ...

, and the Navy base at Little Creek in

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

, serving in various reconnaissance billets. Fillmore completed his airborne training during this time and was also promoted to captain in January 1959. After this time on at the seaboard bases he was sent to

Okinawa is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi). Naha is the capital and largest city ...

to serve as a company commander with the

1st Battalion, 9th Marines The 1st Battalion 9th Marines (1/9) was an infantry battalion of the United States Marine Corps. Formed during World War I, it served until the mid-2000s when it was deactivated to make room for one of three light armor reconnaissance battalions ...

. Promotion to major came in September 1965, and Fillmore subsequently served as the executive officer of the

3rd Battalion, 1st Marines 3rd Battalion 1st Marines (3/1) is an infantry battalion in the United States Marine Corps based out of Camp Horno on Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California. Nicknamed the "Thundering Third", the battalion consists of approximately 1,220 ...

in the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

. Following the war, Fillmore returned to Virginia and was assigned as assistant comptroller and then staff secretary at Headquarters, Fleet Marine Force, Atlantic in

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

. While stationed there, he was promoted to

lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

in November 1968. Following this, Fillmore attended the

Armed Forces Staff College The Joint Forces Staff College (JFSC), located in Norfolk, Virginia, was established as the Armed Forces Staff College in 1946 and incorporated into the National Defense University in August 1981. It educates and acculturates joint and multinat ...

in Norfolk from August 1969 until January 1970 and subsequently became an instructor at the

Amphibious Warfare School Marine Corps University is a Professional Military Education, professional military education university system of the United States Marine Corps. It is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Scho ...

Quantico, Virginia Quantico ( or ; formerly Potomac) is a town in Prince William County, Virginia, United States. The population was 480 at the 2010 census. Quantico is approximately 35 miles southwest of Washington, DC, bordered by the Potomac River to the east a ...

. Fillmore returned to Vietnam in May 1972 as assistant senior advisor to the Vietnamese Marine Corps. In June 1973, he returned to the United States and attended the

Naval War College The Naval War College (NWC or NAVWARCOL) is the staff college and "Home of Thought" for the United States Navy at Naval Station Newport in Newport, Rhode Island. The NWC educates and develops leaders, supports defining the future Navy and associat ...

, at

Newport, Rhode Island Newport is an American seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, ...

. He then became the Marine Corps Representative to the

Army Infantry School An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

Fort Benning Fort Benning is a United States Army post near Columbus, Georgia, adjacent to the Alabama–Georgia border. Fort Benning supports more than 120,000 active-duty military, family members, reserve component soldiers, retirees and civilian employees ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

. It was whilst in this post, in September 1975, that he was promoted to colonel. In May 1976, Fillmore was reassigned as assistant chief of staff, G-5 (Plans) back at Headquarters, Fleet Marine Force, Atlantic. Two years later, in June 1978, he became special assistant to the chief of staff, Supreme Headquarters, Allied Powers, Europe and transferred overseas. It was whilst serving in this capacity that Fillmore was selected for further promotion, and he became brigadier general in February 1980. As a result of this promotion, he was assigned duty as the deputy director, J-3, U.S. European Command on June 2, 1980. After filling this post for two years, Fillmore once again returned to Norfolk and took the role of deputy chief of staff, plans, policy, joint exercises,

CINCLANTFLT The United States Fleet Forces Command (USFF) is a service component command of the United States Navy that provides naval forces to a wide variety of U.S. forces. The naval resources may be allocated to Combatant Commanders such as United Stat ...

on July 13, 1982. General Fillmore served in this capacity until he retired from the Marine Corps on July 1, 1984. After retiring, Fillmore and his wife, "Bert," settled in Hampton Roads with their five children. He died in Virginia Beach at the age of 84 on June 25, 2017, and was interred in

Quantico National Cemetery Quantico National Cemetery is a national cemetery in Triangle, Virginia for veterans who served in the United States Armed Forces. Adjacent to and originally part of Marine Corps Base Quantico, it was established as a national cemetery in 1983 wi ...

on July 6, 2017.

Honors and awards

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fillmore, Walter 1933 births 2017 deaths United States Marine Corps personnel of the Vietnam War Georgia State University alumni Military personnel from Baltimore Naval War College alumni Recipients of the Legion of Merit Recipients of the Defense Superior Service Medal University of Rhode Island alumni United States Marine Corps generals Burials at Quantico National Cemetery