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[thedrifter]

Breaking News ...

General Robert Barrow, 27th Commandant of the Marine Corps passed away today, 30 Oct, at 1300...

More to Follow.

When I get more news I will fill You in....

Ellie

[yellowwing]

God Bless General Robert Barrow. Semper Fi Sir!

[Phantom Blooper]

Generals, Admirals, and Marines or Sailors, It is with deep regret that I announce the death this afternoon, 30 October 2008, of General Robert H. Barrow, U.S. Marine Corps, Retired, our 27th Commandant of the Marine Corps and a highly decorated veteran of three wars. In accordance with Article 1288 of Navy Regulations, when a former Commandant passes, all Marine Corps installations will half-mast the national ensign from the time of General Barrow's death through sunset on the day of internment. Funeral plans are not complete. Once available, this headquarters will announce details of funeral plans via All-Marine message. Per MCO 5360.10A, the Officer in Charge of the funeral staff is Brigadier General Michael Brogan. He is responsible for planning, coordinating, and ensuring proper execution of the funeral and burial ceremony. General Barrow was born on 5 February 1922 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He graduated high school in 1939 and enrolled at Louisiana State University. In March 1942, he enlisted in the Platoon Leader's Class Program. He left school in the fall of 1942 and went to boot camp in San Diego, staying on after graduation as a drill instructor. Selected for Officer Candidate School, he left San Diego for Quantico in March 1943; and on 19 May 1943, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant of Marines. Following officer training, he was assigned to Marine Barracks, Naval Ammunition Depot, New Orleans. He was reassigned in February 1944 to the 51st Replacement Battalion in Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. During the last seven months of World War II, he led an American team serving with Chinese guerrilla forces in Japanese occupied Central China. He was awarded the Bronze Star. After World War II, he served as Aide de Camp to the Commanding General, Fleet Marine Force, Atlantic. He completed Amphibious Warfare School, Junior Course in June 1949, and was transferred to the 2d Marine Division at Camp Lejeune. He was given command of Company A, 1st Battalion, 2d Marines. At the beginning of the Korean War, his company was transferred to Camp Pendleton and redesignated Company A, 1st Battalion, 1st Marines, 1st Marine Division. He led Able Company ashore at Inchon in September 1950. For his leadership in the fighting on the outskirts of Seoul, he received the Silver Star. During the Chosin Reservoir Campaign, he was awarded the Navy Cross for the seizure and defense of Hill 1081 from 9-10 December 1950. After the Korean War, he was reassigned as Officer-in-Charge, Infantry Desk, Enlisted Assignments, Headquarters Marine Corps. From there he was detailed out and sent on a classified assignment to the Far East, north of Taiwan. He returned to Headquarters Marine Corps, this time to the G-3. In February 1956, he returned to Camp Lejeune, where he served first as operations officer and then executive officer of 2d Battalion, 6th Marines. He joined the NROTC unit at Tulane University in 1957, and served as Marine Officer Instructor for three years. Returning to Quantico, he completed a tour with the Landing Force Development Center and attended the Officer's Senior Course in 1963. He left for another tour in the Pacific, where he served as G-3, III Marine Expeditionary Force, then G-3 Plans Officer at Fleet Marine Force Pacific in Hawaii. Attendance at the National War College followed, and upon graduation in 1968, he arrived in South Vietnam to take command of 9th Marines, 3d Marine Division. The regiment conducted a series of highly successful operations south of the western part of the Demilitarized Zone and in the Khe Sanh and Ba Long Valley areas. For his valor during Operation Dewey Canyon from 22 January to 18 March 1969, he received the Distinguished Service Cross. He was promoted to brigadier general in August 1969 by General Leonard F. Chapman, 24th Commandant of the Marine Corps. General Barrow's first tour as a general officer was Commanding General, Marine Corps Base, Camp Butler, Okinawa, where he served for three years. He then served as Commanding General, Marine Corps Recruit Depot, Parris Island, South Carolina for 32 months. In July 1975, he was assigned as Deputy Chief of Staff for Manpower, Headquarters Marine Corps. The following year, he became Commanding General, Fleet Marine Force Atlantic, Norfolk, Virginia. He was Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps from July 1978, until a year later when he assumed the office as Commandant. Befitting his reputation and stature, when General Barrow stepped down as 27th Commandant of the Marine Corps on 26 June 1983, President Ronald Reagan presided over the ceremony at Marine Barracks, Washington, D.C. General Barrow returned to Louisiana, where he lived in retirement. General Barrow was a three-war Marine with unparalleled experience in conventional and irregular conflict. He commanded at every level. His deep sense of purpose and abiding love of the Corps propelled him from the rank of private to general and the Office of the Commandant. He was the first Marine to serve a regular four-year tour as a full member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He was a leader in personnel reform and was instrumental in the decision to make the commanding generals of the recruit depots the two chief regional recruiters. He believed a better quality of recruit led to an increase in performance and retention. As such, he advocated an increase in the percentage of high school graduates and screening programs for recruiters and drill instructors. As Commandant, he addressed substance abuse and alcoholism by ending the tolerance of drug abusers and problem drinkers. Under his steady hand, the Marine Corps reached a plateau of excellence in attracting and retaining quality men and women. General Barrow's medals and decorations include the Navy Cross, Defense Distinguished Service Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster, Department of the Army Distinguished Service Cross, Distinguished Service Medal, Silver Star, three Legions of Merit, two Bronze Stars, and the Combat Action Ribbon. In the essay he wrote for the book, Commandants of the Marine Corps, BGen Edwin Simmons quoted the personal credo of Gen Barrow: "In any institution or undertaking, the importance of people transcends all else." General Barrow maintained, throughout his life, an abiding love and respect for his Marines. We, in turn, will miss him greatly.

