Passing of our 27th Commandant

[nptwildcat]

From: Conway Gen James T
Sent: Thu 10/30/2008 3:46 PM

Generals, Admirals, and Senior Executives,

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 interment.

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.

[Phantom Winger]

God Bless Gen Barrow and God Bless the Marine Corps.

RIP sir

[fontman]

After-Action Report
By Colonel Wayne Bienvenu, USMCR (Ret.)

The Marine Corps went all out for the funeral service. The Commandant and several of his general officers were there, as well as a Color Guard Company, the Marine Corps Color Guard, and a detachment from the Marine Corps Band. (There must have been three planeloads of Marines from HQMC.) There was also a musical group from the Marine Reserve Band in NOLA. The following additional dignitaries were also present: General Al Gray, General Carl Mundy, Senator Jim Webb, Jim Brady, General John Miller, two MCMOH recipients, Barney Barnum and Wes Fox, and a contingent of six of Barrow Tulane Marines (Tommy Bienvenu, Dick Joiner, Ron Dusse, Sloan McCloskey, Bill Capps and yours truly). Retired Lieutenant General Jack Bergman and Major General Ron Richard were also in attendance, probably along with others I did not observe.

The weather was absolutely perfect, and the setting of Grace Episcopal Church under the oaks could not have been better. The church is in the center of the grounds, and the graveyard is adjacent to the church on both sides. There is a hall on the church grounds which was used for the viewing. The General’s casket was closed and covered by the Flag and surrounded by flowers. (Ours were elegant, and symbolically trimmed with olive green and blue ribbons.) An adjacent room was used for food and refreshments. The family had a small but well selected memorial picture display in the viewing room. In addition to the uniformed Marines, the Marine Corps League, and a number of retired and veteran Marines were also present. There was an impressive number of local and area friends of the general at the viewing.

The funeral procession started at the General’s home, which is only a block away from the church and graveyard. The hearse under escort of honorary and family pallbearers was preceded by the Color Guard, and followed by the family. (I served at the Barrow Family’s request as an Honorary Pallbearer in recognition of our membership.) The far off sounds of firing cannon in a dirge-like cadence could be heard during the procession, which moved along a street lined with school children holding miniature U.S. flags, and with local citizens in front of their homes with flags flying, and hands over their hearts. The whole town had turned out either to attend or to view the funeral from a distance.

The color guard marched into a box formation in front of the church in front of the church, and presented arms. The body was removed from the hearse by six “strong” Marines, and set for the pallbearers to escort into the church. Protocol was strictly followed for handling the General’s body; and six general officers followed by eight honorary pallbearers, and eight family pallbearers escorted the body to bier at the front of the altar.

The church ceremony lasted about two hours with eulogies by four of the children and General Mundy, who had become close to the General and his family during the last several years as neighbors in North Carolina. I heard some new stories about the General and his family during the eulogies, and will perhaps try to collect them from our attendees and send them out later. Several comments are worth noting: (1) Charles said “We are so happy that Dad will be alongside our mother tonight”; (2) Rob said that his dad’s favorite admonition was “In the moment, always be a gentleman”; and (3) I believe it was Barbara who said words to the effect, “Everyone thinks he was a legendary Marine, but that pales compared to the husband and father that he was.” The service concluded with an Episcopal mass with an eloquent homily that compared the General to a Fourteenth Century Knight

After the service the procession moved from the church to the adjacent graveyard for the burial. During movement of the body to the grave site, the jazz funeral music by the NOLA Marines was a special touch. There was a fly-by of four aircraft, and a nineteen gun salute. The Band bugle player performed magnificently. The Commandant presented flags to each of the five children. Then finally, the family members cast dirt on the General’s casket; and their restrained emotions yielded to a flood of tears over the realization that he was in fact now gone.

The whole ceremony was quite impressive, and an appropriate tribute to the memory of a great American, a Louisiana Legend, a Mentor and an old friend.

Semper Fidelis,

Wayne

Note: We were able to get a moment of silence observed in the General’s memory at the LSU-Tulane game on Saturday. I called and asked MG Ron Richard, USMC (Ret), head of Tiger Athletic Foundation, to arrange to have this done since the General was also a Louisiana Legend, and possessed honorary doctorate degrees from both LSU and Tulane. Some of his grandchildren were at the game, and reported to Charles with amazement that it had been done.

[ronr418]

Hey fontman, did you serve with General Barrow at the Chosin Reservoir? General Barrow was Commandant of the Marine Corps when I joined the Corps in 1979.

[Mooch0231]

It's horrible losing both General Barrow and Colonel Ripley within days of each other.
Rest in peace gentlemen.
Enjoy your time in Valhalla as you both richly deserve to,
S/F
Mooch