Victor Krulak | Marine general, 95

Lt. Gen. Victor Krulak, 95, who headed Marine forces in the Pacific during part of the Vietnam War, has died.

He died Monday at the Wesley Palms Retirement Community in San Diego, according to Edith Soderquist, a staff member. The cause was not immediately known.

Gen. Krulak commanded about 100,000 Marines in the Pacific from 1964 to 1968 - a span during which the United States dramatically increased the buildup in Vietnam.

Nicknamed "Brute" for his direct, no-nonsense style, he also was a decorated veteran of World War II and the Korean War.

After retirement, he often criticized the government's handling of the Vietnam War. He wrote that the war could have been won only if the Vietnamese had been protected and befriended and if enemy supplies from North Vietnam had been cut off.

After retiring from the military, he worked for Copley Newspapers, serving at various times as director of editorial and news policy and news-media president of Copley News Service.

He also wrote the book

First to Fight

, an insider's view of the Marine Corps.

- AP