Robert Arnold Tillquist
Specialist Four, U.S. Army

Robert Arnold Tillquist was born on 10 July 1942 in Branford, CT, the son of Ralph H. and Olga M. Tillquist. He was inducted into the U.S. Army on 15 April 1964 in Connecticut.

On 4 November 1965, Specialist Four Robert Arnold Tillquist was serving with Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 2nd Battalion, 12th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division, in South Vietnam.

On that day, SPC4 Tillquist was with Company B during a search and destroy mission near Plei Me, Republic of Vietnam. As the lead platoon hacked its way through the dense Vietnamese jungle growth, they came upon a well-fortified Viet Cong emplacement and the point man opened fire on the insurgent position. As the rest of the company reached the area, they began a full-scale assault on the hostile position. In what seemed to be a final defensive effort on the part of the insurgents, they steadily increased their fire on the advancing group. During this action, a member of the friendly attacking force was wounded. A cry of "medic" was heard, and SPC4 Tillquist, who was in the front line of the assault, gathered his medical equipment and went to the aid of the wounded man. He administered first aid and then moved him to a more sheltered position some 30 meters from the main line of fire. After securing his patient, he saw that another man was wounded and lying in the midst of hostile fire. He ran through the barrage to the aid of the wounded man and, after administering first aid, moved him to a safer position. As he secured the 2nd man, he saw another comrade fall wounded directly in front of a Viet Cong machine gun emplacement. Although exhausted, SPC4 Tillquist stripped off his web gear, grabbed his rifle and aid kit, and began crawling to aid the wounded man. During this attempt, a burst of fire from a hostile machine gun mortally wounded him. SPC4 Tillquist's selfless actions and extraordinary heroism, at the cost of his life, earned him the U.S. Army's second highest award for valor, the Distinguished Service Cross.

Medals, Awards and Badges

Distinguished Service Cross
Purple Heart
Army Good Conduct Medal
National Defense Service Medal
Vietnam Service Medal
Vietnam Campaign Medal
Combat Medical Badge

Distinguished Service Cross Citation

The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, July 9, 1918 (amended by act of July 25, 1963), takes pride in presenting the Distinguished Service Cross (Posthumously) to Specialist Fourth Class Robert Arnold Tillquist (ASN: US-51500892), United States Army, for extraordinary heroism in connection with military operations against an armed hostile force in the Republic of Vietnam. On 4 November 1965, Specialist Tillquist, a medical corpsman attached to Company B, 2d Battalion, 12th Cavalry, 1st Cavalry Division, was accompanying Company B on a search and destroy mission near Plei Me, Republic of Vietnam. As the lead platoon hacked its way through the dense Vietnamese jungle growth, they suddenly came upon a well-fortified Viet Cong emplacement, whereupon the point man immediately opened fire on the insurgent position. As the remainder of the company reached the area, they began a full scale assault on the hostile position. In what seemed to be a final defensive effort on the part of the insurgents, they steadily increased their fire on the advancing group. During this affray, a member of the friendly attacking force was wounded. A cry for a "medic" was heard, and Specialist Tillquist, who was in the front line of the assault, immediately gathered his medical equipment; went to the aid of the wounded man; administered first aid; and moved him to a better sheltered position, some thirty meters from the main line of fire. After securing his patient, he noticed that another of his comrades was wounded and lying in the midst of hostile fire. With complete disregard for his own personal safety, he charged through the intense hostile barrage to the aid of the wounded man and again administered first aid, moving his comrade to a safer position. As he secured the second man, he saw another of his comrades fall wounded, directly in front of a Viet Cong machine gun emplacement. Despite being almost completely exhausted and disregarding his own personal safety, Specialist Tillquist stripped off his web gear; grabbed his rifle and aid kit; and began to crawl to the aid of the wounded man. During this valiant attempt, he was mortally wounded when hit in the back by a burst of fire from the hostile machine gun. Specialist Tillquist's extraordinary heroism, compassion for his fellow man, and supreme sacrifice were in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Army and reflect great credit upon himself and the military service.

General Orders: Headquarters, U.S. Army, Pacific, General Orders No. 43 (February 28, 1966)

Honors

The name Robert A Tillquist is located on Panel 3E Line 20 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall.

Burial

Specialist Four Robert Arnold Tillquist is buried at Tabor Cemetery in Branford, New Haven County, CT.

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