Merrill B. Twining
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General Merrill Barber Twining (November 28, 1902 – May 11, 1996) was a
United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...
general who received a "tombstone promotion" to four-star general upon retirement. He was the brother of Air Force General
Nathan Farragut Twining Nathan Farragut Twining ( ; October 11, 1897 – March 29, 1982) was a United States Air Force general. He was the chief of Staff of the United States Air Force from 1953 until 1957, and the third chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from 1957 ...
, and the nephew of Rear Admiral Nathan Crook Twining.Merrill Twining, 92, Planned Guadalcanal Attack, ''New York Times'', Wolfgang Saxon, March 16, 1996.


Biography

Twining was born on November 28, 1902, at
Monroe, Wisconsin Monroe is a city in Green County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. The population was 10,661 at the 2020 census. The city is bordered by the town of Monroe to the north and the town of Clarno to the south. It is nicknamed the "C ...
, and was commissioned a Marine second lieutenant upon graduation from the
United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (USNA, Navy, or Annapolis) is a United States Service academies, federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as United States Secre ...
in 1923. During the next two years, he completed the Marine Officers' Basic School, served at Quantico, participated in Caribbean maneuvers with the
10th Marine Regiment The 10th Marine Regiment is an artillery regiment of the United States Marine Corps based at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. They fall under the command of the 2nd Marine Division and the II Marine Expeditionary Force. Subordin ...
, and was stationed at the Marine Barracks,
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. Twining was ordered to the Marine barracks at Pearl Harbor in November 1925, and after six months in Hawaii, he sailed for China, via the Philippine Islands. In China he served with the
4th Fourth or the fourth may refer to: * the ordinal form of the number 4 * ''Fourth'' (album), by Soft Machine, 1971 * Fourth (angle), an ancient astronomical subdivision * Fourth (music), a musical interval * ''The Fourth'', a 1972 Soviet drama ...
and
12th Marine Regiment The 12th Marine Littoral Regiment is a Littoral regiment of the United States Marine Corps based at Camp Smedley Butler, Okinawa, Japan. Nicknamed "Thunder and Steel," the regiment falls under the command of the 3rd Marine Division. Mission Th ...
s at
Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...
, Taku, Hsin Ho,
Tientsin Tianjin is a direct-administered municipality in northern China on the shore of the Bohai Sea. It is one of the nine national central cities, with a total population of 13,866,009 inhabitants at the time of the 2020 Chinese census. Its metropoli ...
, and
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. He returned to the United States in August 1928. He was promoted to first lieutenant in December 1928 while serving as commander of the Marine barracks at the Pacific Coast Torpedo Station,
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. He then served briefly as editor and publisher of
Leatherneck Magazine ''Leatherneck Magazine of the Marines'' (or simply ''Leatherneck'') is a magazine for United States Marines. History and profile The first ''Leatherneck'' was published Nov. 17, 1917, as a four-page newspaper. It was called ''The Quantico Leat ...
in Washington, D.C. In September 1929, Lieutenant Twining was assigned to the Office of the Judge Advocate General of the Navy. While stationed there, he obtained his Bachelor of Laws degree from
George Washington University The George Washington University (GW or GWU) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally-chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Originally named Columbian College, it was chartered in 1821 by ...
in 1932. He reported again to the Marine barracks at Pearl Harbor in November 1932, remaining there until January 1935. In March 1935, while attached to the Marine barracks at the Naval Air Station, Sunnyvale, California, he earned the Distinguished Pistol Shot's Gold Badge in the Western Division Rifle and Pistol Matches at San Diego, California. He was promoted to captain in May 1935. From July 1935 to August 1936, Captain Twining was a student in the Army Infantry School,
Fort Benning Fort Benning (named Fort Moore from 2023–2025) is a United States Army post in the Columbus, Georgia area. Located on Georgia's border with Alabama, Fort Benning supports more than 120,000 active-duty military, family members, reserve compone ...
, Georgia. During the next year he served at Philadelphia as an instructor in the Marine Officers' Basic School. Moving to Quantico in June 1937, he served as a company commander with the 5th Marines, and two years later became an instructor in the Marine Corps Schools. He also participated in Caribbean maneuvers in 1938 and 1939. He was promoted to major in July 1939. In November 1941, Major Twining joined the
1st Marine Division The 1st Marine Division (1st MARDIV) is a Marine (military), Marine Division (military), division of the United States Marine Corps headquartered at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California. It is the ground combat element of the I Marine E ...
at
Camp Lejeune Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune ( or ) is a United States military training facility in Jacksonville, North Carolina. Its of beaches make the base a major area for amphibious assault training, and its location between two deep-water ports ( ...
