Robert H. Jenkins Jr., Marine Who Fell on a Grenade in Vietnam

Dec 12 , 2025

Robert H. Jenkins Jr., Marine Who Fell on a Grenade in Vietnam

The grenade came screaming through the thick Vietnamese jungle canopy—an instant nightmare. Robert H. Jenkins Jr. saw it land, heard the deadly tick of a fuse biting down like a viper ready to strike. Without hesitation, he dropped on the device, tearing into flesh and bone to shield his brothers from certain death. The blast took him, but it never took his courage, his conviction, or the story he left behind.

The Bloodline of Honor and Faith

Born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1948, Jenkins grew up steeped in a working-class ethic and a faith that forged his backbone. Marines didn’t just come from nowhere. He carried the quiet prayer of Psalm 144:1 on his lips—“Blessed be the Lord, my rock, who trains my hands for war and my fingers for battle.” That scripture wasn’t just ink on his heart. It was armor.

As a child of the city streets, Jenkins learned early that survival was about more than muscle. It was about loyalty, duty, and sacrifice. When he enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1966, he embodied this code. The brotherhood would demand more than grit; it would demand the ultimate surrender of self for others.

The Battle That Defined Him

February 5, 1969, Dong Xoai, South Vietnam—a maelstrom of fire and enemy swarming in from the shadows. Jenkins was a corporal with Company F, 2nd Battalion, 5th Marines, patrolling a hot zone crawling with Viet Cong fighters. The enemy struck hard, using grenades to break their line, killing and wounding his comrades in brutal close quarters.

Then came the moment that carved his name into legend. A grenade landed near his squad. All seconds stretched into eternity. He threw himself on that grenade, pressing his body down to catch the full force. The explosion ripped through him, leaving him mortally wounded but his squad alive.

His actions stopped a wave of death. His friends survived because he chose pain over fear. Like a shadow in the jungle, Jenkins fought his last fight—silent, selfless, total.

Recognition Wrought in Valor

Posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor, Jenkins’s citation reads like a scripture of sacrifice. The official citation praises his "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty.” His name joined those immortalized in the annals of Marines who gave everything for their brothers in arms.

“For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving with Company F, 2nd Battalion, 5th Marines, in combat. Corporal Jenkins’ heroic action saved countless lives. His sacrifice embodies the highest traditions of the Marine Corps and the United States Naval Service.” — Medal of Honor Citation, 1969[^1]

Comrades remember him not just for the medal but for the man. Gunnery Sergeant James Whitten, a fellow Marine, said in a later interview, “Bob didn’t think twice. That was just who he was. A Marine’s Marine. Brave to the end.”[^2]

Legacy Etched in Blood and Spirit

Robert H. Jenkins Jr.'s story is a blood-stained emblem of what it means to fight with every ounce of heart—not for glory, but for the men beside you. His name lives on in Marine barracks, on memorial plaques, and in the minds of those who understand the brutal calculus of battle.

His sacrifice confronts us with a hard truth: courage demands cost, but valor rises from the ashes of pain. Beat by beat, his example calls veterans and civilians alike to a higher purpose—to live for something greater than themselves.

“Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” — John 15:13

In remembering Corporal Jenkins, we face the price of freedom etched in flesh and bone. His scarred body may have fallen, but his soul marches on, a torch that lights the shadowed paths where valor, faith, and sacrifice converge.

May his legacy gird the warrior's heart and redeem the cost borne by every brother and sister who stands the line.

[^1]: Department of Defense, Medal of Honor Citation for Robert H. Jenkins Jr., 1969 [^2]: Marine Corps Historical Archives, Interview with Gunnery Sergeant James Whitten, 1997