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First Name: Robert

Last Name: Magnus

Birthplace: Brooklyn, NY, USA

Gender: Male

Branch: Marines (present)







Date of Birth: 28 April 1947



Rank: General

Years Served: 1969-1974, 1976-2008
Robert Magnus

   
Engagements:
•  Vietnam War (1960 - 1973)

Biography:

Robert Magnus
General, U.S. Marine Corps

Robert Magnus was born on 28 April 1947 in Brooklyn, NY, the youngest child of a bookkeeper and a seamstress. His family moved from Brooklyn's Flatbush neighborhood to the working-class community of Levittown, LI, "a mile and a half from a potato farm." Magnus was sent to a Conservative Hebrew school three days a week and celebrated his bar mitzvah at the Hicksville Jewish Center on Long Island.

He majored in modern European and Russian history at the University of Virginia, graduating in 1969 with a Bachelor of Arts degree. As a member of the Naval Reserve Officers' Training Corps program, he received a commission as a Second Lieutenant in the U. S. Marine Corps. He earned a Master's degree in Business Administration from Strayer College in 1993. His formal military education includes Naval Aviator Training; U.S. Marine Corps Command and Staff College; and the National War College.

Marine Corps Career

Magnus completing The Basic School at Quantico, VA, in 1969 and then reported to the Naval Air Training Command where, upon completion, he was designated a Naval Aviator.

In October 1974, Magnus left the Marine Corps for 15 months to work on Wall Street. According to Magnus, "I realized three things: I really liked flying, I really liked leading people - especially Marines, and that Wall Street wasn't for me." When he returned to the Marines, Magnus became a weapons and tactics instructor for CH-46 helicopter aviators.

Magnus' operational assignments include: Intelligence Officer, HMM-264; Operations Officer, H&MS-15 SAR Detachment, Task Force Delta, Nam Phong, Thailand; Training Officer, SOES, MCAS Quantico; Aviation Safety Officer, Marine Aircraft Group 26 and HMM-263; Weapons and Tactics Instructor, Marine Aircraft Group 26 and HMM-261; Operations Officer, Marine Aircraft Group 29; Commanding Officer, HMM-365; Commander, Marine Corps Air Bases Western Area; Commanding General, MCAS Miramar; and Deputy Commander, Marine Forces Pacific (1999 - July 2000).

Magnus' staff assignments include Aviation Assault Medium Lift Requirements Officer; Chief, Logistics Readiness Center, Joint Staff; Executive Assistant to the Director of the Joint Staff; Head, Aviation Plans and Programs Branch; Assistant Deputy Chief of Staff for Aviation; Assistant Deputy Commandant for Plans, Policies, and Operations (July 2000 - August 2001); and Deputy Commandant for Programs and Resources (August 2001 - September 2005).

He was advanced to the rank of General on 1 November 2005 and began his assignment as the 30th Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps on 8 September 2005. On 2 July 2008, he was succeeded as Assistant Commandant by General James F. Amos. Magnus retired from active service in a ceremony on 17 July 2008 after more than 39 years of service.

At the time of his retirement, he was the last active officer of the Corps who had served in the Vietnam War.

Medals and Awards

Navy Distinguished Service Medal
Defense Superior Service Medal
Legion of Merit
Navy & Marine Corps Achievement Medal
Joint Meritorious Unit Award
Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation
National Defense Service Medal w/ 2 Service Stars
Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal
Vietnam Service Medal
Global War on Terrorism Service Medal
Humanitarian Service Medal
Navy Sea Service Deployment Ribbon w/ 1 Service Star

Badges

Naval Aviator Badge
Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Identification Badge



Honoree ID: 404   Created by: MHOH

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