James E. Robinson Jr. Medal of Honor hero at Leyte in WWII

Jan 17 , 2026

James E. Robinson Jr. Medal of Honor hero at Leyte in WWII

James E. Robinson Jr. crawled through mud and blood one furious spring day in 1945. His breath ragged, heart pounding, still staring down a hailstorm of enemy fire that threatened to shred his entire company. Victims lay scattered around him, fallen brothers clutching dirt and fading hope. But Robinson? He didn’t quit.

He refused to be swallowed by the chaos. He stepped into the storm—leading assaults under relentless fire to save his unit. That day on Leyte Island, that steel resolve carved his name into history.

The Making of a Warrior

James Edgar Robinson Jr. grew up in Indiana, raised with grit fused to his bones and a faith deep as the rivers that cut through his hometown countryside. A native son of a nation at war, his worldview was simple: stand firm, protect your own, and leave no man behind.

Raised in a devout Christian household, his mother instilled in him Psalm 27:1 — “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?” This wasn’t empty comfort. It was armor—faith that fueled his courage when blood and fear threatened to consume him.

Robinson enlisted in 1942, joining the 511th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 11th Airborne Division. His honesty and relentless work earned respect fast. But it was the battlefield that revealed the man — raw, unbroken, and utterly purpose-driven.

The Battle That Defined Him

November 1944, Leyte, Philippines. The Japanese forces dug in, prepared to repel any advance. Robinson’s company faced a bitter fight for survival in the dense jungle, under a blistering monsoon of gunfire.

The breakthrough required someone to lead the charge — someone fearless, someone who could rally scared, tired soldiers to stand again. Robinson didn’t hesitate.

In the Spine of the Rifle assault, he spearheaded multiple attacks through withering automatic weapons fire. Wounded men fell around him, but he pressed forward, charging enemy trenches that claimed lives by the second.

He single-handedly disrupted Japanese machine-gun nests that pinned down his unit, throwing grenades and firing with deadly precision. When comrades faltered, his voice cut through the chaos: “Follow me. We take this ground.”

Despite wounds, he refused aid until the objective was secured. His leadership pulled his unit from the jaws of annihilation and cleared the path for the division’s advance.

The Medal of Honor and Words of Comrades

For these acts of valor, Robinson received the Medal of Honor, awarded by President Harry S. Truman on October 12, 1945[1]. The citation spoke plainly and powerfully:

“By his dauntless courage, indomitable fighting spirit, and unflinching devotion to duty, Sergeant Robinson inspired his men to victory and saved countless lives.”

General Joseph Swing, commanding officer of the 11th Airborne, called Robinson “a warrior in every sense — the kind of soldier that turns the tide.”

His unit remembered him as the brother who never quit, the man who made impossible possible under the worst hellfire.

Legacy Forged in Fire

Robinson’s story is not one of glory alone. It speaks of sacrifice and scars—both seen and unseen. A man who stood when others fell. A man who embodied the highest calling of combat: to protect, to lead, to endure, and to carry the burden of death so others might live.

His faith did not promise safety, but it offered purpose in pain. In a world shattered by conflict, Robinson found redemption in service, reflecting Christ’s own call in John 15:13: “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”

Even decades after the guns fell silent, his example whispers across generations: True courage isn’t the absence of fear—it’s standing tall despite fear, anchored by faith and love.

The battlefield is brutal and unforgiving. But men like James E. Robinson Jr. remind us what endures beyond that endless roar—the strength to carry one another forward, and the hope that even the deepest scars can build a legacy of light.

Sources

1. Medal of Honor citation, James E. Robinson Jr. — U.S. Army Center of Military History, Medal of Honor Recipients WWII. 2. Joseph Swing, Eleventh Airborne Division Command Reports, 1945. 3. Congressional Medal of Honor Society archives, Robinson, James E. Jr.