The Pacolet Robinson Family and its Remarkable Military
Service to our Country
Dennis Robinson was a classmate of
mine in the 1955 Pacolet High School Graduating
Class. Upon graduation, Dennis joined the Air
Force and served during the Vietnam war. His
family has an amazing record of military service to
the country. Dennis has been kind enough to
furnish his family story to go on the Pacolet Memories
website. We want to thank him for this and also thank
the members of his family for their service.
This is written to
honor our mother and father, Tennie and Lawrence
Robinson, and to keep their memories alive. May God
bless them for all the sacrifices they made for their
family and their country!
The Lawrence (Tobe)
Robinson family set a record for Pacolet by having
eight sons to serve in the military. They had five sons serve
during World War II; all in service at the same
time. Tennie Ruff Robinson was presented, by
Governor Olin D. Johnston, a Mother’s Eagle Pin with
five stars for having five sons in the armed services
during WW II. Those five sons in WWII were Hubert,
Boyd, Lawrence Jr, William and EllieB (LB). The other
sons that served in the armed forces were Fred, Joe
Dean and Dennis. That five
star pin has been passed down to each of the five
sons. An article written on June 21, 1959 in the
Spartanburg
Herald-Journal titled “Pacolet Parents See Eight Sons Leave
For Service” by Barbara Crowe was an interview of
Lawrence and Tennie Robinson about their family and
the service of their sons. The
eight sons article depicts a brief summary of the
Robinson military history. Here I will give a
brief military history of each of the eight brothers.
Hubert was in the Army
and was in the North African invasion in November
1942. In January 1944 his company entered Italy during
operation “SHINGLE” at the Anzio Beach Head which is
some 35 to 40 miles from Rome. They traveled about six
miles inland and met stiff resistance from the
Germans. The Germans sent reinforcements and it took
from January to June to reach Rome. History states
that some of the most furious fighting of WW II took
place there during those months. His company had lost
about half of their men when Hubert was captured on
June sixth 1944 near Rome. He was paraded through
Rome, put on a train and sent to a prison camp (Stalag
VII/A) near Munich, Germany. The German farmers came
to the prison camp to get prisoners to work on their
farms. Since Hubert was a big man, he was always first
to be chosen. He was fed mostly cabbage soup, bread
and water. He had stomach problems the rest of his
life. Back home, afterwards, he could never stand to
smell cabbage cooking or sauerkraut. He got seriously
sick one time while working on a farm, so the guard
marched him back to the prison camp, which was about
three miles, where the doctor examined him, gave him
some medicine and the guard marched him back to the
farm. He was so ill he could hardly walk. Hubert was
liberated in May, 1945. He had lost over seventy
pounds while a prisoner. He was sent to Camp Lucky
Strike near Paris, France to recuperate. He returned
to civilian life after the war.
Boyd was in the Army
when the war started and was training other solders.
After the war started he was shipped to the European
theater to fight there. He was in Berlin, Germany when
the war ended and remained there for about three years
after the war during the occupation. Boyd remained in
the Army after the war was over and was sent to serve
in the Korean War. He retired from the Army with the
highest enlisted rank.
Lawrence was in
California when he got notice to report to the Army.
He served in the Pacific Theater during the war.
Lawrence was wounded during hand-to-hand combat when
the Japanese tried to overrun their position. He
returned to civilian life after the war. William
served in the Navy and was a Gunner on a destroyer
during the war. He served in the Atlantic and Pacific
theaters. His ship was one of the big guns of the war.
He returned to civilian life after the war; went to
college and got his degree.
EllieB (LB) served in
the Navy as a Gunner’s mate. He joined at a very young
age of seventeen; said he wanted to serve with his
brother William. Their ships passed each other one
time over near Europe and LB got his signalman to
signal that his brother was on board. There was radio
silence at the time. As a Gunner’s mate he fired at
enemy aircraft, submarines and launched torpedoes. LB
was wounded during a bombing raid while off loading
his ship in Belgium. LB served in the Atlantic and
Pacific theaters. LB was in the Normandy invasion.
After the war LB joined the Merchant Marines and
served as an AB Seaman (he drove the ship and had a
license to steer ships in any ocean) for about four
years. He then joined the Army and served a tour of
duty in the Korean War.
Fred joined the Army in
1948 and served in Germany (with a Ranger outfit) and
in the Korean War. Fred retired from the Army after
serving about twenty two years.
Joe Dean joined the
Navy and served in the Pacific theater. He was also in
the Korean War. He returned to civilian life
afterwards and settled in San Francisco. Dennis joined
the Air Force August 1, 1955 after graduating from
Pacolet High. He served in Europe and in the US where
he was assigned temporary duty all over the world and
was in service during the Vietnam War. During his
tours in Germany, his outfit flew the Hungarian
refugees that came across to Germany to various
locations in Europe to find new homes. His outfit was
in Florida during the Cuban missile crisis where he
served until the missile threat was over.
So the Lawrence
Robinson family had five sons in WW II, four sons in
the Korean War and one during Vietnam War. Along with
two brothers-in-law that served in WW II and Korean
War. The last time all eight
Robinson Brothers were together was 1999. There
are only two brothers living as of this writing. It’s
an honor to be a part of the Robinson family and one
of the eight brothers which I admire very much.
May God bless Lawrence
and Tennie Robinson, all the mothers and fathers that
made the ultimate sacrifice for their country and all
those who served! God bless the U. S. of A. and may it
always remain free.
(Written
by brothers EllieB and Dennis, 2011)
Editors
Note: The Robinson Family has an illustrious military
history that goes back to the very beginning of our
country in the Revolutionary War. William Sharp was a
resident of the Grindal
Shoals area and a soldier in the Revolution. He
is the great, great, great grandfather of the Robinson
boys described in this article. He fought both in the Battle of Cowpens and the
Battle of Kings Mountain.
This web site has
been started as a public service to share the story of
Pacolet.