[2ndLAADBnWRENCH]

General Robert Barrow Deceased Semper Fi Sir! When a pinicle of the pile is lost the whole nation shakes from the wave memorys made by such a man and the loss of his great knowledge and experience. His family, comarades and friends condolances from a lowly Sgt...

Good Night "CHESTY" Where Ever You Are

[Alpha1Devildog]

General Robert H. Barrow, said, "Success in battle is not a function of how many show up, but who they are."

Sir, those Marines who have went before you, await you and your leading.

God speed Marine, and Semper Fi.

[thedrifter]

Former commandant Barrow dies at 86
By Dan Lamothe - Staff writer
Posted : Friday Oct 31, 2008 7:26:57 EDT

A former Marine Corps commandant general died Thursday, leaving a legacy that includes earning two of the military’s top decorations and becoming the first Marine to serve a four-year term as a full member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Retired Gen. Robert Barrow, 86, was the 27th Commandant of the Marine Corps from 1979 to 1983. His cause of death was not immediately available.

In an e-mail to top officers, Commandant Gen. James Conway mourned his passing, saying Barrow had “unparalleled experience” in conventional and irregular conflict. Conway credited Barrow with addressing substance abuse and alcoholism in the Corps, revamping the command structure of recruit depots and advocating an increase in screening programs for drill instructors and recruiters and overall personnel reform.

“General Barrow maintained, throughout his life, an abiding love and respect for his Marines,” Conway said. “We, in turn, will miss him greatly.”

Barrow served in three wars, earning some of the Corps’ most revered military decorations along the way.

In World War II, he led an American team serving with Chinese guerilla forces to fight the Japanese in Japanese-occupied Central China, earning the first of his two Bronze Stars.

As a captain during the Korean War, he led a rifle company of Marines ashore during the Inchon Landing in September 1950. A few days later, his company fought through the outskirts of the South Korean capital of Seoul, which Marine forces later seized. He earned a Silver Star for his efforts.

Two months later, his rifle company fought Chinese troops at the frigid battle at Chosin Reservoir, taking a hill the night of Dec. 9, 1950, while Marine forces were vastly outnumbered. For his leadership and bravery, he received a Navy Cross, an award second only to the Medal of Honor.

Barrow held several command positions over the next 18 years. During the Vietnam War in 1968 and 1969, he led 9th Marines as a colonel through a series of operations in the Khe Sanh and Ba Long Valley areas.

During Operation Dewey Canyon, Barrow led a 56-day sweep of a valley dominated by the North Vietnamese Army. He later was awarded the Army’s Distinguished Service Cross for “extraordinary heroism and devotion to duty” during the operation, becoming one of only 60 Marines to ever earn the Army’s second-highest military honor.

