Korean War Edward Hanna Forney (August 16, 1909 – January 21, 1965) was a highly decorated officer of the United States Marine Corps with the rank of brigadier general.

His family moved many times due to father's job and young Edward spent childhood in Havana, Cuba, Hollywood, California, New York City and finally in Washington, D.C.

[3][1] Many of his classmates had distinguished careers and became general officers: John S. McCain Jr., Horacio Rivero Jr., Charles T. Booth, Lawson P. Ramage, Bernard F. Roeder, Frederick L. Wieseman, Frederick J. Becton, Charles B. Brooks Jr., Ernest B. Ellsworth, Wilmer E. Gallaher, Andrew J. Hill Jr., Harlan T. Johnson, Frederic S. Keeler, Edward J. O'Neill, Forsyth Massey, Berton A. Robbins Jr., Kinlock C. Walpole, Nelson K. Brown, Austin R. Brunelli, Edward J. Dillon, Robert E. Fojt, Bankson T. Holcomb Jr., Lewis C. Hudson, Clifford H. Shuey or Samuel G.

[1] He then served a brief stint at Marine Barracks, Parris Island, South Carolina, and Quantico, Virginia and subsequently completed the regular course at Army Field Artillery School at Fort Sill, Oklahoma in June 1939.

He was stationed in Noumea, New Caledonia and following the redesignation to I Marine Amphibious Corps he was attached as liaison officer and observer to 9th Defense Battalion under the command of Lieutenant Colonel William J. Scheyer in summer 1943.

[1][6] He took part in the capture and subsequent occupation of Rendova Island during New Georgia Campaign at the beginning of July 1943 and received the Bronze Star Medal with Combat "V" and Navy Unit Commendation for his service there.

His unit provided support to ground troops ashore until December 1943 and Forney received Navy Commendation Medal with Combat "V" for his service at Cape Torokina, Bougainville.

He took part in the Inchon Landing and recapture of Seoul in September 1950 and received Air Medal while engaged in observation flights over enemy held territory.

Element, Standing Group, NATO, Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD), as a Member of the International Planning Teams and on U.S. Joint and Combined Committee.

[14][15] Forney retired from the Marine Corps after 28 years of active service in June 1959 and was advanced to the rank of brigadier general for having been specially commended in combat.

[1][2] Following his retirement from the Marines, Forney assumed assignment as the Public Safety Advisor with the U.S. Operations Mission (USOM), Agency for International Development at the U.S. Embassy in Saigon, South Vietnam.

As a veteran of Haitian campaign, he used his own experiences and proposed that the United States operation in South Vietnam should not be tied in with the MAAG; but rather an effort to be linked with the Civil Guard, the Self-Defense Corps, and the local Militia in the village and boondock level.

[16] Forney met with then-Chief of Staff, Headquarters Marine Corps, Lieutenant general Wallace M. Greene in Saigon in February 1963 and discuss his conclusions with him.