Note: When adding a name to this list, please place the same in alphabetical order and provide a reliable verifiable source. Secondary sources such as fansites are not allowed. As a guide please see: Citing sources. Additions that are not in alphabetical order and/or do not provide a primary reliable verifiable source will be removed.

Marines whose names are essential to U. S. Marine Corps lore and make up what the Marines call "Knowledge" are to be listed in the "List of historically important U.S. Marines."

A

• Joseph M. Acaba — NASA astronaut
• Don Adams — Emmy award winning actor, best known for his role as Maxwell Smart in the television series Get Smart
• Eddie Adams — Pulitzer Prize winning photographer
• Mike Anderson — NFL football player
• Walter Anderson (editor) — author; PARADE  editor; Parade Publications CEO; GED spokesperson
• Paul Arizin — NBA basketball player
• Bea Arthur — star of the television series Maude, The Golden Girls

B

• F. Lee Bailey — lawyer, notable for his involvement in cases relating to the My Lai Massacre and the O.J. Simpson trial
• Dusty Baker — Major League Baseball manager, second only to John McGraw in managerial wins for the Giants
• James Baker — former U.S. Secretary of State, elder statesman, advisor and friend of the Bush family
• Leslie M. "Bud" Baker, Jr. — Chairman of the Board of Wachovia Bank
• Nick Barone — boxer (1950s), the "Fighting Marine"
• Thomas D. Barr — attorney with Cravath, Swaine & Moore, "father of modern big-case litigation"
• James Lee Barrett — author, screenplay writer
• Carmen Basilio — world champion boxer, Boxing Hall of Famer
• Hank Bauer — professional baseball player
• John Beckett, college football star and coach
• Bob Bell — Bozo the Clown (TV)
• Terrel Bell — U.S. Secretary of Education (1981- 1984) during the Reagan administration
• Henry Bellmon — Governor of Oklahoma, U.S. Senator (OK-R)
• Patty Berg — LPGA golfer
• Rod Bernard — musician
• Charles F. Bolden, Jr. — NASA space shuttle commander
• Robert Bork — retired federal judge, law professor and Supreme court nominee
• Blackbear Bosin — artist
• Hugh Brannum — "Mr. Green Jeans" on Captain Kangaroo
• Donald Bren — CEO The Irvine Company
• Daniel B. Brewster — U.S. Senator from Maryland
• Art Buchwald — humor columnist
• Dale Bumpers — Governor of Arkansas, U.S. Senator from Arkansas
• Conrad Burns — U.S. Senator from Montana

C

• Robert D. Cabana — NASA space shuttle astronaut; director of Stennis & Kennedy Space Centers
• Enrique Camarena — Mexican-American DEA agent murdered in 1985
• Philip Caputo — author, journalist
• Rod Carew — baseball Hall of Famer
• Drew Carey — comedian, actor, Host of The Price Is Right (2007-Present)
• Gerald P. Carr, — NASA astronaut
• James Carville — political strategist and manager
• Francis H. Case – represented South Dakota in the U.S. House of Representatives (1937-1950) and the U.S. Senate (1951-1962)
• Ronald D. Castille – Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania
• John Chafee — Governor of Rhode Island, Secretary of the Navy, U. S. Senator (RI-R)
• Roberto Clemente — baseball Hall of Famer
• Jerry Coleman — baseball player, announcer
• Eddie Collins — baseball Hall of Famer
• Charles Colson — White House special counsel, Nixon staffer (Watergate), evangelist
• Mike Connors — actor
• Donald "The Great Santini" Conroy — Black Sheep Squadron member and father of author Pat Conroy, who based his novel The Great Santini on him.
• Courtney Ryley Cooper — writer
• Jon Corzine — Governor of New Jersey, former U.S. Senator (D-NJ)
• Bill Cowan — hostage rescue expert, television news commentator
• Walter Cunningham — Apollo 7 astronaut

D

• Brian Dennehy — actor
• James Devereux — U.S. Congressman from Maryland
• Richard Diebenkorn — artist
• David Dinkins — Mayor of New York City
• Art Donovan — football Hall of Famer
• Buster Drayton — world champion boxer
• Andre Dubus — author
• David Douglas Duncan — photographer
• William L. Durkin — earned fame for rescuing billionaire Howard Hughes from an aircraft accident
• Dale Dye — actor, Hollywood military advisor

E

• William A. Eddy — World War I Navy Cross, university professor and president, World War II Marine Corps intelligence officer, U.S. minister to Saudi Arabia (1943-1946)
• David Eigenberg — actor, Sex and the City
• R. Lee Ermey — actor, TV show host
• Don Everly — musician, member of Rock & Roll Hall of Fame
• Phil Everly — musician, member of Rock & Roll Hall of Fame

