Robert Franklin Foley

Wounded, He Kept the Assault Moving

Robert Franklin Foley earned the Medal of Honor for leading his infantry company through a fierce Vietnam War battle near Quan Dau Tieng on 5 November 1966. Commanding Company A, 2nd Battalion, 27th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division, the U.S. Army captain rescued wounded men and continued attacking enemy positions after a grenade wounded him.

Born on 30 May 1941 in Newton, Massachusetts, Foley graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1963. His early Army career led to command of a rifle company in Vietnam, where his responsibilities included making decisions under fire and protecting the soldiers carrying them out.

On 5 November, his company moved through dense jungle to relieve another company that was engaged with the enemy. It encountered concealed defensive positions and quickly suffered casualties. Foley went forward to direct the attack, placing one platoon on a flank and leading the others against the position.

When his radio operators were wounded, he helped move them to medical care. He then took over a machine gun from a wounded crew and advanced while rallying his men. Moving to restore progress on the other flank, he was knocked down and wounded by a grenade. He refused medical treatment and remained at the front, leading assaults that destroyed three enemy gun positions.

Official Medal of Honor citation As read at the White House presentation on 1 May 1968:

for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty:

On 5 November 1966, while serving as Commander, Company A, 2nd Battalion, 27th Infantry, near Quan Dau Tieng, Republic of Vietnam, Captain Foley's company was ordered to extricate another company of the Battalion. Moving through the dense jungle to aid the besieged unit, Company A encountered a strong enemy force occupying well concealed, defensive positions, and the company's leading element quickly sustained several casualties.

Captain Foley immediately ran forward to the scene of most intense action to direct the company's efforts. Deploying one platoon on the flank, he led the other two platoons in an attack on the enemy in the face of intense fire. During this action both radio operators accompanying him were wounded. At grave risk to himself he defied the enemy's murderous fire, and helped the wounded operators to a position where they could receive medical care.

As he moved forward again one of his machine gun crews was wounded. Seizing the weapon, he charged forward firing the machine gun, shouting orders and rallying his men thus maintaining the momentum of the attack. Under increasingly heavy enemy fire he ordered his assistant to take cover and, alone, Captain Foley continued to advance firing the machine gun until the wounded had been evacuated and the attack in this area could be resumed.

When movement on the other flank was halted by the enemy's fanatical defense, Captain Foley moved to personally direct this critical phase of the battle. Leading the renewed effort he was blown off his feet and wounded by an enemy grenade. Despite his painful wounds he refused medical aid and persevered in the forefront of the attack on the enemy redoubt. He led the assault on several enemy gun emplacements and, single-handedly, destroyed three such positions.

His outstanding personal leadership, under intense enemy fire during the fierce battle which lasted for several hours, inspired his men to heroic efforts and was instrumental in the ultimate success of the operation. Captain Foley's magnificent courage, selfless concern for his men and professional skill reflect the utmost credit upon himself and the United States Army.

President Lyndon B. Johnson presented Foley's Medal of Honor at the White House on 1 May 1968, alongside an award to John F. Baker Jr., who fought in the same action.

Foley continued an Army career that included battalion and brigade command in Germany, service in Korea, appointment as West Point's commandant of cadets and command of Fifth U.S. Army. He retired as a lieutenant general in 2000 after 37 years of active service.

His later work included serving as president of Marion Military Institute and director of Army Emergency Relief. Through education, mentoring and support for soldiers and their families, he carried the concern for his men shown in Vietnam into decades of subsequent service.