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First Name: Robert

Last Name: Robinson

Birthplace: Wayne, MI, USA

Gender: Male

Branch: Marines (present)



Middle Name: Guy



Date of Birth: 30 April 1896

Date of Death: 05 October 1974

Rank: First Lieutenant

Years Served: 1917-1923
Robert Guy Robinson

   
Engagements:
•  World War I (1914 - 1918)

Biography:

Robert Guy Robinson

First Lieutenant, U.S. Marine Corps

Medal of Honor

World War I

First Lieutenant Robert Guy Robinson (30 April 1896 - 5 October 1974) was a U.S. Marine Corps officer who received the U.S. military's highest award for valor, the Medal of Honor, for his heroic actions during World War I while he was a Gunnery Sergeant.

Robert Guy Robinson was born in Wayne, MI, on 30 April 1896. In May 1917, he enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps. The action in France that earned him the Medal of Honor took place on 14 October 1918. Gunnery Sergeant Robinson, shot 13 times in the abdomen, chest, and legs, and with his left arm virtually blown off at the elbow, helped bring the plane down in Belgian Territory. His arm, hanging by a single tendon, was grafted back on by the surgeon-general of the Belgian army. The pilot of his plane, Lieutenant Ralph Talbot of Weymouth, MA, who was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for this same action, was killed in a plane crash a few days later.

Medal of Honor

Rank and organization: Gunnery Sergeant, U.S. Marine Corps, 1st Marine Aviation Force.

Place and date: Pittham, Belgium, 14 October 1918.

Citation: For extraordinary heroism as observer in the 1st Marine Aviation Force at the front in France. In company with planes from Squadron 218, Royal Air Force, conducting an air raid on 8 October 1918, G/Sgt. Robinson's plane was attacked by 9 enemy scouts. In the fight which followed, he shot down 1 of the enemy planes. In a later air raid over Pittham, Belgium, on 14 October 1918, his plane and 1 other became separated from their formation on account of motor trouble and were attacked by 12 enemy scouts. Acting with conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in the fight which ensued, G/Sgt. Robinson, after shooting down 1 of the enemy planes, was struck by a bullet which carried away most of his elbow. At the same time his gun jammed. While his pilot maneuvered for position, he cleared the jam with one hand and returned to the fight. Although his left arm was useless, he fought off the enemy scouts until he collapsed after receiving 2 more bullet wounds, one in the stomach and one in the thigh.

Robinson was honorably discharged in 1919 as a Gunnery Sergeant and was appointed a Second Lieutenant in the Marine Corps Reserve. His retirement was effected in May 1923 and his promotion to the rank of First Lieutenant in September 1936.

Upon retirement, he made his home at St. Ignace, MI.

Death and Burial

First Lieutenant Robert Guy Robinson died on 5 October 1974 at his home. He is buried at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, VA, in Section 46, Lot 390.



Honoree ID: 1815   Created by: MHOH

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