Robert Leslie Poxon

Wounded, he led his platoon in an assault against the bunker

Born in Detroit, Michigan, on 3 January 1947, Poxon attended Saint Louis University before completing Armor Officer Candidate School at Fort Knox in 1967. He served with a basic combat training company at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. His Vietnam tour began on 10 October 1968, and he served with Headquarters and Headquarters Troop and then Troop B of the 1st Squadron, 9th Cavalry.

Robert Leslie Poxon earned the Medal of Honor on 2 June 1969 while leading a reconnaissance platoon of Troop B, 1st Squadron, 9th Cavalry, 1st Cavalry Division, in Tay Ninh Province, Vietnam. After a helicopter landing drew intense fire, he crossed open ground to help a fallen soldier and was seriously wounded. Refusing evacuation, Poxon identified a central bunker as the obstacle his platoon needed to overcome. He ordered concentrated fire on it, crawled forward and charged with a grenade. Hit repeatedly, he nevertheless silenced the bunker before suffering a fatal wound. His men followed the assault and drove the enemy from their positions. His award honors leadership that continued despite grave injury.

Poxon was twenty-two when he died. His family received his posthumous Medal of Honor at the White House on 16 February 1971. He is buried in Forest Lawn Cemetery in Detroit.

Medal of Honor citation

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity in action at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty. 1st Lt. Poxon, Armor, Troop B, distinguished himself while serving as a platoon leader on a reconnaissance mission. Landing by helicopter in a area suspected of being occupied by the enemy, the platoon came under intense fire from enemy soldiers in concealed positions and fortifications around the landing zone. A soldier fell, hit by the first burst of fire. 1st Lt. Poxon dashed to his aid, drawing the majority of the enemy fire as he crossed 20 meters of open ground. The fallen soldier was beyond help and 1st Lt. Poxon was seriously and painfully wounded. 1st Lt. Poxon, with indomitable courage, refused medical aid and evacuation and turned his attention to seizing the initiative from the enemy. With sure instinct he marked a central enemy bunker as the key to success. Quickly instructing his men to concentrate their fire on the bunker, and in spite of his wound, 1st Lt. Poxon crawled toward the bunker, readied a hand grenade, and charged. He was hit again but continued his assault. After succeeding in silencing the enemy guns in the bunker he was struck once again by enemy fire and fell, mortally wounded. 1st Lt. Poxon's comrades followed their leader, pressed the attack, and drove the enemy from their positions. 1st Lt. Poxon's gallantry, indomitable will, and courage are in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit on himself, his unit, and the U.S. Army.