Kenneth Houghton, 85; Marine Major General Fought in Three Wars

Kenneth J. Houghton, 85, who served 35 years in the U.S. Marine Corps and retired in 1977 as major general in command of the San Diego Marine Corps Recruit Depot, died of natural causes March 27 in La Jolla.

Houghton enlisted in the Marines in 1942, fighting at Tarawa, the Marshall Islands and Saipan during World War II, and then in Korea and Vietnam. He rose to commander of the 1st and 3rd Marine Divisions and the 1st and 3rd Marine amphibious forces in Vietnam.

He was awarded the Navy Cross, two Silver Stars, three Bronze Stars, three Purple Hearts and numerous other distinctions for combat service.

A native of San Francisco, Houghton was a bat boy for the San Francisco Seals of the Pacific Coast League and in 1942 earned a bachelor’s in political science and economics from the University of San Francisco. After serving in World War II and the Korean War, he attended the Army War College and in 1962 earned a master’s in political science from George Washington University.