Merrill B. Twining

Merrill Barber Twining
Nathan C. Twining (uncle)

General Merrill Barber Twining (November 28, 1902 – May 11, 1996) was a

Biography

Twining was born on November 28, 1902, at

.

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

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 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,

, 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

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

.

Returning to the United States in November 1943, Lieutenant Colonel Twining remained until 1947 at the Marine Corps Schools, Quantico.^[3] 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,

. 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,

.

Upon leaving Camp Pendleton, Twining joined the

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.^[3] 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,^[3] 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 Fallbrook, California.

Awards and decorations

1st Row	Combat "V"					Navy Commendation Medal						Navy Presidential Unit Citation with one star
2nd Row	Marine Corps Expeditionary Medal				Yangtze Service Medal				American Defense Service Medal				Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with two service stars
3rd Row	American Campaign Medal				World War II Victory Medal				National Defense Service Medal				Korean Service Medal with silver service star
4th Row	Order of Orange-Nassau with Crossed Swords				Korean Presidential Unit Citation				United Nations Korea Medal				The George Medal

General Twining also received the

.

Books authored

• Twining, Merrill B. (1996). No Bended Knee: The Battle for Guadalcanal. Novato, CA, USA: Presidio Press.
  ISBN 0-89141-826-1
  .

References

 This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Marine Corps.

• Marine Corps biography Archived 2017-01-26 at the Wayback Machine