James Mattis is a retired Marine general and a military history fellow at Stanford -- and Donald Trump picked him for secretary of Defense. When Mattis is not on the road, he’s at his mother’s house in Richland, Washington.
Mattis’ family home is an original government house from Hanford on the Columbia River. It sports Marine stickers on the front door and mailbox. His mother, Lucille, has lived here for decades.
Despite being nicknamed "Mad Dog," Lucille’s neighbor Adriane Green said Mattis is nice and generous with his time. Her family calls him “General” and they BBQ in the summer together. Green's son Asher said The General promised to take him out for a root beer float.
Green said she cleans Lucille’s house so she got the big secretary of Defense scoop from Lucille a bit early.
“She wants him to visit more often, so she’s not exactly like for it,” Green said. “But, she’s amazed at how much he’s done and she’s like, ‘I can’t even believe he’s my son.’”
Mattis was born in Pullman and graduated from Columbia High School in Richland before earning a degree in history from Central Washington University in 1971.