F

• Hussein Mohamed Farrah — son and successor of Somali warlord Mohamed Farrah Aidid
• Mike Farrell — actor; liberal activist
• Freddie Fender — Tejano music recording artist
• Bob Ferguson — song writer, record producer, and historian
• Jesse Ferguson — American heavyweight boxer
• Nathaniel Fick — author of the book One Bullet Away
• Bill Fitch — basketball coach
• Shelby Foote — author, American Civil War historian
• Glenn Ford — actor
• Joe Foss — former Governor of South Dakota, first Commissioner of the AFL, former NRA President
• James Franciscus — actor
• Hayden Fry — football coach, University of Iowa
• Mark Fuhrman — LAPD detective who became famous during the O.J. Simpson trial

G

• Bill Gallo — cartoonist, journalist
• Christopher George — actor
• Merlin German "Miracle Marine" — founder of Merlin's Miracles
• Wayne Gilchrest — Republican U.S. Representative from Maryland
• John Glenn — astronaut, first American to orbit Earth, oldest man in space, U.S. Senator
• Scott Glenn — actor
• Josh Gracin — country singer and American Idol contestant
• Clu Gulager — actor

H

• Gene Hackman — actor
• Fred Haise — NASA astronaut (Apollo 13 & Space Shuttle Enterprise)
• Nathaniel Dawayne "Nate Dogg" Hale — rapper
• Ahmard Hall — NFL football player
• Hugh W. Hardy — pioneer of the 3D seismic method
• Gustav Hasford — author of The Short-Timers, the Vietnam war novel & basis of movie Full Metal Jacket (1987)
• Sterling Hayden — actor
• Louis Hayward — actor
• Howell Heflin — U.S. Senator from Alabama
• George Roy Hill — director, Oscar-nomination for Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, as well as win for directing The Sting.
• Elroy "Crazy Legs" Hirsch — football Hall of Famer
• Gil Hodges — professional baseball player

I

• Mike Ilitch — founder of Little Caesars Pizza, owner of the Detroit Tigers and Detroit Red Wings
• Don Imus — Radio talk show host

J

• Keith Jackson — broadcaster
• Brian Gerard James — TNA professional wrestler
• Bill Janklow — Governor of South Dakota
• George Jones — country music artist

K

• Bob Keeshan — Captain Kangaroo, original Clarabell the Clown on Howdy Doody
• Harvey Keitel — actor
• Brian Keith — actor
• Greg Kelly — news reporter
• Raymond W. Kelly — police commissioner of the City of New York
• Skip Kenney — Men's Olympic Swim Coach, Head Swim Coach at Stanford University
• Robert Kiyosaki — author of Rich Dad, Poor Dad
• Adam Kokesh — well known protestor of Operation Iraqi Freedom
• Ron Kovic — author Born on the Fourth of July
• Ted Kulongoski — Governor, State of Oregon

L

• Mills Lane — boxing referee and TV's People's Court judge
• Eddie LeBaron — professional football player
• Jim Lehrer — journalist, host of the PBS' NewsHour with Jim Lehrer
• Alfred Lerner — financier, Chairman of MBNA Corporation
• Scott Levy — professional wrestler
• Joe Lisi — actor - retired NYPD Captain
• Clayton J. Lonetree — spied for Russia in the mid-1980s
• Tommy Loughran — world boxing champion
• Jack R. Lousma — NASA Astronaut
• Robert A. Lutz — Chairman of the Board of Chrysler
• Robert Ludlum — author of Bourne Identity and many others

M

• William Manchester — author and historian
• Mike Mansfield — U.S. Representative and Senator, Senate Majority Leader, U.S. Ambassador to Japan; co-author of the Douglas-Mansfield Bill (1951) supporting the Marine Corps
• Lee Marvin — actor
• Bob Mathias — two-time Olympic champion in the decathlon — U.S. congressman
• Ed McMahon — television personality
• Sid McMath — Governor of Arkansas
• Robert C. McFarlane — National Security Advisor to Pres. Reagan, best known for Iran-Contra
• Paul F. McHale, Jr. — U.S. Congressman from Pennsylvania, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Homeland Defense
• Steve McQueen — actor
• Donald E. McQuinn — Author of military and science fiction.
• Zell Miller — Governor of Georgia, U.S. Senator
• Billy Mills — Olympic gold medalist (1964), 10,000m run
• Tom Monaghan — founder of Domino's Pizza
• Mike Montler — professional NFL football player, Buffalo Bills
• Elizabeth Moon — Award winning fantasy and science fiction author.
• Alvy Moore — actor, played Hank Kimball on Green Acres
• Jim Mora — NFL head football coach
• Michael Mori — Defense lawyer for Australian terrorism convictee David Hicks
• Robert S. Mueller III — director of the FBI
• Jimmy Murray — former GM of Philadelphia Eagles and co-founder of Ronald McDonald House charities
• John Murtha — U.S. Representative (D - PA)
• Anton Myrer — author of Once an Eagle and other fiction

