Sgt. Maj. Robert Andrew Baribeau

05/12/2006

Retired Marine Corps Sgt. Maj. Robert Andrew Baribeau, 71, of 630 Savoy Road died yesterday at home. Born in Adams on Jan. 28, 1935, son of Leo and Rose St. Germain Baribeau, he graduated from the former Notre Dame Elementary School in Adams and from Drury High School in North Adams. A Korean War veteran, he served with the 1st Division, H Battery, 3rd Battalion, 11th Marines, in Korea from 1953 to 1955. He then joined the Marine Corps Reserve's 42nd Rifle Company and enrolled at Coyne Electrical and Technical School in Boston, where he received a certificate as a licensed electrician. He was promoted to sergeant in 1960 and returned to active duty in 1964. He became a staff sergeant in 1965 and was sent to Vietnam with Company A, 1st Battalion, 7th Marines. He earned a Bronze Star for leading Marine troops through enemy tunnel-clearing missions. He received the medal at a ceremony at the Adams Free Library on Sept. 5, 2001, 35 years after being recommended for the award. After returning to the United States in 1966, he was assigned to engineer school at Camp Lejeune, N.C. He was commissioned a second lieutenant in 1966 and promoted to first lieutenant in 1967. He returned to Vietnam in 1968 and served as company commander of Headquarters and Service Companies A and D, 1st Battalion, 27th Marines. During his second tour of duty, he received another Bronze Star for valor. He returned to Hawaii in 1968 and remained with his unit until June 1969, when he was assigned to the Marine Barracks, Naval Weapons Station in Concord, Calif. He was promoted to captain in 1969 and served as a guard officer until he was reverted to master sergeant in 1971. He served in Okinawa, Japan, until 1972, when he was assigned to Camp Pendleton, Calif. He served in Kenitra, Morocco, in 1975 as first sergeant of the 2nd Guard Company. In September 1976, he served as sergeant major of Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 314. He was assigned inspector instructor sergeant major of the 1st Battalion, 25th Marines, 4th Marine Division, and became sergeant major of Marine Corps Development and Education Command in Quantico, Va., in 1983. On June 30, 1988, he became senior adviser to the commanding general for personnel management of 44,000 Marines and sailors located on the Eastern Seaboard, Europe, Iceland, South America and the Caribbean Island. He retired in 1991 and became general manager of Environmental Auto Removal Corp. in Chicago. In 1993, he became an instructor for the Marine Corps Junior ROTC at Buena Vista High School in Saginaw, Mich. He returned to the Berkshires in 1995 and worked part time as an electrician for Duda & Holland Construction Co. in Adams. He was a communicant of St. Mary's Church, where he served as a eucharistic minister and acolyte. He was a member of the American Legion in Boston. He and his wife, the former Sydney G. Reid, were married Dec. 30, 1994. Besides his wife, he leaves three daughters, Nicole Baribeau-Ooi of Brunswick, Ga., Beth Armstrong of Adams and Lori Butterfield of Sunderland; a brother, Leo Baribeau of Palm Harbor, Fla.; a sister, Helen Hamelin of Adams, and four grandchildren. FUNERAL NOTICE -- The funeral for Robert A. Baribeau will be Thursdayat 10:30 from AUGE-PACIOREK-SIMMONS Funeral Home, with a Liturgy of Christian Burial at 11 a.m. at St. Mary of the Assumption Church celebrated by the Rev. David Raymond, pastor. Burial will follow in Maple Street Cemetery, Adams. Calling hours are Thursday from 9 to 10:30 a.m. at the funeral home. He also leaves three sons-in-law Adrian Ooi, Peter Armstrong and Michael Campbell; a sister-in-law, Lucille Baribeau; a brother-in-law, Harvey Hamelin, and four grandchildren, Ashley McLear of Pittsfield, Kristine McLear of Adams, Christopher Butterfield, stationed with the Army National Guard in Iraq and David Butterfield of South Dakota, and nieces and nephews. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Adams Ambulance Service, the Eileen Barrett Foundation or St. Mary's Church, all in care of the funeral home, 13 Hoosac St., Adams, MA 01220. To leave a message of condolence, or for directions, please go online to www.apsfuneralhome.com.

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