Commandant of the Marine Corps Nomination of Gen. Robert H. Barrow.

The President today announced he will nominate Gen. Robert H. Barrow, USMC, to be Commandant of the Marine Corps. He would replace Gen. Louis H. Wilson, who is retiring on June 30, 1979.

General Barrow is currently Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps, a post he has held since July 1, 1978.

He was born February 5, 1922, in Baton Rouge, La. He attended Louisiana State University and the University of Maryland, where he received a B.S. degree in 1956. He has done graduate work at Tulane University.

He was commissioned in May 1943, and served during the latter part of World War II with a Chinese guerrilla force which operated in enemy-occupied territory in central China. During the Korean conflict, he participated in the Inchon-Seoul operation and the Chosin Reservoir campaign as a rifle company commander.

From 1964 to 1967, Barrow served as the plans officer, Fleet Marine Force, Pacific, and as an infantry regiment commander whose regiment participated in numerous combat actions in the vicinity of the DMZ, Khe Sanh, and A Shau Valley.

He was Commanding General for 3 years at the Marine Corps Base, Okinawa, and then served as Commanding General, Marine Corps Recruit Depot, Parris Island, S.C., for 32 months. In 1975 he was appointed Lieutenant General and assigned as Deputy Chief of Staff for Manpower at Marine Corps Headquarters. From October 1976 until assuming his present duties, he served as Commanding General, Fleet Marine Force, Atlantic, in Norfolk, Va.

Barrow's personal U.S. decorations include the Navy Cross, the Army Distinguished Service Cross, the Silver Star, three Legions of Merit, two Bronze Stars, and the Joint Service Commendation Medal.