Robert E. Galer

Brigadier General Robert Edward Galer (24 October 1913 – 27 June 2005) was a naval aviator in the United States Marine Corps who received the Medal of Honor for heroism in aerial combat during the Battle of Guadalcanal in World War II. He went on to command Marine Aircraft Group 12 during the Korean War and retired a few years after in 1957. Early life Robert Galer was born in Seattle, Washington, on 24 October 1913. He attended the University of Washington and was a brother of the Alpha Upsilon chapter of the Phi Kappa Sigma fraternity and an All-American in basketball. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in commercial engineering in 1935, at which time he received an ROTC commission and began elimination flight training at the Naval Reserve Aviation Base, Seattle. Marine Corps career In June 1936, he began his Aviation Cadet flight training at the Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida, and was commissioned a second lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps on 1 July 1936. Following his designation as a Naval Aviator in April 1937, he was transferred to the 1st Marine Brigade in Quantico, Virginia, for duty with Aircraft One. In July of the same year, he was assigned to a course of instruction at the Basic School in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Following the completion of his studies in June 1938, he was ordered to the New York Navy Yard, but shortly thereafter was transferred to the Virgin Islands, where he served with Marine Scouting Squadron 3 (VMS-3) at Bourne Field, St. Thomas. He was promoted to first lieutenant in July 1939. World War II and after