N

• Carlos I. Noriega — NASA astronaut
• Oliver North — Iran-Contra involvement; political commentator
• Ken Norton — world champion boxer, Boxing Hall of Famer

O

• Tom O'Brien — NCAA head football coach, Boston College, NC State
• Randy Orton — professional wrestler
• Lee Harvey Oswald — assassin of President John F. Kennedy
• Hugh O'Brian - actor

P

• Ilario Pantano — author of the book Warlord
• Sam Peckinpah — director
• George Peppard — actor
• Bum Phillips — NFL Head coach
• Charles Phillips — businessman
• Tyrone Power — actor
• Lewis Burwell Puller Jr. — author, Pulitzer Prize winner
• Joe Pyne — 1960's Conservative Talk Show Host

R

• CJ Ramone (b. Christopher Joseph Ward) — musician, former member of The Ramones
• Lawrence G. Rawl — CEO of Exxon (1988-1993)
• Donald Regan — U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, Chief of Staff (Reagan administration)
• Robert Remus — "Sgt. Slaughter" in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF)
• Hari Rhodes — actor
• Buddy Rich — jazz great
• Rob Riggle — actor/comedian
• Scott Ritter — former United Nations arms inspector, intelligence officer, outspoken opponent of the Bush administration's foreign policy
• Charles S. "Chuck" Robb — Governor of Virginia, U.S. Senator, married to Linda Bird Johnson (daughter of President Lyndon Johnson)
• Pat Robertson — evangelist, social commentator
• Rick Romley — attorney general
• James Roosevelt — son of FDR, former Marine Raider
• Barney Ross — world champion boxer, Boxing Hall of Famer
• Josh Rushing — news reporter for Al Jazeera network
• John Russell— actor

S

• Jim Sasser, U.S. Senator from Tennessee
• George Schultz — economist, U.S. Secretary of State, Secretary of Labor, Secretary of the Treasury
• George C. Scott — actor
• Tom Seaver — baseball Hall of Famer
• Shaggy — musician (singer)
• Bernard Shaw — CNN news anchor
• Mark Shields — journalist
• Oliver Sipple — saved President Gerald Ford's life during an assassination attempt
• Eugene Sledge — author
• Frederick W. Smith — businessman, founder of Fed Ex
• W. Thomas Smith, Jr. — author, journalist
• John Philip Sousa — composer, conductor/orchestra leader
• Leon Spinks — world boxing champion
• Richard Steele — boxing referee
• Eugene Stoner — designer of the AR-15 rifle — adopted by the US military as the M-16
• William Styron — Pulitzer Prize winning author.
• Arthur Ochs Sulzberger — publisher of The New York Times
• Charles R. (Chuck) Swindoll — evangelical Christian pastor, radio preacher
• Anthony Swofford — author of the book Jarhead

T

• Steven W. Taylor — Oklahoma Supreme Court justice
• Frank M. Tejeda — U.S. Congressman from Texas
• Jerald terHorst — press secretary (1974) for President Gerald Ford
• Craig Thomas — U.S. Senator from Wyoming
• Jason Thomas — saved two police officers' lives on Sept. 11 who were trapped in the rubble of the towers
• Bernard Trainor — foreign policy analyst and author
• Lee Trevino — PGA Tour golfer and member of the World Golf Hall of Fame
• Gene Tunney — world boxing champion, Boxing Hall of Famer
• Martin Tytell— owner of the Tytell Typewriter Company who became known as 'Mr. Typewriter, New York'

U

• Leon Uris — author

V

• Bill Veeck — baseball team owner, baseball Hall of Famer

W

• John Warner — former Secretary of the Navy, U.S. Senator from Virginia
• Charles Waterhouse — artist
• Mike Weaver — world boxing champion
• James E. Webb — second Administrator of NASA
• James H. "Jim" Webb — U.S. Senator (D - VA), former U.S. Secretary of the Navy, author
• Chuck Wepner — boxer; often pointed as the inspiration for the Rocky movie series
• Bing West — author and former Assistant Secretary of Defense in the Reagan Administration
• Jo Jo White — former NBA basketball player with the Boston Celtics
• Charles Whitman — University of Texas clocktower sniper
• James Whitmore — actor

• Steve Wilkos — TV Host, Chicago Police Department
• Montel Williams — TV host
• Ted Williams — baseball Hall of Famer
• Jonathan Winters — actor, comedian
• Pete Wilson — former Governor of California
• Edward D. Wood, Jr. — film director

Y

• Burt Young — actor, famous for his role as "Paulie" in the Rocky movie series

Z

• George D. Zamka — NASA astronaut
• Anthony Zinni — retired as General, commanding U.S. Central Command; foreign policy analyst and television commentator

See also

• List of Historically Important U.S. Marines
• List of United States Marine Corps astronauts
• List of United States Marine Corps four-star generals

References