Thomas Jackson Cushman
Lieutenant General, U.S. Marine Corps

Thomas Jackson Cushman was born on 27 June 1895. He attended the University of Washington in Seattle and completed his studies in 1917.

Military Service

He enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps on 19 July 1917. He was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the Marine Corps on 22 October 1918 and, after completing flight training in July 1919, was designated a Naval Aviator.

Cushman was assigned to duty at the Marine Barracks, Puget Sound, WA, in June 1921. His next assignment was in the Marianas Islands at the Naval Station, Guam, in September 1923. He returned to the U.S. in November 1924, and was stationed at Brown Field, Marine Barracks, Quantico, VA, until August 1925, when he became an Instructor at the Naval Air Station at Pensacola, FL. He was then attached to Aircraft Squadrons, West Coast Expeditionary Force, at San Diego, CA, from November 1926 to April 1929. During this period he was on temporary foreign shore duty at Managua, Nicaragua, March-June 1927.

His next assignment, in May 1929, again took him overseas. He was the Communications and Aerological Officer with Observation Squadron 9-M, which was attached to the First Brigade Marines at Port au Prince, Haiti. In December 1930, he became the Squadron's Executive Officer. When he returned to the U.S. in September 1931, he was assigned as a student in the Engineering Course, Army Air Corps Technical Schools, Chanute Field, IL. After his graduation in July 1932, he continued training as a student at the Company Officers Course, Marine Corps Schools, Quantico. He completed that course in June 1933 and was assigned to duty in Washington, DC, with the Bureau of Aeronautics, Navy Department.

In August 1935, he began training at the Army Air Corps Tactical School, Maxwell Field, AL, and, in July 1936, joined Aircraft Two at San Diego, where he commanded Observation Squadron Eight. He was named Operations Officer of Aircraft Two in June 1937 and, in July 1938; he assumed duties as Commander of Fighter Squadron Two-M. Cushman returned to the East Coast in June 1939 to assume duties as Detachment Commander of the Base Air Detachment at Quantico. He remained in that post until August 1941, when he was appointed Commanding Officer of the Marine Corps Air Station at Cherry Point, NC.

During World War II, he served as Chief of Staff to the Commanding General of Marine Aircraft Wings, Pacific, from September 1943 to May 1944. He was Commander and Deputy Commander, 4th Marine Base Defense Air Wing, May-October; and was Air Defense Commander of the Marianas Islands from November until April 1945. For his outstanding services in these assignments, he was awarded, respectively, a Bronze Star Medal and the Legion of Merit.

Cushman returned to the U.S. in April 1945 and, in the following months, assumed duties as Commanding General of the Marine Corps Air Station at Cherry Point, with additional duty as Deputy Commander, Marine Corps Air Bases. In September 1946, he became Commander of the Marine Corps Air Bases, serving in that capacity until March 1947. He joined Aircraft, Fleet Marine Force, Pacific, in May 1947, as Deputy Commander and Chief of Staff; he became its Commanding General on 5 February 1948.

He went to Korea in June 1950 and served as Assistant Wing Commander, First Marine Aircraft Wing. He commanded the Wing there May-August 1951, at which time he returned to the U.S. While serving with the First Marine Aircraft Wing, he was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal and his second Legion of Merit.

He commanded Aircraft, Fleet Marine Force, Atlantic, and the Second Marine Aircraft Wing at Cherry Point, from August 1951 until he assumed his final Marine Corps duty as Deputy Commander, Fleet Marine Force, Pacific, in February 1953. Upon completion of that assignment, he retired from active duty.

Medals and Awards

Distinguished Service Medal
Legion of Merit with Combat "Valor" Device (2 Awards)
Bronze Star Medal
Presidential Unit Citation with 1 Bronze Star
Army Distinguished Unit Emblem
Marine Corps Expeditionary Medal
World War I Victory Medal
Second Nicaraguan Campaign Medal
American Defense Service Medal
American Area Campaign Medal
Asiatic-Pacific Area Campaign Medal with 2 Bronze Stars
World War II Victory Medal
Korean Service Medal
United Nations Service Medal

Death and Burial

Lieutenant General Thomas Jackson Cushman died on 15 July 1972, at age 77.

He was survived by his wife, Eleanor B. Cushman, who died on 10 April 1976. They were both preceded in death by a son, Robert Edward Cushman, on 19 July 1938. All three are buried at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery in San Diego, CA.

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