After the Vietnam War, Barrow moved up the ranks, becoming commandant on July 1, 1979. During his final days as the Corps’ top officer, he expressed concerns about “unprovoked incidents” on Marines stationed in Beirut, Lebanon. The Marine barracks there was bombed Oct. 23, 1983, killing 241 U.S. service members, including 220 Marines, about four months after his retirement.

Barrow is also remembered for a quote frequently repeated throughout the military: “Amateurs talk about tactics, but professionals study logistics.” The line is used frequently by officers discussing the importance of logistical preparedness.


Staff writer Gidget Fuentes contributed to this report.

Rest in peace

Ellie

[fontman]

Update below...

General and Mrs. Barrow are survived by five children, Charles C. Pulliam of Greenville, S.C., Cathleen P. Harmon of Killeen, Texas, Barbara B. Kanegaye of Houston, Texas, Mary B. Hannigan of Oakton, Va. and LtCol. Robert H. Barrow USMC (Ret) of Tampa, Fla., eleven grandchildren and five great grandchildren.

A private funeral for family and friends will be held on November 3 at 1:00 p.m. Pallbearers are sons Charles C. Pulliam and LtCol. Robert H. Barrow, USMC (Ret); grandsons Richard S. Bassett, Robert C. Bassett, Collin J. Hannigan, Mark J. Hannigan, Pierce T. Hannigan, S. Denham Turner III, and Scott B. Turner; and nephews Emmette E. Barrow (former USN) and Bertrand H. Barrow (former USMC).

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be sent to: The Grace Episcopal Church Cemetery Fund, 11621 Ferdinand Street, St. Francisville, LA 70775; The Injured Marine/Semper Fi Fund, 825 College Blvd, Suite 102, PMB #609, Oceanside, CA 92057 (note donation made in Memory of General Barrow); and/or The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center Donations, Neuro-Oncology Department, P.O. Box 301402 - Unit 431, Houston, TX 77230-1402 (The address for the UT Cancer Center must read exactly as indicated for funds to reach the Cancer Center).

[SgtHMH]

Semper Fi General Barrow, Sir you were the Commandant Of the Corps when I stepped off the bus and hit the Yellow Foot Prints and also Earned the Title Marine

2nd Battalion Fox Company Platoon 2075, Dec 4, 1981

Rest in Peace Sir

Semper Fi

[Phantom Blooper]

Marine hero Gen. Robert H. Barrow dies at 86

Barrow Hall on Parris Island named in his honor

By PATRICK DONOHUE
pdonohue@beaufortgazette.com
843-986-5531
Published Saturday, November 1, 2008


Though some might have regarded him as a "Hollywood Marine" -- a moniker for those who were recruits at Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego -- few places bear the mark of Gen. Robert H. Barrow more than Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island.
Barrow, who served as the depot's commanding general before becoming the Corps' 27th commandant in 1979, died in his sleep Thursday night in his hometown of St. Francisville, La. He was 86.
A decorated veteran of World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War, Barrow served as commanding general of Parris Island from 1972 to 1975.
"Gen. Barrow's passing is a sad occasion across the Marine Corps and felt especially deeply here at Parris Island," said

Master Sgt. Mark Oliva, spokesman for the depot. "As commanding general, he strove to improve the quality and character of Marines, setting the high moral, ethical, physical and mental standards expected of Marines even today. Gen. Barrow's warrior spirit and his pride as a Marine continue to be a guiding influence on how we make Marines."
Barrow was commandant until 1983, when he retired to St. Francisville after more than 40 years in the Marine Corps.
During his time as commandant, Barrow became the first Marine to serve a four-year tour as a full member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and is credited for aggressively responding to racial tension in the corps, ending a tolerance of drug and alcohol abuse among Marines and giving commanders the authority to discharge troublesome Marines, according to a release from Headquarters Marine Corps in Quantico, Va.

After Barrow retired, he was named to several government panels, including President Reagan's Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board and Blue Ribbon Commission on Defense Management, also known as the Packard Commission.
In 2002, Barrow returned to Parris Island, where the depot honored him by naming its then 60-year-old headquarters building in his honor.
"Parris Island is a moving experience," Barrow said during the ceremony. "The transition that the young adults go through here is just phenomenal. There's no other experience like it. There's just something magic about Parris Island." Barrow Hall still serves as the depot's headquarters.

