{{Short description|American war hero and politician}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = George K. Shuler | image = George K. Shuler 1923.jpg | alt = | caption = Shuler in 1923 | office = New York State Treasurer | term_start = January 1, 1923 | term_end = December 31, 1924 | predecessor = N. Monroe Marshall | successor = Lewis H. Pounds | constituency = | birth_date = {{Birth date|1884|12|15}} | birth_place = Lyons, New York, US | death_date = {{Death date and age|1942|10|16|1884|12|15}} | death_place = The Bronx, New York, US | resting_place = Long Island National Cemetery, East Farmingdale, New York, US | party = Democratic | spouse = Blanche Stewart | children = 2 | education = | occupation = | allegiance = United States | branch = United States Marine Corps | branch_label = Branch | service_years = 1910–1922 | rank = Major | unit = | commands = 3rd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment | battles = Battle of Veracruz (1914)<br>World War I | battles_label = | mawards = Navy Distinguished Service Medal<br>{{nowrap|Army Distinguished Service Medal}}<br>Silver Star (3) }} '''George Kent Shuler''' (December 15, 1884 – October 16, 1942) was an American war hero and politician.
==Early life== Shuler was born in Lyons, New York. He graduated from Lyons High School in 1902. Shuler then went to Chicago, Illinois, where he worked in the union stock yards for three years. For the next two years, he worked in Los Angeles, California and at mining camps in Nevada and Death Valley.<ref name=Red_Book>{{cite book |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kndIAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA58 |chapter=State Treasurer |title=The New York Red Book |first=James |last=Malcolm |date=1923 |page=58 |publisher=J. B. Lyon Company, Publishers |location=Albany, New York |access-date=2025-08-20}}</ref>
Returning to the east coast in one of the first cross-country automobile trips, Shuler worked in a surveying party on the New York State barge canal from November 1907 to April 1909. He then went to Washington, D.C., where he got a job as a reporter for ''The Washington Post''.<ref name=Red_Book/>
==Military career== While working for ''The Post'', Shuler took courses at Dowd's Army and Navy Academy. He passed the examination for second lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps and was commissioned in October 1910. In 1914, he participated in the occupation of Veracruz, Mexico. Shuler was promoted to first lieutenant in June 1916 and then to captain in August 1916.<ref name=Red_Book/><ref name=obit/>
During World War I, Shuler went to France in the first American troop convoy as a Marine company commander in June 1917. In 1918, he received a temporary promotion to major and assumed command of the 3rd Battalion, 6th Marines.<ref name=Red_Book/> Shuler was nominated for the Distinguished Service Cross three times, but each time received the Silver Star for his combat valor instead.<ref name=obit/><ref>{{cite web |url=https://valor.militarytimes.com/recipient/recipient-16829/ |title=George K. Shuler |website=Hall of Valor |publisher=Military Times |access-date=2025-08-20}}</ref> After the armistice, he served as part of the army of occupation in Germany from December 1918 to April 1919.<ref name=Red_Book/>
Shuler was awarded both the Army Distinguished Service Medal and the Navy Distinguished Service Medal for his wartime service. He also received the Legion of Honour and the Croix de Guerre with three palms from France.<ref name=Red_Book/><ref name=obit/>
After the war, Shuler reverted to the rank of captain. He was later permanently advanced to the rank of major. On July 30, 1922, while still a captain, Shuler commanded the detachment of four or five Marines that was dispatched by Secretary of the Interior Albert Fall to evict a drilling rig crew belonging to the Mutual Oil Company from the Teapot Dome oil field in Natrona County, Wyoming, thus precipitating one of the most notable scandals of the administration of President Warren G. Harding. The eviction proceeded without incident; the officials of the company even provided lunch to Captain Shuler and the men of his detachment after drilling operations had ceased.<ref>Werner, Morris R. and Starr, John: ''Teapot Dome'', Viking Press, 1959; pp. 81-83</ref>
==Political career== Shuler ran for Congress in New York's 36th congressional district in 1920, but was defeated by Norman J. Gould. He was New York State Treasurer from 1923 to 1924, elected in 1922 but defeated for re-election in 1924 by Republican Lewis H. Pounds. He was a delegate to the 1924 Democratic National Convention.
==Personal life== Shuler married Blanche Stewart, and they had two daughters. In later life, he lived in Brooklyn, New York City.<ref name=obit/>
Shuler died at the Veterans Hospital in the Bronx on October 16, 1942.<ref name=obit>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1942/10/17/archives/major-shulbr-57-cited-in-last-war-marine-corps-officer-headed-third.html |title=Major Shuler, 57, Cited in Last War: Marine Corps Officer Headed Third Battalion in France—Former State Treasurer |date=October 17, 1942 |page=15 |newspaper=The New York Times |access-date=2025-08-20}}</ref> He was interred at Long Island National Cemetery.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.vlm.cem.va.gov/GEORGEKSHULER/6758E77 |title=George K Shuler |website=Veterans Legacy Memorial |access-date=2025-08-20}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
==See also== {{Portal|Biography}} *[http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/shuldberg-shuttleworth.html] Political Graveyard *[https://web.archive.org/web/20110519014701/http://homeofheroes.com/valor/02_awards/index_dsm/01_navyDSM-index.html] List of recipients, at Home of the Heroes *[https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1922/09/25/109851794.pdf] His candidacy for Lt. Gov announced, mentioning his war heroism, in NYT on September 25, 1922 *[https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1922/09/30/99082245.pdf] The Dem. ticket, in NYT on September 30, 1922
{{S-start}} {{s-ppo}} {{s-bef|before=John F. Healy}} {{s-ttl|title=Democratic nominee for New York State Treasurer|years=1922, 1924}} {{s-aft|after=None}} {{S-off}} {{Succession box| title = New York State Treasurer | before = N. Monroe Marshall | after = Lewis H. Pounds | years = 1923–1924}} {{S-end}}
{{NYSTreasurer}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shuler, George Kent}} Category:1884 births Category:1942 deaths Category:People from Lyons, New York Category:United States Marine Corps officers Category:United States Marine Corps personnel of World War I Category:Recipients of the Silver Star Category:Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army) Category:Recipients of the Navy Distinguished Service Medal Category:American recipients of the Legion of Honour Category:American recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1914–1918 (France) Category:New York state treasurers Category:20th-century New York (state) politicians Category:Politicians from Brooklyn Category:Burials at Long Island National Cemetery