Robert Burton Nett (June 13, 1922 – October 19, 2008) was a

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

officer and a recipient of the U.S. military's highest decoration, the

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valor. ...

, for his actions during the campaign to recapture the Philippines in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Early life

A resident of

New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134,02 ...

, Nett enlisted in the

Connecticut National Guard The Connecticut Military Department is a state agency of the government of Connecticut. Its primary components are the Connecticut Army National Guard, the Connecticut Air National Guard, and four companies of the state militia. The Military Depa ...

in 1940 at age 17. The minimum enlistment age was 18 years, but Nett was able to join by creasing his birth certificate so that his year of birth was obscured. His initial assignment was with the 102nd Infantry Regiment, part of the 43rd Infantry Division. Two years later, he was stationed at

Fort Benning Fort Benning is a United States Army post near Columbus, Georgia, adjacent to the Alabama–Georgia border. Fort Benning supports more than 120,000 active-duty military, family members, reserve component soldiers, retirees and civilian employees ...

, Georgia, where he was graduated from Officer Candidate School. Nett was then sent to the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

, where he met his future wife, Frances, an Army nurse.

World War II

By December 14, 1944, Nett was a

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

in Company E of the 305th Infantry Regiment, 77th Infantry Division. On that day, near Cognon,

Leyte Leyte ( ) is an island in the Visayas group of islands in the Philippines. It is eighth-largest and sixth-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 2,626,970 as of 2020 census. Since the accessibility of land has be ...

, during the

Battle of Ormoc Bay The Battle of Ormoc Bay was a series of air-sea battles between Imperial Japan and the United States in the Camotes Sea in the Philippines from 9 November-21 December 1944, at Ormoc, part of the Battle of Leyte in the Pacific campaign of World ...

, Nett led his company in an assault against a heavily fortified

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

ese position. Despite being seriously wounded twice in

hand-to-hand Hand-to-hand combat (sometimes abbreviated as HTH or H2H) is a physical confrontation between two or more persons at short range (grappling distance or within the physical reach of a handheld weapon) that does not involve the use of weapons.Huns ...

fighting, he continued to lead his men until being wounded a third time. After making arrangements for the leadership of his company, he left the front lines to seek medical aid. Nett was able to rejoin his unit for the Okinawa Campaign. His division was then sent to

Cebu Cebu (; ceb, Sugbo), officially the Province of Cebu ( ceb, Lalawigan sa Sugbo; tl, Lalawigan ng Cebu; hil, Kapuroan sang Sugbo), is a province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas region, and consists of a main island and 167 ...

and began training for the planned invasion of Japan. The operation was canceled after the

surrender of Japan The surrender of the Empire of Japan in World War II was announced by Emperor Hirohito on 15 August and formally signed on 2 September 1945, bringing the war's hostilities to a close. By the end of July 1945, the Imperial Japanese Navy ...

in August 1945. On February 8, 1946, Nett was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions at Cognon. A ceremony was held in his hometown of New Haven, and President

Harry S. Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. A leader of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 34th vice president from January to April 1945 under Franklin ...

was to have presented him with the medal there, but had to cancel in order to attend to the formation of the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

in California, Nett told a reporter.

Medal of Honor citation

Nett's official Medal of Honor citation reads:

''He commanded Company E in an attack against a reinforced enemy battalion which had held up the American advance for 2 days from its entrenched positions around a 3-story concrete building. With another infantry company and armored vehicles, Company E advanced against heavy machinegun and other automatic weapons fire with Lt. Nett spearheading the assault against the strongpoint. During the fierce hand-to-hand encounter which ensued, he killed 7 deeply entrenched Japanese with his rifle and bayonet and, although seriously wounded, gallantly continued to lead his men forward, refusing to relinquish his command. Again he was severely wounded, but, still unwilling to retire, pressed ahead with his troops to assure the capture of the objective. Wounded once more in the final assault, he calmly made all arrangements for the resumption of the advance, turned over his command to another officer, and then walked unaided to the rear for medical treatment. By his remarkable courage in continuing forward through sheer determination despite successive wounds, Lt. Nett provided an inspiring example for his men and was instrumental in the capture of a vital strongpoint.''

Postwar life

Nett continued to serve in the Army after the war. He graduated from the

Infantry School A School of Infantry provides training in weapons and infantry tactics to infantrymen of a nation's military forces. Schools of infantry include: Australia *Australian Army – School of Infantry, Lone Pine Barracks at Singleton, NSW. France ...

Advanced Course in 1952 and the Army Command and General Staff College in 1958 and completed a B.S. degree at the

University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of M ...

in 1964. Nett also served in both the Korean War and the Vietnam War. In 1978, he retired from the Army after 38 years of service at the rank of colonel. Nett gave frequent talks on leadership and duty, lecturing to every class of the Officer Candidate School (OCS); he was frequently invited to speak to the Ranger Regiment at Fort Benning. He is considered the "Father of the Officer Candidate School". He was inducted into the Army Ranger Hall of Fame and the Officer Candidate School Hall of Fame, an honor reserved for OCS graduates who received the Medal of Honor or rose to the rank of colonel or higher. He achieved both. After his retirement, he spent 17 years as a teacher in the Columbus, Georgia, school system and frequently spoke to classes at the United States Army Infantry School at Fort Benning. Nett died on October 19, 2008. He was survived by his wife, Frances, of

Columbus, Georgia Columbus is a consolidated city-county located on the west-central border of the U.S. state of Georgia. Columbus lies on the Chattahoochee River directly across from Phenix City, Alabama. It is the county seat of Muscogee County, with which it ...

