he wrote to Thomas Holcomb, then the current commandant of the Marine Corps, and volunteered to serve once more given his alarm over the crisis in Europe. The offer was gently declined given his age. In February 1942, the U.S. Congress enacted legislation permitting several officers who had displayed heroism in World War I to be promoted on the retired list, and Lejeune and John Twiggs Myers were advanced to lieutenant general. Lejeune died on November 20, 1942, in the Union Memorial Hospital, Baltimore, Maryland, and was interred in the Arlington National Cemetery with full military honors. Marine Corps Birthday message In the Marine Corps' annual celebration of the establishment of the Marine Corps on November 10, 1775, at Tun Tavern, the following message from Lejeune is read: Military awards Lejeune's military decorations and awards include: Honors U.S. Postal service honor On November 10, 2005, the United States Postal Service issued the Distinguished Marines stamps in which Lejeune was honored. Statues and memorials On November 10, 2000, a life-sized bronze statue of Lejeune was unveiled on the grounds of the Pointe Coupee Parish Courthouse in New Roads, Louisiana. Patrick F. Taylor, chairman and CEO of Taylor Energy Company, along with the retired Marine Corps Major General Ronald G. Richard (former commanding general of Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune) were in attendance. Taylor, who financed the Lejeune statue project, joined the Marine Corps Officer Training program as a student at Louisiana State University, but a heart problem kept him from receiving his commission. Taylor commissioned sculptor Patrick Dane Miller to fashion it to be historically accurate. Statues of Lejeune also stand outside the National Museum of the Marine Corps in Virginia, in the center of the traffic circle aboard MCB Camp Lejeune NC, outside of Lejeune Hall at the United States Naval Academy, outside of Lejeune Hall on MCB Quantico, Virginia, and the Louisiana War Memorial in downtown Baton Rouge, Louisiana next to the destroyer . Namesakes Lejeune, legendary among Marines and often referred to as "the greatest of all Leathernecks", served with the Marine Corps for over 40 years. In his honor, the following bear his name: Camp Lejeune, North Carolina , Navy transport ship Lejeune Hall, Camp Lejeune, North Carolina Lejeune Hall, Quantico, Virginia Lejeune Hall, Louisiana State University Lejeune Hall, United States Naval Academy Lejeune Hall, Virginia Military Institute Lejeune High School, Jacksonville, North Carolina John A. Lejeune