All Hands,
Generals, Admirals, and Senior Executives,
It is with deep regret that I announce the death, on 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.
