USMC Ace Major General Robert G. Owens, Jr. Navy Cross

[kanemono]

This group is to Major General Robert Gordon Owens, Jr. It consists of a sterling silver cigarette box presented to both Gordon and Francis Owens by the Officers of Torpedo Squadron Four in August of 1943. Included is Owens's silver identification bracelet given to him by his wife Fran, Fran's sweetheart EGA and a Navy Cross. This NC seems to have been cut from a medal bar. I believe this NC dates from the Vietnam era. I am sure that a Major General had more than one medal bar. I know very little about dating a Navy Cross so I would appreciate any information. When I bought the group I bought it with the idea that the NC may have belonged to Owens but was late sixties or early seventies.

 

Robert Gordon Owens Jr. was born in Greenville, South Carolina, on February 13, 1917. He was a 1938 graduate of Furman University, South Carolina. Owens enlisted in the Marine Corps Reserve in August of 1939. He was assigned to the Aviation Cadet program in Pensacola, Florida. Upon graduation, he was designated a Naval Aviator and commissioned a Marine Reserve Second Lieutenant on June 7, 1940. Owens married Marjorie Frances (Fran) Hart in Hawaii on October 30, 1941. Owens was attached to a Marine bomber squadron stationed at Pearl Harbor, and took part in the island's defense after the Japanese attack on December 7, 1941. He led aerial combat in the Solomon Islands, New Georgia, and Bismarck Archipelago areas, earning the Navy Cross. He was awarded the Purple Heart for wounds received in action over Rabaul in the South Pacific. Owens was designated a Marine Corps Ace after shooting down seven Japanese aircraft.
Navy Cross Citation:
The President of the United States takes pleasure in presenting the Navy Cross to Robert G. Owens, Jr. (0-6308), Major, U.S. Marine Corps, for extraordinary heroism and distinguished service in the line of his profession as Commanding Officer and a Pilot of Marine Fighting Squadron TWO HUNDRED FIFTEEN (VMF-215), Marine Air Group FOURTEEN (MAG-14), FIRST Marine Aircraft Wing, in aerial combat against enemy Japanese forces in the Solomon Islands and Bismarck Archipelago Areas, from 5 January 1944 to 15 February 1944.

A brilliant leader and aggressive airman, Major Owens executed numerous combat missions against the enemy, frequently in the face of heavy hostile antiaircraft fire and strong aerial opposition. While carrying out these vital assignments during this period, he shot down seven enemy aircraft and probably destroyed five others. Maintaining his squadron at the peak of combat readiness through an efficient training schedule for pilots, he contributed materially to the outstanding success of his squadron in inflicting extensive losses upon the enemy and in providing effective fighter cover for our bombers. By his valiant leadership and unwavering devotion to duty, Major Owens upheld the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.

 

Following WWII, he served the Marine Corps in various capacities and locations. Brigadier General Owens was ordered to the Republic of Vietnam in 1966, where he served as Assistant Wing Commander, 1st Marine Aircraft Wing and as Chief of Staff, III Marine Amphibious Force. Upon return to the United States, he again served at Headquarters Marine Corps as Assistant Chief of Staff and was promoted to Major General, September 1, 1968. In 1969, he was an honorary pallbearer at President Dwight D. Eisenhower's funeral. Owens retired from the Marine Corps on August 1, 1972. Major General Robert Gordon Owens, Jr. died in Boulder, Colorado, on October 31, 2003. He is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

Major General Robert Gordon Owens, Jr. was awarded the Navy Cross, Legion of Merit with four Gold Stars, the Distinguished Flying Cross with four Gold Stars, the Air Medal with two Silver Stars and one Gold Star, the Purple Heart, the Navy Unit Commendation, the American Defense Service Medal with Base clasp, the American Campaign Medal, the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with four bronze stars, the World War II Victory Medal, the Navy Occupation Service Medal with Asia clasp, the China Service Medal, the National Defense Service Medal with one bronze star; the Vietnam Service Medal with one bronze star; the National Order of Vietnam Medal, 5th Class, the Vietnam Cross of Gallantry with Palm, and the Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal.