Robert Bostwick Carney Jr. (September 24, 1919 – March 9, 1983) 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 ...

brigadier general who served in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

Early life and education

Carney was born in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, on 24 September 1919, the son of naval officer and future admiral

Robert Carney Robert Bostwick Carney (March 26, 1895 – June 25, 1990) was an admiral in the United States Navy who served as commander-in-chief of the NATO forces in Southern Europe (1951–1953) and then as Chief of Naval Operations (1953–1954) duri ...

and Grace Carney. He graduated from Western High School and

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College ( ) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, Dartmouth is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the America ...

Military career

World War II

Carney joined the

in 1941 and was commissioned in April 1942. Carney participated in the Bougainville Campaign and was awarded the

Bronze Star Medal The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious a ...

and

Purple Heart The Purple Heart (PH) is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the president to those wounded or killed while serving, on or after 5 April 1917, with the U.S. military. With its forerunner, the Badge of Military Merit, ...

for his actions during the

Battle of Iwo Jima The was a major battle in which the United States Marine Corps (USMC) and United States Navy (USN) landed on and eventually captured the island of Iwo Jima from the Imperial Japanese Army (IJA) during World War II. The American invasion, desi ...

. On Iwo Jima he led Company G of 3rd Battalion, 28th Marines, which cleared the right flank of

Mount Suribachi is a -high hill on the southwest end of Iwo Jima in the northwest Pacific Ocean under the administration of Ogasawara Subprefecture, Tokyo Metropolis, Japan. The hill's name derives from its shape, resembling a '' suribachi'' or grinding bowl. ...

on 22 February 1945 (D+3). On his return from the Pacific he was stationed at Long Beach. On 19 February 1944 he was engaged to Miss Natalie Sutherland, daughter of General

Richard K. Sutherland Lieutenant General Richard Kerens Sutherland (27 November 1893 – 25 June 1966) was a United States Army officer during World War II. He served as General of the Army Douglas MacArthur's Chief of Staff in the South West Pacific Area during the ...

Post-World War II

In the early 1950s he became the U.S. Marine advisor to the Commandant of the

Republic of China Marine Corps , image = File:Republic of China Marine Corp (ROCMC) Logo.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Emblem of the Republic of China Marine Corps with the map of ROC claimed lands of m ...

in Taiwan. In that role he helped organize the ROCMC with a structure similar to a U.S. Marine division, and he also expanded the American advisory mission to the ROCMC. He commanded the

Marine Barracks, Washington, D.C. Marine Barracks, Washington, D.C. is located at the corner of 8th and I streets, Southeast in Washington, D.C. Established in 1801, it is a National Historic Landmark, the oldest post in the United States Marine Corps, the official residence of ...

, from 1964 to 1968.

Vietnam War

Carney served as assistant division commander of the

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 ...

from 8 November 1968 to 9 June 1969. From 1 April to 21 May 1969 he commanded ''Task Force Hotel'' in western Quảng Trị Province, during which time it conducted Operation Purple Martin. He subsequently commanded the 9th Marine Amphibious Brigade on

Okinawa most commonly refers to: * Okinawa Prefecture, Japan's southernmost prefecture * Okinawa Island, the largest island of Okinawa Prefecture * Okinawa Islands, an island group including Okinawa itself * Okinawa (city), the second largest city in th ...

from 13 June to 7 November 1969.

Later life

Carney retired from the Marines in June 1972. He died on 9 March 1983 and was survived by his wife Natalie, a son and a daughter. He was buried at

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is the largest cemetery in the United States National Cemetery System, one of two maintained by the United States Army. More than 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington County, Virginia. ...

Decorations

His decorations include the

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 ...

(2),

and

References

Bibliography

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Carney Jr., Robert B. 1919 births 1983 deaths United States Marine Corps personnel of the Vietnam War United States Marine Corps personnel of World War II Burials at Arlington National Cemetery Dartmouth College alumni Recipients of the Legion of Merit Military personnel from Washington, D.C. United States Marine Corps generals