<p>
<em>Floyd Irvin “Robby” Robinson</em>, was the middle child of Alva Robinson and Bethel Mae Cobb. As a boy growing up in Indianapolis, Robby loved golf, sang in the school choir, and aspired to be a doctor. Robby received a Congressional appoint­ment to West Point and graduated in ’42, becoming the first in his family to gradu­ate from college. He went straight to flying school in the U.S. Army Air Corps, and, while at Randolph AFB, San Antonio, TX, he met and married Charlotte Moore Hill, daughter of Dr. Lucius and Charlotte Hill. Charlotte followed Robby to Tucson, AZ, and El Paso, TX, where he enrolled in ad­ditional training, learning to fly B-24s. He left for World War II in Europe in March of 1944.</p>
<p>
Robby flew 47 missions as a bomber pilot throughout Europe in World War II. Shot down over the Ploesti oil fields in June 1944, he became a prisoner of war in Romania and was liberated in August 1944 when Romania capitulated to the Allies.</p>
<p>
Following the war, Robby attended Columbia University to learn Russian as part of a diplomatic assignment with the Allies. After serving as base commander at Chennault AFB in Lake Charles, LA, the family was transferred to Madrid, Spain, where he was base commander of Torrejon AFB. While stationed in Spain, he headed Operation Chromedome, involving aerial refueling of B-52s during the Cold War. During the Cuban Blockade in 1962, the operation reached its maximum state of preparedness in history without firing a single shot.</p>
<p>
The Cold War opened a door to service on board the National Emergency Combat Post Afloat. As a member of a Joint Chiefs of Staff Communications Team, Robby served on the USS Northampton and the USS Wright in the sixties. Having started his military career in the U.S. Army, tran­sitioned to the Army Air Corps and to the US Air Force, and later served with the Joint Chiefs, Robby gained perspective on the evolution of the American military, and especially on the Air Force. He wrote: “First, I feel the traditions in the mili­tary are deep-rooted and very strong. The USAF was spawned by the U.S. Army. It inherited the U.S. Army traditions, but it chose to discard some and keep others... Use of the atmosphere as a third dimension for warfare, along with the land and the sea, was unexploited and many traditions of the parent U.S. Army could not be applied...”</p>
<p>
“In discarding conser­vative traditions, the USAF became liberal in many ways. The 50-mission hat started the new look. The air crews were composed of officers and enlisted. Their lives were mutually inter-reliant. The formali­ties of rank evaporated on board the airplane. My ex­periences as a crewman led me to be liberal toward others in the USAF.”</p>
<p>
“Second, I feel the wild blue yonder demanded and continues to demand flex­ibility in using the aeronautics available and a willingness to explore new technology re­lentlessly. Today the USAF thinks globally, not in terms of how to sustain operations on land or sea but in space.”</p>
<p>
Upon retirement as a full colonel after 30 years in the U.S. Air Force, he went back to complete a master’s degree in Engineering Management and worked as a civil engineer for Fairfax County. He was very active with the Lake Barcroft Association, especially in the rebuilding and restoration of the lake and its dam following Hurricane Agnes. He also served as a deacon at the Annandale Episcopal Church and volunteered full time at Bolling AFB, helping to provide services to retired military personnel.</p>
<p>
Robby is survived by his wife Charlotte; children Rob, Larry, and Liz; seven grand­children; and one great-grandchild. An avid golfer until age 90, he loved fishing, boating, reading, mountain climbing, bird watching, crossword puzzles and serving his community and country.</p>
<p>
“He was popular with everyone — even popular as a company clerk who was able to dish out soirees and keep the gripes be­low a minimum... His outstanding assets are a contagious sense of humor, a ready- to-help attitude, and a boisterous efficiency. Friendships formed with men of Robby s caliber make the four-year stretch well worth its while.” (from his Howitzer entry.)</p>
<p>
As the military changed over his decades of service, Robby took pride in its ability to adapt to the nation’s and the world’s chang­ing needs. Always interested in interna­tional relations, he wrote of his thoughts of women in the military: “My feeling is our military needs international leadership. Emphasis can be put on preventing wars if our American leaders know what to look for in peace time. I think females can do this as well as males.”</p>
<p>
Robby will be deeply missed by his fam­ily, friends and classmates.</p>
<p>
<em><em>—Liz Robinson, daughter</em></em></p>
<p>
</p>