George Crist

1931 - 2024

George Crist

January 23, 1931 - July 25, 2024

Beaufort, South Carolina - General George B. Crist, USMC (Ret), the former commander of United States Central Command, died on July 25, 2024 in Beaufort, South Carolina of natural causes. He was 93. He is survived by his two sons, William and David, and his grandson Matthew.

The son of a career naval officer, Crist was born on January 23, 1931 in Hartford, Connecticut. After graduating cum laude from Villanova University, he was commissioned in the U.S. Marine Corps in 1952. He served in all three active-duty Marine Divisions, including with the 1st Marine Division in Korea.

In 1955, he was ordered to Washington D.C where he served as a White House Aide to President Eisenhower. It was during this assignment that he met his wife Barbara on a blind date at Center House at the Marine Barracks. The two married in 1957 and remained so for 65 years until her passing in 2022.

In 1959, he joined the U.S. Naval Mission to the Republic of Haiti and served as an advisor to their army. This was one of the couple's happier assignments and both developed an affinity for the Haitian people. Afterwards, Crist deployed to the Caribbean during the Cuban Missile Crisis and served as an advisor in Vietnam where he participated in combat operations throughout the country. He subsequently was aide-de-camp to the Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff during the height of the Vietnam War. Thereafter, Crist commanded a battalion at Camp Lejeune, NC. After attending the Air War College, he returned to Asia serving again in combat during the 1972 North Vietnamese offensive.

Promoted to brigadier general in 1978, he served as the deputy director of operations, U.S. European Command, where he was actively involved in a series of crises from the Iranian revolution and the seizure of the American embassy to Cold War conflicts in Africa. Promoted to major general in 1980, he held various positions, including as the vice director, Joint Chiefs of Staff, during which time he deployed to Grenada on the first day of the American invasion at the request of the defense secretary to lead the contingent of Caribbean nations.

In 1985, Crist was promoted to general and assumed command of the U.S. Central Command. Responsible for all US forces in the volatile Middle East, he was the first Marine ever in such a position of responsibility. During his tenure, he worked to develop closer military relations with Arab nations. When Iran began attacking neutral shipping in the Persian Gulf during Iran-Iraq War, Crist developed an unusual military operation to counter Iran's small boat and naval mining attacks. Centered around the escort of reflagged Kuwaiti tankers, the force grew to include some 28 US warships plus forces from all the military branches and other agencies. For over a year, the US and Iran engaged in a series of military clashes across the Persian Gulf, which Crist referred to as a "guerilla war at sea." The operation culminated in April 1988, following the Iranian mining of the USS Samuel B. Roberts, in which half the operational fleet of Iran was sunk or damaged in one of the largest such engagement since World War II.

Crist retired in 1988, after more than 36 years of service and settled in Beaufort, SC. Both he and Barbara were avid antique collectors and purchased a house on the Old Point in Beaufort. Crist remained active working as an on-air military expert for CBS News during Desert Storm and US intervention in Somalia. Locally, he was active in both the Rotary Club and the Beaufort Historic Foundation where he worked to save the Civil War site of Battery Saxton.

He will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery, date to be determined. In lieu of flowers, please send a donation to either the Rotary Club of Beaufort or The Beaufort Historic Foundation