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This an unofficial web page of the
472d Chemical Battalion and is not connected with the US Army.
©
All photographs are copyrighted
and are the property of Anton
Bokor.
©
by
Anton Bokor
1999-2001This page was last
updated
02/05/05
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CW4 BOKOR
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SGT
JAMES W. ROBINSON'S MEDAL OF HONOR CITATION
*ROBINSON, JAMES W., JR.
Rank and organization: Sergeant, U.S. Army, Company D, 2d Battalion, 16th Infantry,
1st Infantry Division.
Place and date: Republic of Vietnam, 11 April 1966. Entered service at: Chicago,
Ill. Born: 30 August 1940, Hinsdale, Ill. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and
intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty.
Company C was engaged in fierce combat with a Viet Cong battalion. Despite the
heavy fire, Sgt. Robinson moved among the men of his fire team, instructing and
inspiring them, and placing them in advantageous positions. Enemy snipers located
in nearby trees were inflicting heavy casualties on forward elements of Sgt. Robinson's
unit. Upon locating the enemy sniper whose fire was taking the heaviest toll, he took a
grenade launcher and eliminated the sniper. Seeing a medic hit while administering aid
to a wounded sergeant in front of his position and aware that now the 2 wounded men were
at the mercy of the enemy, he charged through a withering hail of fire and dragged his
comrades to safety, where he rendered first aid and saved their lives. As the battle
continued and casualties mounted, Sgt. Robinson moved about under intense fire to collect
from the wounded their weapons and ammunition and redistribute them to able-bodied soldiers.
Adding his fire to that of his men, he assisted in eliminating a major enemy threat.
Seeing another wounded comrade in front of his position, Sgt. Robinson again defied
the enemy's fire to effect a rescue. In so doing he was himself wounded in the shoulder
and leg. Despite his painful wounds, he dragged the soldier to shelter and saved his
life by administering first aid. While patching his own wounds, he spotted an enemy
machinegun which had inflicted a number of casualties on the American force. His rifle
ammunition expended, he seized 2 grenades and, in an act of unsurpassed heroism,
charged toward the entrenched enemy weapon. Hit again in the leg, this time with
a tracer round which set fire to his clothing, Sgt. Robinson ripped the burning
clothing from his body and staggered indomitably through the enemy fire, now
concentrated solely on him, to within grenade range of the enemy machinegun position.
Sustaining 2 additional chest wounds, he marshaled his fleeting physical strength
and hurled the 2 grenades, thus destroying the enemy gun position, as he fell dead
upon the battlefield. His magnificent display of leadership and bravery saved several lives and inspired his soldiers to defeat the numerically superior enemy force. Sgt.
Robinson's conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity, at the cost of his life, are in
keeping with the finest traditions of the U.S. Army and reflect great credit upon
the 1st Infantry Division and the U.S. Armed Forces.
" IN
HIS MEMORY WE SERVE"
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Soldiers Magazine May 99 Heritage
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