George M. Van Sant was born November 20, 1927, in State College, Pennsylvania. He attended St. John’s College in Annapolis, Maryland, and enlisted in the U. S. Marine Corps in June 1945. His college education was interrupted when he deployed to North China with the 1st Marine Division just as World War II was winding down. He returned to the U.S. in 1946 and was able to graduate from St. John’s in 1948.
Two years later, Van Sant was recalled by the Marines at the outset of the Korean War. He was commissioned and assigned to Fox Company, 2nd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division. He served as a platoon commander and as the company’s executive officer.
After the Korean War, Van Sant received a letter from the men who’d served under him thanking him for his “deeds of action” and his “leadership while taking care of your men.” Home, he went back to school, earning a Ph.D. in Philosophy from the University of Virginia. He stayed in the Marine Corps Reserve until 1977, retiring as a colonel, and went on to teach philosophy at the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, VA.
Van Sant died in 2013 and now rests in Section 22, Site 538 at Quantico National Cemetery. Honor his service at his Veterans Legacy Memorial page.
This #VeteranOfTheDay is from the Veterans Legacy Program. To learn more about the VLP, our partnerships and how we share the stories of Veterans in our national cemeteries, please visit the VLP webpage.
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