Robert Roland Ingram (born January 20, 1945) is a retired

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

hospital corpsman A hospital corpsman (HM r corpsman is an enlisted medical specialist of the United States Navy, who may also serve in a U.S. Marine Corps unit. The corresponding rating within the United States Coast Guard is health services technician (HS) ...

third class and a recipient of the United States' highest military 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 heroism during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

Military career

Ingram was born in

Clearwater, Florida Clearwater is a city located in Pinellas County, Florida, United States, northwest of Tampa and St. Petersburg. To the west of Clearwater lies the Gulf of Mexico and to the southeast lies Tampa Bay. As of the 2020 census, the city had a populat ...

. He joined the

from

Coral Gables, Florida Coral Gables, officially City of Coral Gables, is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida. The city is located southwest of Downtown Miami. As of the 2020 U.S. census, it had a population of 49,248. Coral Gables is known globally as home to the ...

in September 1963. He completed recruit training and Hospital Corps School in

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...

, and the Fleet Marine Force, Field Medical Service School at Camp Pendleton, California. Afterwards, he was assigned to B Company, 1st Battalion,

7th Marine Regiment The 7th Marine Regiment is an infantry regiment of the United States Marine Corps based at Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms, California. Nicknamed the "Magnificent Seventh", the regiment falls under the command of the 1st ...

1st Marine Division The 1st Marine Division (1st MARDIV) is a Marine division of the United States Marine Corps headquartered at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California. It is the ground combat element of the I Marine Expeditionary Force (I MEF). It is the ...

. He was then reassigned and transferred to C Company of the 1st Battalion, 7th Marines. Ingram was sent with his battalion from

Okinawa is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi). Naha is the capital and largest city ...

to Vietnam in July 1965 as a

third class. For his heroism in treating several Marines of C Company while under enemy fire on February 8, 1966, he was awarded the

Silver Star The Silver Star Medal (SSM) is the United States Armed Forces' third-highest military decoration for valor in combat. The Silver Star Medal is awarded primarily to members of the United States Armed Forces for gallantry in action against an e ...

.Marine Corps History Division http://www.mcu.usmc.mil/historydivision/Pages/Who's%20Who/G-I/Ingram_RR.aspx On March 28, during a firefight with North Vietnamese forces in Quang Ngai Province,

Republic of Vietnam South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam ( vi, Việt Nam Cộng hòa), was a state in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975, the period when the southern portion of Vietnam was a member of the Western Bloc during part of th ...

, Ingram continued to attend to wounded Marines after being seriously wounded by enemy gunfire four times. Ingram's

was presented to him by President

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...

on July 10, 1998 during a ceremony in the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...

, alongside twenty-four of the men he served with in Vietnam. The delay in the award, made more than thirty years after the battle, was attributed to lost paperwork.

Military awards

Ingram's military awards and decorations include:

Medal of Honor citation

Ingram's official Medal of Honor citation reads: The

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...

in the name of The Congress takes pleasure in presenting the MEDAL OF HONOR to
for service as set forth in the following

CITATION:

Notes

References

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ingram, Robert R. 1945 births Living people United States Navy personnel of the Vietnam War United States Navy Medal of Honor recipients People from Clearwater, Florida United States Navy corpsmen Vietnam War recipients of the Medal of Honor People from Coral Gables, Florida

Military career

Military awards

Medal of Honor citation

See also

Notes

References