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Marine Corps Private 1st Class Robert H. Jenkins Jr., Medal of Honor recipient.
Episode 2727 of the Vietnam Veteran News Podcast will feature a story about Marine Corps Pfc. Robert Jenkins Jr. and his Congressional Medal of Honor award. The featured story comes from The U.S. Department of Defense website and was titled: Medal of Honor Monday: Marine Corps Pfc. Robert Jenkins Jr. It was submitted by Katie Lange, a writer for DOD News.
Lange, in her story, reported that many of the service members who gave their lives in service to our country barely had a chance to begin their own. Marine Corps Private 1st Class Robert Jenkins Jr. falls into that category. What he lacked in age, he more than made up for in courage, commitment and dedication. For that, he earned the Medal of Honor.
Lange added this about Jenkins; he was born June 1, 1948, in Interlachen, Florida, just east of Gainesville. He had a brother and three sisters and graduated from Palatka Central Academy in 1967.
Jenkins’ family and friends said he was a nice teen who got good grades, had a lot of friends and worked hard for his family, according to the Florida Department of Military Affairs. He had a talent for masonry and woodworking, but he was also looking forward to a career in the Marine Corps. His mother said during a 1996 Tampa Tribune interview that he wanted to volunteer instead of being drafted.
Jenkins enlisted on Feb. 2, 1968, as the war in Vietnam was raging. Within five months, he was deployed to the Southeast Asian country. Attached to the 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion, 3rd Marine Division, Jenkins initially served as a scout and driver.
Early on the morning of March 5, 1969, Jenkins’ 12-man reconnaissance team was prepared to defend Fire Support Base Argonne, just south of the DMZ, from an impending attack. When it came, a North Vietnamese Army platoon started bombarding them with fire from automatic weapons, mortars and grenades.
Listen to episode 2727 and discover more about Vietnam Vet Marine Corps Pfc. Robert Jenkins Jr. and his Congressional Medal of Honor award.
