General Robert Everton Cushman,
Jr., 25th Commandant of the Marine Corps, was
born 24 December 1914, in St. Paul, Minnesota.
He attended Central High School and at sixteen,
before graduating, was appointed to the U.S. Naval
Academy. Graduating tenth in his class of 442,
he was commissioned a Marine second lieutenant
on 6 June 1935.
Second Lieutenant Cushman completed
The Basic School for Marine officers at the Philadelphia
Navy Yard, then served briefly at the Marine Corps
Base, San Diego, California. In February 1936,
he arrived in Shanghai, China, and served as a
platoon commander with the 4th Marines and later
the 2d Marine Brigade. On his return to the United
States in March 1938, he served at naval shipyards
in Brooklyn, New York and Portsmouth, Virginia.
He was promoted to first lieutenant in August
1938.
In April 1939, 1stLt Cushman was
assigned to the Marine Detachment at the New York
World’s Fair, and was subsequently stationed
at the Marine Barracks, Quantico, Virginia. He
was promoted to captain in March 1941.
In
June 1941, Capt Cushman reported aboard the USS
Pennsylvania in San Diego, enroute to
Pearl Harbor, as Commanding Officer of the ship’s
Marine Detachment. He was serving in this capacity
when the Japanese attacked the ship and other
naval installations at Pearl Harbor on 7 December
1941. Upon his transfer from the Pennsylvania,
he joined the 9th Marines at San Diego as a battalion
executive officer in May 1942 and was promoted
to major that same month.
Major Cushman hiked from San Diego
to Camp Pendleton with his unit in September 1942,
and embarked for the Pacific Area in January 1943.
That month, Maj Cushman was appointed Commanding
Officer of the 2d Battalion, 9th Marines, and
in May 1943 was promoted to lieutenant colonel.
During the two years he held that post, he led
his battalion repeatedly into combat, earning
the Bronze Star Medal with Combat “V”
on Bougainville, the Navy Cross during the recapture
of Guam, and the Legion of Merit with Combat “V”
during the Iwo Jima campaign, where he led his
battalion against "Cushman's Pocket,”
a complex of enemy caves.
Upon his return to the United
States in May 1945, LtCol Cushman was stationed
at Marine Corps Schools, Quantico, for three years.
During that period he completed the Senior School,
served as an instructor in the Command and Staff
School, and during the latter two years was Supervisory
Instructor, Amphibious Warfare School. In June
1948, he was named Head of the Amphibious Warfare
Branch, Office of Naval Research, Navy Department,
Washington, D.C. From October 1949 until May 1951,
he served on the staff of the Central Intelligence
Agency (CIA). While there, he was promoted to
colonel in May 1950.
In June 1951, Col Cushman joined
the staff of the Commander in Chief, U.S. Naval
Forces, Eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean Fleet,
in London, serving as Amphibious Plans Officer
until June 1953. Following his return to the United
States, he was transferred to Norfolk, Virginia,
where he served as a member of the faculty of
the Armed Forces Staff College, and in July 1954
became Director of the Plans and Operations Division
there.
In July 1956, he assumed command
of the 2d Marine Regiment, at Camp Lejuene, North
Carolina.
Assigned to Washington, D.C.,
in February 1957, he served four years on the
staff of then-Vice President Richard Nixon as
Assistant to the Vice President for National Security
Affairs. While serving in this capacity he was
promoted to brigadier general in July 1958.
Following his departure from Washington,
BGen Cushman became Assistant Division Commander,
3d Marine Division, on Okinawa in March 1961.
He was promoted to major general in August 1961,
and in September assumed command of the Division.
In July 1962, he reported to Headquarters
Marine Corps (HQMC) in Washington, D.C., where
he was assigned as both Assistant Chief of Staff,
G-2 (Intelligence) and Assistant Chief of Staff,
G-3 (Plans, Operations and Training), in which
capacities he served until 1 January 1964. From
that date until June 1964, he served only as Assistant
Chief of Staff, G-3.
From June 1964 until March 1967,
MajGen Cushman served in the dual capacity of
Commanding General, Marine Corps Base, Camp Pendleton,
California, and Commanding General, 4th Marine
Division Headquarters Nucleus. In June 1966, he
formed the 5th Marine Division, and additionally,
he served as its Commanding General at Camp Pendleton
until November 1966.
Major General Cushman was ordered
to the Republic of Vietnam in April 1967 and was
assigned as the Deputy Commander, III Marine Amphibious
Force. Upon assuming duty as Commanding General,
III Marine Amphibious Force, the largest combined
combat unit ever led by a Marine, he was promoted
to lieutenant general in June 1967.
For his service as Deputy Commander,
from April to May 1967, and subsequently as Commanding
General, III Marine Amphibious Force, from June
to December 1967, he was awarded the Distinguished
Service Medal. A Gold Star in lieu of a second
Distinguished Service Medal was awarded for his
service as Commanding General, III Marine Amphibious
Force; Senior Advisor, I Corps Tactical Zone;
and I Corps Coordinator for United States/Free
World Military Assistance Forces, from January
1968 to March 1969.
On 6 March 1969, while serving
in Vietnam, LtGen Cushman was nominated by President
Richard M. Nixon to be the Deputy Director of
the CIA; the Senate confirmed his nomination,
21 April 1969.
Upon his return to the United
States, he served briefly as Director of Personnel/Deputy
Chief of Staff (Manpower) at HQMC. LtGen Cushman
subsequently served as Deputy Director of the
CIA from April 1969 through December 1971, for
which service he was awarded the Distinguished
Intelligence Medal. He was promoted to general
and assumed the office of Commandant of the Marine
Corps on 1 January 1972.
During
LtGen Cushman’s tenure, he saw the last
of the Marines leave Vietnam and the peacetime
strength fall to 194,000 while still maintaining
readiness to act in such emergencies as the Mayaguez
rescue and the evacuations of Phnom Penh and Saigon.
General Cushman retired 30 June
1975. He died 2 January 1985 at his home in Fort
Washington, Maryland, and was buried in Arlington
National Cemetery.
A complete list of the general’s
medals and decorations include: Navy Cross; Distinguished
Service Medal with two Gold Stars in lieu of a
second and third award; Legion of Merit with Combat
“V,” Bronze Star Medal with Combat
“V;” Navy Commendation Medal; Presidential
Unit Citation with one Bronze Star; Navy Unit
Commendation with one Bronze Star; Distinguished
Intelligence Medal; China Service Medal; American
Defense Service Medal with one Bronze Star (Fleet
Clasp); American Campaign Medal; Asiatic-Pacific
Campaign Medal with one Silver Star; Victory Medal,
World War II; National Defense Service Medal with
one Bronze Star; Vietnam Service Medal with one
Silver Star and two Bronze Stars; Order of May
to the Naval Merit, in the Degree of Commander
(Government of Argentina); National Order of Vietnam,
Commander or 3d Class, Republic of Vietnam; Army
Distinguished Service Order 1st Class, Republic
of Vietnam; National Order of Vietnam, Commander
or 3d Class, Republic of Vietnam; Army Distinguished
Service Order 1st Class, Republic of Vietnam;
Cross of Gallantry with 2 Palms, Republic of Vietnam;
Order of Military Merit, 2d Class (Ulchi), Republic
of Korea; Order of Military Merit, 3d Class (Chungmu),
Republic of Korea; Republic of Vietnam Meritorious
Unit Citation (Gallantry Cross Color); Vietnam
Campaign Medal; and Vietnamese Rural Revolutionary
Development Medal, Republic of Vietnam.
UNITED
STATES MARINE CORPS