. Their son, Major Robert Nett Jr. (1954-2012), also served in the U.S. Army.

Awards

Badges

Combat Infantryman Badge The Combat Infantryman Badge (CIB) is a United States Army military decoration. The badge is awarded to infantrymen and Special Forces soldiers in the rank of colonel and below, who fought in active ground combat while assigned as members of ei ...

with star * Glider Badge * Air Assault Badge *

Ranger Tab In the United States Army, tabs are cloth and/or metal arches displaying a word or words signifying a special skill that are worn on U.S. Army uniforms. On the Army Combat Uniform and Army Service Uniform, the tabs are worn above a unit's Should ...

Decorations

Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements. The decoration is issued to members of the eight ...

Bronze Star Medal The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service in a combat zone. Wh ...

with "V" device and two oak leaf clusters *

Purple Heart The Purple Heart (PH) is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the President to those wounded or killed while serving, on or after 5 April 1917, with the U.S. military. With its forerunner, the Badge of Military Merit, w ...

with oak leaf cluster *

Air Medal The Air Medal (AM) is a military decoration of the United States Armed Forces. It was created in 1942 and is awarded for single acts of heroism or meritorious achievement while participating in aerial flight. Criteria The Air Medal was establish ...

* Army Commendation Medal

Unit awards

Meritorious Unit Commendation The Meritorious Unit Commendation (MUC; pronounced ''muck'') is a mid-level unit award of the United States Armed Forces. The U.S. Army awards units the Army MUC for exceptionally meritorious conduct in performance of outstanding achievement or s ...

* Philippine Presidential Unit Citation *

Vietnam Cross of Gallantry The Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross also known as the Vietnamese Gallantry Cross or Vietnam Cross of Gallantry ( vi, Anh-Dũng Bội-Tinh) is a military decoration of the former Government of South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam). The medal wa ...

with palm

Service medals

* Good Conduct Medal *

American Defense Service Medal The American Defense Service Medal was a military award of the United States Armed Forces, established by , by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, on June 28, 1941. The medal was intended to recognize those military service members who had served ...

American Campaign Medal The American Campaign Medal is a military award of the United States Armed Forces which was first created on November 6, 1942, by issued by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The medal was intended to recognize those military members who had perfo ...

* Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with four

campaign star A service star is a miniature bronze or silver five-pointed star inch (4.8 mm) in diameter that is authorized to be worn by members of the eight uniformed services of the United States on medals and ribbons to denote an additional award or ser ...

s * World War II Victory Medal * National Defense Service Medal with oak leaf cluster * Korean Service Medal * Vietnam Service Medal with campaign star * Philippine Liberation Medal with star *

Philippine Independence Medal The Philippine Independence Medal is a military award and decoration of the Republic of the Philippines which was created by order of the Philippine Army Headquarters on 3 July 1946 as the Philippine Independence Ribbon. The medal was added in 196 ...

United Nations Korea Medal The United Nations Service Medal for Korea (UNKM) is an international military decoration established by the United Nations on December 12, 1950 as the United Nations Service Medal. The decoration was the first international award ever created by t ...

Korean War Service Medal The Korean War Service Medal (KWSM, ko, 6.25사변종군기장, ), also known as the Republic of Korea War Service Medal (ROKWSM), is a military award of South Korea which was first authorized in December 1950. History 6.25 Incident Participati ...

* Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal

Namesakes

*Camp Nett, Connecticut National Guard training center in Niantic, Connecticut. *COL Robert B. Nett building, The Fort Benning OCS classroom. *COL (R) Robert B. Nett Leadership Award is awarded to the Distinguished Leadership Graduate (DLG), the second highest honor bestowed upon a Candidate at OCS. *Colonel Robert B. Nett Medal of Honor Highway , 5-mile stretch of

US 280 U.S. Route 280 (US 280) is a spur of U.S. Highway 80. It currently runs for 392 miles (631 km) from Blichton, Georgia at US 80 to Birmingham, Alabama at I-20/I-59. For much of its route, US 280 travels through rural areas and smaller cities ...

/ SR 520 ( Martha Berry Highway) through Fort Benning. *COL Robert Nett Leadership Hall, the leadership hall for the

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

National Guard at Camp Niantic (later renamed Camp Nett) in Niantic. *

Nett Warrior Nett Warrior (NW) (formerly known as the Ground Soldier System) is an integrated dismounted leader situational awareness (SA) system for use during combat operations of the United States Army. Overview The system provides SA to the dismounted lea ...

, a dismounted battle command system (Ground Soldier®), named for Colonel Nett in 2010. *In January 2007 the United Service Organizations (USO) awarded him its Spirit of Hope Award.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nett, Robert B. 1922 births 2008 deaths Connecticut National Guard personnel Military personnel from New Haven, Connecticut United States Army personnel of World War II United States Army Medal of Honor recipients World War II recipients of the Medal of Honor United States Army personnel of the Korean War United States Army Rangers United States Army Command and General Staff College alumni University System of Maryland alumni United States Army personnel of the Vietnam War Recipients of the Air Medal Recipients of the Meritorious Service Medal (United States) United States Army colonels Recipients of the Legion of Merit People from Columbus, Georgia