General Ben Blaz served three overseas tours with the 9th Marines: as a First Lieutenant (Legal Officer) in Osaka, Japan; as a Major (Operations Officer) in Vietnam; and, as a Colonel (Commanding Officer) in Okinawa. He considers his assignment as Commanding Officer of the 9th Marines, units of which liberated him in World War II, the most rewarding assignment in his 30-year service in the Marines. In a remarkable twist of fate, during his career, Blaz served under three officers, veterans of the Guam campaign, with ties to the 9th Marines, who became Commandants of the Marine Corps: General Lemuel C. Shepherd, Jr.; General Robert Cushman; and the beloved General Louis H. Wilson, who won the Congressional Medal of Honor on Guam. In 1977, Blaz was promoted to Brigadier General, shown here in his promotion ceremony in the office of General Wilson, then Commandant of the Marine Corps.