Robert Jenkins Jr., Marine Who Threw Himself on a Grenade in Vietnam

Nov 11 , 2025

Robert Jenkins Jr., Marine Who Threw Himself on a Grenade in Vietnam

Robert H. Jenkins Jr. didn’t hesitate when the grenade landed between his squad. Hell bent on saving his brothers, he lunged forward with no thought for his own life. The flash. The scream. His body absorbing the blast that would end him—but not the men beside him. This was love forged in the crucible of war.

Roots of Honor

Born in 1948, Robert Jenkins was a South Carolina boy raised on grit and gospel. The son of a preacher, his childhood was steeped in faith and a strict moral code. You learn early that life is fragile, and honor isn’t a choice; it’s a demand. His quiet resolve grew as sure as the pine trees lining Florence County. Close-knit family, church pews, and Sunday prayers shaped the man who’d carry a Bible and a rifle into combat.

Faith wasn’t just words to Jenkins—it was armor. His comrades would later talk about the calm fierceness he carried into chaos. “He wasn’t just brave,” one said, “he was certain. Like God was watching his back.” His Medal of Honor citation speaks to that same unwavering conviction: ‘Gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty.’[1]

The Battle That Defined Him

February 5, 1969, was a humid day in Vietnam’s Da Nang area—serene at first, but hell-bent to erupt into violence. Jenkins served as an assistant machine gunner in Company C, 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marines, 3rd Marine Division. They were deep in hostile territory when the enemy struck with fierce intensity.

Amid the firefight, chaos reigned. Enemy forces whipped grenades into the Marines’ midst to break their line. When one grenade landed squarely among his squad, Jenkins made a choice that splits seconds and eternity.

He threw himself onto that grenade.

The blast tore through his chest and abdomen. Despite his mortal wounds, Jenkins refused to yield until he ensured every Marine around him survived the ambush. His sacrifice saved countless lives but claimed his own at just 20 years old.[2]

“Private First Class Jenkins’ actions reflect the highest credit upon himself and the Marine Corps.” — Medal of Honor citation, 1969[3]

Valor Recognized

The Medal of Honor. America’s highest military decoration, reserved for those who embody sacrifice beyond measure. Jenkins received it posthumously in a White House ceremony. President Richard Nixon solemnly pinned the medal to Jenkins’ family, honoring a young Marine who chose life for others over his own.

Marine leaders and veterans recall Jenkins as more than a hero on paper. Captain Douglas B. Holder, a platoon leader present that day, described Jenkins as “the kind of man you want beside you when the world falls apart.”[4] For those who survived, Jenkins wasn’t just a fellow soldier—he was the steel in their spine, the reason they came home alive.

Legacy Carved in Blood

Jenkins’ story is not a legend steeped in glory, but a raw testament to selflessness stamped in the mud of Vietnam. His sacrifice is a grim reminder: war takes, but it also reveals what it means to live in service to others.

His name lives on across military bases, memorials, and among the tales passed down to new Marines. But beyond medals and memorials lies a weightier truth.

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

To honor Robert Jenkins is to remember that courage is not choosing safety, but standing in the fire for your brothers. Redemption is not in survival alone, but in how a fallen soul inspires the living.

May his bloodied sacrifice echo through the ages. And may those who follow carry his flame—not for violence, but for valor, faith, and enduring brotherhood.

Sources

[1] Medal of Honor citation, Robert H. Jenkins Jr., United States Marine Corps Archives [2] U.S. Marine Corps History Division, Vietnam War Combat Records: 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marines, 1969 [3] White House Presidential Medal of Honor Ceremony Transcript, 1970 [4] Oral history interview with Captain Douglas B. Holder, Marine Corps University Archives