Thomas Felton Riley (July 6, 1912 – February 19, 1998) was a decorated officer of the United States Marine Corps with the rank of brigadier general.

This class provided two future Marine Corps Commandants (Leonard F. Chapman Jr. and Robert E. Cushman Jr.), five lieutenant generals (Lewis J.

[1] Riley was subsequently attached to the Marine detachment aboard the newly commissioned cruiser USS Vincennes and took part in the voyage to the Panama Canal Zone and participated in the Fleet Problem XIX.

His sea duties ended in June 1938, when he was promoted to the rank of first lieutenant and attached to the 29th U.S. Army Engineers in Portland, Oregon, and attended instruction in aerial photo mapping.

Riley was promoted to the rank of captain in May 1941 and appointed commanding officer of the Marine detachment aboard the battleship USS New York.

[1] He remained in Washington until October 1946, when he was transferred to Baltimore, Maryland and appointed Inspector-Instructor of 11th Engineer Battalion, Marine Corps Reserve.

[1] Riley was sent to the Armed Forces Staff College at Norfolk, Virginia, in August of that year, and, upon graduation in January 1951, he was promoted to the rank of colonel.

He was ordered to Washington, D.C., in June 1952 and attached to the Headquarters Marine Corps as head of planning branch, G-4 Division (logistics) again under his World War II superior, Major General William P. T. Hill.

This group was tasked with the development of the recommendations on how the MAGTF should evolve structurally to meet the challenges of atomic warfare and new technologies such as helicopters and jet aircraft.

Because of the ongoing Laotian Civil War and worsening situation in Vietnam, he was tasked with the training and combat preparation of the division for Counter-guerrilla operations.

[8] Upon his return to the United States and a brief period of leave at home, Riley assumed duty as Inspector General of the Marine Corps on July 1, 1961.

During his 20 years as Supervisor, nearly 1 million people moved to Orange County, more than 300,000 homes were built and five new cities sprang up, three of them in Riley's district.

Riley and two fellow board members, Gaddi H. Vasquez and Harriett M. Wieder, were able to escape misconduct charges by leaving office.

One year earlier, he was sent to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, for surgery to relieve pressure on his spine, which was causing severe back and leg pain.