Henry "Harry the Horse" Liversedge was born on September 21 1894, in Volcano, CA. An all-around athlete at Polytechnic High School in San Francisco, CA, Liversedge enrolled at the University of California at Berkeley in 1914. After lettering in rugby during the 1914 season, Liversedge became a mainstay on the Cal Track and Field Team from 1915-17 and lettered as a guard on the football team in 1916.

Liversedge set the National Javelin Record in 1915 and followed by setting the intercollegiate mark in the 16-pound shot put in 1916. When the United States entered World War I, Liversedge enlisted into the Marine Corps and was commissioned a second lieutenant in 1918. Liversedge set sail and arrived in France in September 1918 and remained there until July 1919. Prior to his departure from France, Liversedge competed in the Inter-Allied Games held in Paris and brought home the silver medals in javelin and shot put.

After a brief return to the States, Liversedge arrived in Santo Domingo until he was transferred to the U.S. Naval Academy in April 1920 in order to train for the Olympic Games in Antwerp, Belgium. Liversedge' s training paid off as he returned to Europe and captured the Olympic bronze medal in the shot put with a distance of 46 feet 5-1/4 inches.

After the Games, Liversedge was stationed at Marine Barracks Quantico from 1920 to 1924 where he played for the Quantico Marines Football Team along side Frank "The Great" Goettge. During his time at Quantico, Liversedge was assigned as the aide-de-camp to Brigadier General John H. Russell and served two tours in Haiti during Quantico's football offseason.

In 1924, Liversedge returned to track and field and competed at the U.S. Olympic Trails in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Despite recording a personal best, he placed sixth in the shot put and was named to the 1924 Olympic Games in Paris, France as an alternative. Liversedge continued to play football at Quantico until 1925, earning All-Marine Honors in his final year. Liversedge also served as Quantico's assistant coach in 1926 and 1929 and with Mare Island in 1931.

Throughout the 1930's, Liversedge served in multiple billets until his advancement to Lieutenant Colonel in September 1940, and assumed command of 2nd Battalion, 8th Marines in December of that year. After the attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941, Liversedge' s battalion sailed in January to American Samoa for training and preparation for combat operations. He was promoted to Colonel May 1942 and assumed command of the Third Marine Raider Battalion until March 1943 when he was given command of the newly-organized First Marine Raider Regiment.

After participating in the Consolidation of Southern Solomon Islands, Liversedge' s First Marine Raider Regiment saw intense combat action against the Japanese forces in the dense jungles of New Georgia, British Solomon Islands in July and August of 1943. For his extraordinary heroism, Liversedge was awarded the Navy Cross.

In February 1944, Liversedge returned to the States as the Commanding Officer, 28th Marines at Camp Pendleton. The 28th Marines sailed to Hawaii to train at Camp Tarawa in September 1944 to begin training for the invasion of Iwo Jima. "Landing on the fire-swept beaches 22 minutes after H-Hour, Liversedge gallantly led his men in the advance inland, executing a difficult turning maneuver to the south, preparatory to launching the assault on Mount Suribachi." For his indomitable fighting spirit and leadership, Liversedge was award the gold star in lieu of his second Navy Cross.

Following a brief tour of duty with the occupation forces in Japan, Liversedge returned to the States and in July 1946, he was assigned duties as Director of the Twelfth Marine Reserve District in San Francisco. He served in that capacity until he was named assistant commander of the 1st Marine Division, Camp Pendleton in February 1948 and was promoted to brigadier general in May. Liversedge took command of Fleet Marine Force, Guam, where he remained until April 1950. He then served briefly as Deputy Commander, Marine Barracks, Camp Pendleton, before becoming Director of the Marine Corps Reserve in June 1950. While still on active duty, Harry "The Horse" Liversedge died at the Navy Medical Center in Bethesda on November 25, 1951 of pancreatic cancer. He was 57 years old.

Liversedge's Marine Corps career and athletic accomplishments have earned him much admiration. Liversedge Field at MCB Camp Lejeune and Liversedge Hall at MCB Quantico were named in his honor. In 1996, The University of California Berkeley inducted Liversedge into their Athletic Hall of Fame.

Harry Bluett Liversedge