[thedrifter]

November 1, 2008
Robert Barrow, a Marine Corps Reformer Who Became Commandant, Dies at 86
By DOUGLAS MARTIN

Gen. Robert H. Barrow, the 27th commandant of the Marine Corps who served heroically in World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War, then went on to reform Marine recruiting and training, died on Thursday in St. Francisville, La. He was 86.

The Marine Corps announced his death.

General Barrow combined Southern courtliness, fierce devotion to Marine tradition and courage reflected in dozens of awards. He was awarded the Navy Cross in Korea and the Army Distinguished Service Cross in Vietnam, both of which are second only to the Medal of Honor.

As the Marine manpower chief in 1976, General Barrow was instrumental in drafting reforms designed to end physical abuse and harassment of recruit trainees by drill instructors. The New York Times, quoting military officials, reported in 1979 that the training reforms, which included closer supervision by officers, had worked well.

At the time, the general said the corps would not ease the tough physical conditioning that was a hallmark of Marine boot camps. But he demanded that there be no more “excess stress” on recruits, including “nose-to-nose yelling” by drill sergeants.

General Barrow also succeeded in raising the quality of recruits, in part by seeking out high school graduates. In 1975, less than half had high school diplomas; by 1982, 82 percent did.

Robert Hilliard Barrow was born on Feb. 5, 1922, in Baton Rouge, La., and grew up on his family’s Rosale Plantation in West Feliciana Parish, La. The family’s circumstances were difficult, however. They had no electricity, so Robert satisfied his early passion for reading by using a kerosene lamp.

He went to Louisiana State University, because it offered free tuition at the time and modest boarding costs. He worked as a waiter and janitor and served in the university’s Corps of Cadets, as all physically fit students — only men were admitted then — were required to do.

After Pearl Harbor, General Barrow, inspired by the Marines’ heroic but ultimately unsuccessful defense of Wake Island in December 1941, was attracted by a double-page Marine Corps recruiting ad in The Baton Rouge Morning Advocate.

He joined the Marines in March 1942. He could have stayed to graduate because of his membership in the university’s corps but instead asked for active duty in November 1942, Allan R. Millett and Jack Shulimson wrote in “Commandants of the Marine Corps” (2004).

General Barrow was disappointed in his preparation during the six-week boot camp in San Diego, undoubtedly setting the stage for his later training reforms. The book quoted him as saying that the experience “was not one that prepared someone to go off and be a fighting member of a fighting organization.”

He stayed on as a drill instructor, then went on to officer candidate school and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in May 1943. He ended up being deployed to China, where he led an American team fighting with a Chinese guerrilla force behind Japanese lines. He was awarded a Bronze Star with Combat “V.”

During the Korean War, he fulfilled diverse assignments, including the Inchon-Seoul operation, a daring amphibious strike led by Gen. Douglas MacArthur, and the Chosin Reservoir campaign, in which American troops fought valiantly to hold off invading Chinese before being forced to withdraw. Lynn Montross the corps’ chief historian at the time, called him “the most outstanding company commander of the war.”

In 1952, General Barrow was lent by the Marine Corps to a top-secret mission on a string of islands north of Taiwan, the Marine Corps said in its announcement of his death.

During Vietnam, General Barrow commanded the Ninth Marine Regiment, Third Marine Division. In Operation Dewey Canyon in early 1969, his troops killed 1,617 enemy soldiers and captured 1,461 weapons and hundreds of tons of ammunition. Gen. Richard G. Stillwell, chief of staff to Gen. William C. Westmoreland, the American commander in Vietnam, called General Barrow the war’s “finest regimental commander.”

General Barrow rose through the ranks, becoming assistant commandant in 1978 and commandant in 1979, succeeding Gen. Louis H. Wilson, who had already started big reforms in the Marines, including discharging more than 5,000 undesirables.

Besides recruitment and training, General Barrow expanded the Marines’ role in the military’s new rapid response strategy. He also came up with ways the Marines could fight without storming beaches. These included putting equipment on preloaded ships that would meet Marines at a safe port.

In 1983, General Barrow made news after a letter he wrote to the secretary of defense, Caspar W. Weinberger, criticizing Israeli soldiers in Lebanon, was released by the Pentagon. General Barrow said Israeli soldiers were firing guns at American troops, among other things. Israel denied the charges.

