SP4 JOHN WILLIAM ROBINSON Jr

 

05 Jul 2008 I knew Johnny when we were attending the College of Charleston in the mid '60s. He was quiet, reserved but a great friend. We both were into sports, as Johnny was always at the gym after classes for a pick up game of basketball. We both ran on the college cross country team, I could never keep up with him and he was usually the winner at conference events. Johnny knew how to run far, just not fast. He is missed. From a friend, Dan Hydrick E-Mail will be forwarded by the Webmaster@VirtualWall.org

 

A Note from The Virtual Wall On 10 Oct 1968 Alpha Company 2/12 Infantry was conducting a recon-in-force about 2 kilometers northwest of Trang Bang, Hau Nghia Province. As the lead platoon approached the hamlet of Xa Lom Vo the point squad came under murderous small arms and automatic weapons fire from a treeline, killing or wounding several men, one of whom - SP4 E. A. Handrahan, the left point - fell in a position where he could not be seen by his comrades or by the command and control helicopter. Despite repeated efforts, which resulted in additional US casualties, three of the men hit in the intial exchange of fires could not be recovered - Handrahan, who could not be seen but who was calling out, and two others who lay motionless. The platoon leader pulled his men back so that aircraft could work the treeline while the rest of Alpha 2/12 deployed. As the day progressed, it became clear to the ground commander that all three of his trapped men had died, and heavier air strikes were called as the company formed a night defensive perimeter. At daybreak Alpha reentered the engagement area and recovered the bodies of the two men who had fallen in the open. The area where Handrahan went down had been hit by bombs and his body was not found. Three of the five dead were awarded posthumous Distinguished Service Crosses, all for their efforts to protect and recover the men hit by the initial fires. The five men were SFC Eugene A. Handrahan, St Paul, MN; SGT Baynes B. McSwain, San Marcos, TX (Dist Svc Cross); SP4 Stanley G. Denisowski, Utica, NY (Dist Svc Cross); CPL Michael E. Evans, Greensboro, GA; and CPL Michael E. Randall, Noblesville, IN (Dist Svc Cross). Four other men from C Company, 2nd Bn, 27th Infantry, which had been inserted to assist Alpha 2/12, also were killed in the fighting: SGT Ronnie Blair, St Marys, OH; SP4 John W. Robinson, Charleston, SC; SP4 Waymon L. Triggs, Houston, TX; and PFC Angel L. Ramos, Jersey City, NJ.

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