James
Mattis, by name Mad Dog was born on 8th September 1950 in Pullman,
Washington, U.S. His father John West Mattis was a merchant mariner and his
mother Lucille Mattis was immigrated to the United States from Canada as an
infant and had worked in Army Intelligence in South Africa during the Second
World War. Mattis has never been married and has no children.
In 1968 he
graduated from Richland High School. In 1971 he earned a B.A. degree in history
from Central Washington University. In 1994 he earned an M.A. degree in
international security affairs from the National War College of National
Defense University.
In 1971 he was
commissioned as a second lieutenant and received a number of small unit
commands during his time as a first lieutenant and later as a captain and then
he promoted to major. Upon promotion to the rank of lieutenant colonel, Mattis
commanded 1st Battalion, 7th Marines, one of Task Force Ripper's assault
battalions during the Persian Gulf War.
In 1997 he
promoted to brigadier general and at that time he was doing war Edson’s Eagles.
During Afghanistan War he led Task Force 58 which consists of two U.S. Navy amphibious
readiness groups. Then in 2003 he commanded the 1st Marine Division during the
2003 invasion of Iraq. And then in 2004 he took command of Marine Corps Combat
Development Command. In December 2016 Mattis was chosen by President-elect
Donald Trump to serve as secretary of defense.
He is also a
good author he wrote on many topics his famous book is Warriors and Citizens:
American Views of Our Military (2016). He also wrote many quotes for his followers.
One of his best quotes is given below,
“No one
gives a damn what Iran thinks on any significant issue. The only reason Iran is
at the big boys' table is because of their nuclear weapons program.”
He is now
alive and on the post of secretary of defense in America. Due to his love for
his work and his struggle he got many awards like Defense Distinguished Service
Medal (2) Navy Distinguished Service Medal, Defense Superior Service Medal,
Legion of Merit, Bronze Star (with Valor) and Meritorious Service Medal (3).