General Barrow’s wife of 53 years, Patty, died in 2005. He is survived by his sons Charles C. Pulliam, of Greenville, S.C., and Robert H. Barrow, a retired lieutenant colonel in the Marines, of Tampa; his daughters Cathleen P. Harmon, of Killeen, Texas, Barbara B. Kanegaye, of Houston, and Mary B. Hannigan, of Oakton, Va., 11 grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.

At his retirement in 1983, General Barrow recalled asking graduates of Parris Island boot camp what they had gotten out of their training. He approvingly quoted one response: “Sir,” a young Marine said, “the private will always do what needs to be done.”

Ellie

RIP

[thedrifter]

Posted on Mon, Nov. 03, 2008
Barrow pushed military reform
By MARTIN WEIL
Robert H. Barrow, a retired four-star general who was a former commandant of the Marine Corps and was decorated for heroism and recognized for reforms, died Oct. 30 at his home in St. Francisville, La., at 86. He had heart and circulatory problems.

Barrow served in World War II and the Korean and Vietnam wars, and he received the Silver Star, the Distinguished Service Cross and the Navy Cross - among the highest awards for valor.

Later, as commanding general of the Marine Corps recruit depot at Parris Island, S.C., and as the Marines' deputy chief of staff for manpower at Corps headquarters, Barrow became known for efforts to raise recruiting standards and reduce training abuses.

"Success in battle is not a function of how many show up but who they are," he once said. He championed bringing in recruits who had high school diplomas and created screening programs for drill instructors, according to a Marine Corps statement.

"My father believed that people and the quality of people transcends everything else that you do in an organization," a son, retired Marine Lt. Col. Robert H. Barrow Jr., said in an interview.

Named to the Marines' top job by President Carter, Barrow served through the early part of the Reagan administration and retired in 1983. He was the first Marine commandant to serve a full four-year term on the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Barrow was born in Baton Rouge, grew up on a family plantation in Louisiana's West Feliciana Parish and studied at Louisiana State University before enlisting in the Marines during World War II. (He later graduated from the University of Maryland.)

After boot camp and a stint as a drill instructor, he took officers training and was sent to lead Americans working with Chinese guerrillas in Japanese-occupied China.

His wife of 53 years, Patty, died in 2005. In addition to his son, of Tampa, survivors include four other children, 11 grandchildren, and five great grandchildren.

Ellie

RIP

[DevsDad]

I wonder how private the ceremony will be.. there are about 120 Marines from the 8th & I there. Should be a great tribute to a great Marine!
RIP Sir.

[Osotogary]

I saw this notice in the Miami Herald this morning. May his soul rest in peace.

[thedrifter]

General Robert H. Barrow laid to rest in St. Francisville

Posted: Nov 3, 2008 10:59 PM

Updated: Nov 3, 2008 11:16 PM
Gen. Robert H. Barrow

ST. FRANCISVILLE, LA (WAFB) - The town of St. Francisville and top brass of the United States Marines said good-bye to an American war hero Monday.

General Robert H. Barrow was laid to rest with full military honors in the town where he grew up.

It was a fitting ceremony for a former commandant of the U.S. Marines. He served in three wars, earning the highest medal the Marine Corps issues, the Navy Cross.

According to the Marine Corps, Barrow earned every minute of his funeral service.

Hundreds of St. Francisville residents filed into the graveyard at Grace Episcopal Church.

Barrow could have been laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery, but instead, he chose to be buried next to his wife of 53 years, Patty.

The choice says a lot considering all of the military brass that traveled to St. Francisville to honor Barrow.

The top five men in charge of the Marines were on hand for the ceremony.

Barrow's son received the flag that draped over his father's casket. A former Marine himself, he certainly appreciated the corps' efforts.
General Robert H. Barrow was 86 years old.

Ellie

[thedrifter]

Funeral services for Gen. Robert Barrow, former Commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps. A U.S. Marine Corps military procession proceeds down Royal Street in St. Francisville Monday as it escorts the hearse bearing former commandant of the Marine Corps General Robert H. Barrow who died last Thursday. The Marine Barracks detail, from Headquarters, Washington, D.C., honored Barrow, a four-star general, during the procession and the funeral services.