Herbert L. Beckington (October 3, 1920 – October 14, 2007) was a United States Marine Corps lieutenant general who served in combat during World War II and the Vietnam War. He later served as the first inspector general for the United States Agency for International Development. Biography Herbert Beckington was born in Rockford, Illinois. He graduated from Rockford High School in 1938. He received his B.A. degree from The Citadel in 1943, and his LLB (Law) from Catholic University, Washington, D. C., in 1953. Upon graduation from The Citadel, he was commissioned a Marine Corps Reserve second lieutenant on May 29, 1943. He completed the Reserve Officers' Class, Marine Corps Schools, Quantico, Virginia, in August 1943 and the Officers' Base Defense School at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, the following November. He was promoted to first lieutenant in December 1944 and integrated into the regular Marine Corps in 1946. His first duty assignment was as a battery officer with the 18th Defense Battalion at Camp Lejeune. In April 1944, First Lieutenant Beckington became a platoon commander and, later a battery executive officer and battery commander with the *18th Antiaircraft Artillery Battalion. From June 1944 until January 1946, he served with the battalion on Tinian and Saipan in the Pacific. Returning to the United States with the battalion in February of that year, he remained with the unit until March 1946. Later completion of Sea School at Marine Corps Base, San Diego, California, in June 1946, Lieutenant Beckington became commanding officer of the Marine detachment aboard , and served in this capacity until October 1948. He was promoted to captain in August of that year. Captain Beckington next saw duty at the Marine barracks in Norfolk, Virginia, until August 1950, then became a student, Postgraduate Law Course at Catholic University. While attending Catholic University, he served in the Office of the Judge Advocate General of the Navy and was promoted to major in June 1952. Following graduation in 1953, he was assigned duty at the Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California, until January 1955, then he was reassigned duty as Staff Secretary, 3rd Marine Division, and later, Secretary of the General Staff, Provisional Corps, Japan, and Battalion, S-3, 3rd Tank Battalion, 3rd Marine Division. Major Beckington returned to the United States in February 1956, and was assigned as a member, Board For Data Processing Requirements of the Marine Corps, Headquarters Marine Corps