by Douglas Reed Niermeyer, PCinC & Jefferson D. Lilly II, JVCinC
Clayton Barney Vogel was born September 18, 1882, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was the son of Theodore Knight Vogel, Captain of the 198th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry, who served during the Civil War and was mustered out on June 3, 1865. Captain Vogel was an Original Companion of the Pennsylvania Commandery, having been elected November 7, 1883 (Insignia #2943).
Major General Vogel had a very interesting and adventurous career, which began with his graduating from Rutgers University in 1904, being a student at the School of Application, Annapolis (1904–1905), and later graduating with a law degree from Georgetown University. He was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps in 1904. During his military career he served in numerous posts and locations including, the Legation Guard, Peking (now Beijing), China (1906–1909); Special Aide to the White House (1911–1912); and serving as the the Commanding Officer in charge of the Marine detachments on the U.S.S. Nebraska (1912–1915) and the U.S.S. Pocahontas (1919). He also served in the Philippine Islands, the Panama Canal Zone, Cuba, Haiti, and various stateside duty stations, including an assignment to the Judge Advocate’s Office from 1926-1929.
On July 7, 1917, then-Captain Vogel married Margaret Jane Bennett at the home of sister-of-the-bride in Baltimore, Maryland. They had together three daughters: Margaret Bennett, Julia Lindsly, and Mary Barney. All married Marine Corps officers: Julia married future Major General Rathvon McClure Tompkins; Margaret married future marine Colonel Edward White Durant Jr.; and Mary married future Colonel Harry David Wortman.
He was appointed to a temporary rank of Brigadier General in 1937 and received his permanent rank in 1939. In 1941 he was promoted to Major General, and on February 21 of that year he assumed command of the newly formed 2nd Marine Division. In November 1941, he became commanding general of the 2nd Joint Training Force, later designated as the Amphibious Corps, Pacific Fleet. In October 1942 he departed for the South Pacific and assumed command of the newly organized 1st Marine Amphibious Corps, with headquarters at Noumea, New Caledonia. General Vogel was instrumental in the use of Navajo Code Talkers in order to communicate without the Japanese being able to intercept and translate the messages.
In August 1943, General Vogel returned to the United States, becoming Commanding General of Fleet Marine Force, San Diego, headquartered at Camp Elliott. In May of the following year, he assumed his final command in the Marine Corps as Commanding General, Marine Barracks, Parris Island, South Carolina, from which he retired in January 1946 after 42 years of continuous service. During his long and varied career, he received many decorations and medals from the United States Government together with several foreign citations. He was also president of the Valley Forge Chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution, through descent from his Patriot great-great-grandfather Lieutenant John Lichtenwalner of the 5th Company, 2nd Battalion, Northampton County (PA) Militia.
General Vogel, better known to his intimate friends as “Barney,” was extremely proud of his connection with the Loyal Legion, becoming an Hereditary Companion on November 5, 1913, in the Commandery of the District of Columbia and assigned Insignia #16993. He was always a member of that Commandery, where he served in many offices, including several years as Commander. His loyalty and devotion to the Loyal Legion was second only to that of his beloved Marine Corps. With the aid of the Commandant of the Marine Corps, he traveled by automobile to Cincinnati, Ohio, where he attended the 79th Annual Congress of the Commandery-in-Chief in October 1964. At that meeting he was elected and installed as Commander-in-Chief of the Order and looked forward to officiating at the 100th Anniversary of the Loyal Legion in April 1965 in Philadelphia, the city where the Loyal Legion had been founded century earlier. Tragically, Commander-in-Chief Vogel died barely a month later on November 26, 1964, in that very city. He was succeeded in office by Senior Vice-Commander-in-Chief Colonel Walter Everett Hopper, Jr.
Major General Vogel’s funeral services were held in the chapel at Fort Myer, Virginia. He and his wife, Margaret Jane (nee Bennett) Vogel (1887–1963), are buried at Arlington National Cemetery. Major General Clayton Barney Vogel was the last General/Flag officer to serve as Commander-in-Chief of the Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States.