James M. “Mike” Myatt

US Marine Corps Major General, Retired

Born in San Francisco, Major General James M. “Mike” Myatt joined the Marine Corps after earning a B.S. Degree in Physics from Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas.  He served 31 months in Vietnam for two combat tours. Between Vietnam tours, he earned a M.S. Degree in Engineering Electronics at the Naval Post Graduate School.  He commanded the 1st Marine Division during Operation Desert Storm in 1991.  His Division defeated seven Iraqi Army divisions in zone, seized Kuwait International Airport and liberated Kuwait City. He retired from the Marine Corps in 1995 and joined Bechtel Corporation, Inc.

While working for Bechtel, he managed the $22 billion construction project to build the Korean High-Speed Rail from Seoul to Pusan.  In September 2001, General Myatt became the President and CEO of the Marines Memorial Association in San Francisco.  He retired from the Association in November 2017. 

General Myatt was appointed as a Trustee on the San Francisco War Memorial Board of Trustees – by then Mayor Gavin Newsom and held that position for 13 years. Additionally, since 2010, again, at the request of Mayor Newsom, he was appointed the Chairman of San Francisco’s Annual Fleet Week.

In early 2017, he has attended and participated in the delivery of the Guiding Rage Into Power (GRIP) Program at San Quentin and the Correctional Training Facility (CTF) at Soledad.  The GRIP Program is an evidence-based methodology developed by its founder, Jacques Verdun, over 25 years. It has involved thousands of incarcerated people who are serving life sentences and many victims/survivors – rooted in Restorative Justice principles.  Those incarcerated students engage in an in-depth journey to comprehend the origins of their violence and develop skills to track and manage strong impulses rather than acting out in harmful ways.  At the end of a year of study, they have transformed destructive beliefs and behaviors into that of peacemakers with the emotional intelligence to prevent re-victimization.