, North Carolina. He was promoted to lieutenant colonel in January 1942 and moved with the division to the Pacific area in May 1942. He earned his first
Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a Awards and decorations of the United States military, military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievemen ...
with Combat "V" for meritorious service from 25 June to 10 December 1942 as the division's assistant operations officer and later, assistant chief of staff, G-3. In that capacity he helped prepare and execute plans for the
Guadalcanal Campaign The Guadalcanal campaign, also known as the Battle of Guadalcanal and codenamed Operation Watchtower by the United States, was an Allies of World War II, Allied offensive against forces of the Empire of Japan in the Solomon Islands during th ...
. During the planning phase, Lieutenant Colonel Twining and Major William B. McKean were flown over the then Japanese-held island on 17 July 1942, for the first sighting of Guadalcanal by U.S. Marines in World War II. Following the Guadalcanal campaign, he served as assistant chief of staff, G-3, of
I Marine Amphibious Corps The I Marine Amphibious Corps, or I MAC, was a formation of the United States Marine Corps. It was created on 1 October 1942, with most of the staff transferred from Amphibious Corps, Pacific Fleet (ACPF). It was then deployed to the South Pacific ...
, then commanded by General
Alexander A. Vandegrift Alexander Archer Vandegrift (March 13, 1887 – May 8, 1973) was a United States Marine Corps highly decorated four-star general, Medal of Honor recipient, and a Commandant of the Marine Corps. During World War II, he commanded the 1st Marine Div ...
. Returning to the United States in November 1943, Lieutenant Colonel Twining remained until 1947 at the Marine Corps Schools, Quantico. While there, he served successively as chief of operations and training, executive officer, and as a member of the schools' administrative staff. He was promoted to colonel in February 1945. In August 1947, Colonel Twining reported to Pearl Harbor as chief of staff,
Fleet Marine Force, Pacific The Fleet Marine Force, Pacific (FMFPAC) is the largest maritime landing force in the world. Its units are spread across the Pacific Ocean and reports to the United States Pacific Command. It is headquartered at Camp H. M. Smith, MCB Camp H. ...
. The following June, he was named fleet Marine officer on the staff of the commander-in-chief, Pacific Fleet. He served in that capacity until July 1949, when he returned to the Marine Corps Schools as senior resident member of the Marine Corps Board. In August 1950, he reported to Camp Pendleton and the following month was promoted to brigadier general. He served there as commanding general, Marine Corps Training and Replacement Command, until November 1951, and later as Commander of Fleet Marine Force Troops and commanding general,
3rd Marine Division The 3rd Marine Division is a division (military), division of the United States Marine Corps based at Camp Courtney, Marine Corps Base Camp Smedley D. Butler in Okinawa Prefecture, Okinawa, Japan. It is one of three active duty infantry division ...
. Upon leaving Camp Pendleton, Twining joined the
1st Marine Division The 1st Marine Division (1st MARDIV) is a Marine (military), Marine Division (military), division of the United States Marine Corps headquartered at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California. It is the ground combat element of the I Marine E ...
in Korea in March 1952. For outstanding service as assistant division commander from March through May 1952, he received a Gold Star in lieu of his second Legion of Merit with Combat "V." He returned to the States that June, and subsequently served in the office of the Commandant of the Marine Corps. He was promoted to major general in September 1952. In January 1954, he was named deputy chief of staff at Headquarters Marine Corps. General Twining returned to Korea in January 1955 as commander of the 1st Marine Division. In March of that year, he accompanied the division to Camp Pendleton, where he served until August 1956. In September 1956, he was promoted to lieutenant general and assumed duties as commandant, Marine Corps Schools, Quantico, the twenty-fifth Marine officer to head the schools. He served in that capacity until his retirement. He had retired from active duty with the Marine Corps on October 31, 1959, and died May 11, 1996, in
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.


Awards and decorations

General Twining also received the Faciat Georgius commemorative medal for service on
Guadalcanal Guadalcanal (; indigenous name: ''Isatabu'') is the principal island in Guadalcanal Province of Solomon Islands, located in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, northeast of Australia. It is the largest island in the Solomons by area and the second- ...
.


Books authored

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References


Marine Corps biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Twining, Merrill 1902 births 1996 deaths United States Marine Corps generals United States Marine Corps personnel of World War II United States Marine Corps personnel of the Korean War Recipients of the Legion of Merit Commanders of the Order of Orange-Nassau George Washington University Law School alumni United States Naval Academy alumni People from Monroe, Wisconsin Military personnel from Wisconsin Writers from Wisconsin