SGT James William Robinson, Jr, Lyons, IL on www.VirtualWall.org The Virtual Wall® Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall

SGT JAMES WILLIAM ROBINSON Jr

21 Aug 2003

Dead Sergeant Wins Medal

WASHINGTON (AP) - The 16th Medal of Honor of the Vietnam war was awarded Thursday to an Army sergeant who died while charging a Communist machine gun position. Sgt. James W. Robinson Jr., 26, of Annandale, Va., was killed April 11, 1966, in action against a Viet Cong battalion. The announcement gave this account of Sgt. Robinson's heroic acts while serving with the 1st Infantry Division.

"After dragging three wounded men to safety and saving their lives by giving them first aid, Sgt. Robinson was himself wounded by enemy fire. When his ammunition was expended he seized two grenades and charged an enemy machine gun position. He was wounded three more times but still managed to throw the grenades, destroying the enemy position as he fell dead on the battlefield."

This article appeared in the Daily Intelligencer Journal, Lancaster, PA on July 7, 1967.

From a native Philadelphian and Marine,
Jim McIlhenney
christianamacks@comcast.net

16 Sep 2003

Robinson Secondary School
in Fairfax County, Virginia, was named in honor of
Sergeant Robinson when it was built in 1971.

24 May 2006

I would just like to say "Thank you".

From a Lyons, Illinois, resident,
George ("Big George") Mendlik
batswin1@aol.com

Note from The Virtual Wall

On 11 Apr 1966, C Company, 2/16th Infantry, was engaged and surrounded by a larger Viet Cong force in a heavily forested area about 35 miles east of Saigon. In the ensuing battle, C Company was destroyed as a fighting force - 34 dead, 72 seriously wounded, and only 28 still effective - but they held until relieved on 12 April.

Decorations for heroism during the action were awarded to many of the soldiers, including posthumous awards of the Medal of Honor to Sergeant Robinson, the Distinguished Service Cross to platoon leader 1LT George C. Steinberg, and the Air Force Cross to Air Force pararescueman A1C William H. Pitsenbarger who came into the battle with a medevac helicopter and stayed to fight.

The ferocity of the action and the bravery of the soldiers who fought it come through clearly in the text of Sergeant Robinson's Medal of Honor Citation:

SGT Robinson was laid to rest in Clarendon Hills Cemetery,
Darien Illinois. His mother also rests there.

- - The Virtual Wall, October 29, 2014

Last update 08/15/2019