Former Infantry commandant dies
Lt. Gen. Orwin C. Talbott, 92, of 6200 Oregon Ave. NW, Washington, D.C., a former commandant of the Infantry School at Fort Benning, died at Walter Reed Army Medical Center April 26 following a heart attack.
Talbott was commanding general at Fort Benning in 1969 when it became his decision as base commander whether to try Lt. William Calley for murder in the notorious My Lai massacre incident. Talbott decided to try Calley, and the subsequent court martial received worldwide attention.
He served as Fort Benning commanding general from 1969-1973, when he was promoted to lieutenant general and became deputy commanding general of the Training and Doctrine Command at Fort Monroe, Va.
Talbott became head of the Infantry School after serving as commanding general of the 1st Infantry Division in Vietnam. He took command of the division in September 1968 after the previous commander, Keith Ware, was killed when his helicopter was shot down.
Talbott had previously served as executive officer to Gen. Lyman L. Lemnitzer when he served as Army chief of staff and then chairman of the joint chiefs of staff during some of the tensest moments of the Cold War, including the Bay of Pigs invasion, the Berlin Crisis of 1961, and the first days of the Cuban Missile Crisis.
Talbott was an Infantry company commander in the 90th Infantry Division during the Normandy invasion, landing on Utah Beach on June 7, 1944, after his troop ship, the Susan B. Anthony, was sunk when it struck mines.
After he retired from the Army in 1975 as a lieutenant general, Talbott was director of the Maryland Historical Trust in Annapolis from 1975 to 1981. In 1983 he was named by Gov. Harry Hughes as chairman of the Maryland 350th Anniversary Celebration, which included a visit by the Duke and Dutchess of Kent in 1984.
During the 50th anniversary of D-Day in 1994, Talbott gave the introduction for President Bill Clinton at June 6 ceremonies at Utah Beach.
Talbott was born in San Jose, Calif., June 18, 1918. He graduated from Los Molinos High School in northern California in 1936 and attended the University of California at Berkeley but never graduated. He is a graduate of the Army’s Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth and the National War College in Washington, D.C.Talbott’s decorations include the Combat Infantryman Badge, the Silver Star with two oak leaf clusters, the Distinguished Flying Cross with three oak leaf clusters, the Purple Heart with two oak leaf clusters, the Bronze Star, the Soldier’s Medal, the Distinguished Service Medal with two oak leaf clusters, the French Legion d’honneur, the French Croix de Guerre, and the Vietnamese Gallantry Cross with Palm.
He is survived by his wife, Nell Coughran Talbott. They were married Sept. 6, 1942. He is also survived by a daughter, Marinel Mukherjee, Freehold, NJ.; a son, Stephen Talbott, Bay Village, Ohio; a sister, Marilyn Carroll, Indianapolis; and three grandchildren, Navy Lt. Samir Mukherjee, Jessica Talbott and Alexandra Talbott.Talbott will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery at a later date.
Funeral arrangements are with Joseph Gawler’s Sons, Inc., 5130 Wisconsin Ave NW, Washington, D.C. 20016.
This story was originally published May 3, 2011 at 5:43 PM with the headline "Former Infantry commandant dies."