Rank: Captain
Unit: M Company, 3rd Squadron, 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment
MOS: 1204 – Armored Reconnaissance Unit Commander
Awards: Distinguished Service Cross, Silver Star, Bronze Star Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster, Purple Heart Medal , Air Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Vietnam Service Medal, Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal
Unit awards: Presidential Unit Citation, Valorous Unit Award, Vietnamese Gallantry Cross with Palm device
Enlisted by: Regular
Date of birth: 9-Aug-1940
Hometown: College, Alaska
Marital status: Married to Patricia Robison, one son, one daughter
Campaign: Vietnam Conflict
Start of tour: 24-Nov-1967
Incident date: 12-Mar-1968
Date of casualty: 12-Mar-1968
Age at death: 27
Cause of death: Hostile, died. Grenade. Multiple fragmentation wounds.
Donald Robert Robison died as the result of fragment wounds received when he was attacked by hostile force while passenger on a tank during combat operation.
Two Blackhorse troopers died as a result of this incident:
1LT Frank Cesare Deusebio
CPT Donald Robert Robison
Location of fatality: Hua Nghia, South Vietnam
Place of interment: Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia, USA
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DISTINGUISHED SERVICE CROSS
POSTHUMOUS
CAPTAIN DONALD ROBERT ROBISON, ARMOR
12 MARCH 1968
M COMPANY, 3rd SQUADRON
11TH ARMORED CAVALRY REGIMENT
Captain Robison distinguished himself by extraordinary heroism in connection with military operations involving conflict with an armed hostile force in the Republic of Vietnam, while serving with Troop M, 3d Squadron, 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment, 9th Infantry Division. Captain Robison distinguished himself by exceptionally valorous actions on 12 March 1968 as commanding officer of an armored cavalry company on a reconnaissance-in-force mission near Duc Hoa. When his unit suddenly encountered a well armed enemy battalion occupying fortified positions, Captain Robison skillfully maneuvered his platoons to the point of heaviest contact and personally led an attack on the hostile force. His company advanced on the Viet Cong positions in the face of an intense barrage of highly accurate automatic weapons, small arms, and anti-tank rocket fire. One of the tanks in the lead platoon sustained a direct hit from a rocket, disabling the vehicle and wounding several crewmembers. Captain Robison fearlessly maneuvered his tank toward the disabled vehicle to prevent the insurgents from annihilating its crew. Firing his main gun and the turret machine gun, he provided protection for an evacuation team attempting to remove the casualties already suffered. He and his crew were wounded when his tank took a direct hit. Disregarding his welfare, Captain Robison began to evacuate the wounded from his tank. Each time a wave of the enemy rushed his crippled vehicle, he stopped their advance with deadly suppressive fire. As the medics began moving the injured to a more secure area, Captain Robison stayed on his tank to provide covering fire for them. He was mortally wounded while selflessly placing the welfare of his fellow soldiers above his own in close combat with a determined enemy. Captain Robison’s extraordinary heroism and devotion to duty, at the cost of his life, were in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit, and the United States Army.
Headquarters, United States Army Vietnam General Orders No. 2865 (15 June 1968)