Richard Malcolm Cutts III
Brigadier General, U.S. Marine Corps

Richard Malcolm Cutts III was born on 9 January 1903, the son of Colonel Richard Malcolm Cutts, U.S. Marine Corps, and a member of a family with a long tradition of military service to the U.S. 

Following his graduation from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1923, Cutts, a descendant of Francis Scott Key, spent much time overseas, and achieved distinction by winning the U.S. National Rifle Championship in 1926 and 1927. Upon the election in 1932 of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, he was attached to the White House as an Aide to the President, serving there until his marriage in 1934.

During the early years of his military career, Cutts gained recognition as an inventor, particularly of the Cutts Compensator, a device that lessens the recoil of a rifle or submachine gun. The compensator, which he developed with his father, Colonel Richard Cutts, had a great impact on firing concepts in weapon development. Cutts also helped foster advances in ordnance, lubrication and the photography of projectiles in flight.

Among his posts, following White House duty, he was stationed in China during the Sino-Japanese War. In 1944 he was with the 2nd Marines during the final stages of fighting in the Pacific, seeing action in Saipan, Okinawa and in the initial occupation of Nagasaki. He retired from active duty in 1936.

Death and Burial

Brigadier General Richard Malcolm Cutts III died on 14 June 1973 at Bethesda Naval Hospital. He was 70 years old. He is buried in his Father's plot at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, VA.

Cutts is survived by his widow, the former Dorothea Lane of Plains, VA; a daughter, Dorothea, and a sister, Mrs. John T. Wainwright.