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First Name: Louis

Last Name: Robertshaw

Birthplace: Philadelphia, PA, USA

Gender: Male

Branch: Marines (present)



Middle Name: Bentham



Date of Birth: 01 August 1912

Date of Death: 14 July 2003

Rank: Lieutenant General

Years Served:
Louis Bentham Robertshaw

   
Engagements:
•  World War II (1941 - 1945)
•  Korean War (1950 - 1953)
•  Vietnam War (1960 - 1973)

Biography:

Louis Bentham Robertshaw
Lieutenant General, U.S. Marine Corps

Louis Bentham Robertshaw was born on 1 August 1912 in Philadelphia, PA. He graduated from Haverford Township High School in Havertown, PA, in 1930.

Robertshaw graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy on 4 June 1936 and was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Marine Corps. In his senior year at the Academy, he captained the football team and received honors for excellence in athletics.

After several stops for tours of duty, he completed Basic School for Marine Corps Officers at the Philadelphia Navy Yard in June 1937. That same month he embarked for duty in China with the 6th Marines, 2nd Marine Brigade and participated in the defense of the International Settlement in Shanghai until early 1938. After another assignment in China in 1939, he was promoted to First Lieutenant and returned to the U.S. in 1940.

He was assigned to the Naval Academy as Executive Officer of the Marine Detachment and as a coach in football and basketball. The following year he was assigned to the Philadelphia Navy Yard as an Instructor and later in that same year promoted to Captain. In early 1942 he entered flight school at the Naval Air Station in Pensacola, FL. Upon graduation in August of 1942, he was designated a Naval Aviator and promoted to Major. In December 1942, he assumed command of Marine Scout Bombing Squadron 132, Marine Aircraft Group 11. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for his air attack on a group of Japanese transports in which he scored a direct hit on one transport and severely damaged land installations in the Solomons area in November and December of 1942. A second Distinguished Flying Cross and six Air Medals were awarded him for the bombing operations in the Solomons. He was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel in late December 1943.

He returned to the U.S. in 1946 and was assigned to Marine Air West Coast, San Diego. After a brief stay in San Diego, he was transferred to Marine Corps Air Station, El Toro, where he served as Executive Officer and Commanding Officer of Marine Transport Squadron 152. In 1948 he began a two-year duty as Commanding Officer, Marine Air Detachment, Naval Air Station in Willow Grove, PA.

In February 1951, he was promoted to Colonel. He was ordered to Korea in August of 1952, and served briefly as Assistant Chief of Staff, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing, prior to becoming Commanding Officer of Maine Aircraft Group 33. For outstanding service in Korea during which he flew 77 missions, he was awarded the Legion of Merit with Combat "V", a third Distinguished Flying Cross, and his seventh through eleventh Air Medals. He returned to the U.S. in June 1953 and was stationed at Quantico, where he completed the Senior Course, Marine Corps Schools.

In 1954 he again went overseas for two years on the Staff of the Commander-in-Chief, Pacific, at Pearl Harbor. In 1956 he returned to Quantico as a member of the Advanced Research Group, Marine Corps Educational center. By 1957 he was transferred to Cherry Point, NC, serving as Assistant Chief of Staff, G-3 and later Chief of Staff, 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing. In November 1959, he was promoted to Brigadier General and assumed duties as Assistant Wing Commander, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing, Iwaunki, Japan.

His next assignment was at Glenview Naval Air Station, IL, where he served as Commanding General, Marine Air Reserve Training Command from 1961 until late 1963. He was promoted to Major General in January of 1964. His next command was the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing in the Far East in May of 1966. For meritorious achievement in aerial flights in Vietnam from January 1967 through May of 1967, he received the Gold Star in lieu of his twelfth Air Medal. On 1 July 1967, he assumed duties as Marine Corps Liaison Officer on the Staff of the Chief of Naval Operations for which he was awarded the Gold Star in lieu of a second Legion of Merit.

On 12 July 1968, he was named Inspector General of the Marine Corps and while serving in that position was nominated for promotion to Lieutenant General. He received his third star on 22 April 1969 and Lieutenant General Robertshaw assumed duties as Deputy Chief of Staff (Manpower) and Director of Personnel at HQMC.

General Robertshaw retired from active duty on 1 July 1971 after 39 years of Marine Corps service.

Medals and Awards

Legion of Merit with Combat "Valor" Device
Legion of Merit
Distinguished Flying Cross (3 Awards)
Air Medal (12 Awards)

Death and Burial

Lieutenant General Louis Bentham Robertshaw died on 14 July 2003 in Chestertown, MD. He is buried at the U.S. Naval Academy Cemetery in Annapolis, MD.



Honoree ID: 3010   Created by: MHOH

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