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<em>Robin Mangum</em> was born in Spartanburg, South Carolina, the son of Lieutenant Colonel and Mrs. Wiley M. Mangum. It was they who gave to Robin and his three brothers—Wiley, David, and Michael—the firm foundations of loyalty, patriotism, and faith which guided their lives.</p>
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In June 1953, Robin realized his boyhood ambitions and entered West Point with the Class of 1957. He soon established himself as a cadet who refused to allow any obstacle to deter his pursuit of what he considered right. His great determination and desire to compete won the respect of all who came in contact with him and set the course for Robin’s career as an Infantry Soldier.</p>
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After graduating in June, he married the former Colleen Cord of Radford, Virginia, on 3 August in Radford. Along with his parents home and West Point, Colleen gave the third and final basic dimension of Robin’s life. She and their children Robin Roel, Janet Ruth, and Douglas Grant brought him joy and strength and depth.</p>
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Robin’s career in the Army was one marked by devotion to duty and unselfish desire to serve his country. He served with the 41st Infantry of the 4th Armored Division in Germany and then with the "Old Guard” 3d Infantry at Washington, D.C. It was following this that Robin spent his first combat tour in Vietnam as an Infantry Adviser in the Mekong Delta. In addition to the respect of all who knew and fought beside him, American and Vietnamese, he won the Combat Infantryman Badge, the Bronze Star Medal, and the Vietnamese Gallantry Cross with Palm.</p>
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After this tour in Vietnam, Robin entered the Foreign Area Specialist Training program. First studying Portuguese at the Defense Language Institute and then earning his Master’s Degree in Latin American Studies at the University of Texas, he was sent to the country of his specialty, Brazil. In Brazil, Robin and his family traveled extensively while he attended the Brazilian Command and General Staff School and graduated in 1968. Once again Robin soon won the respect and affection of his contemporaries as he sought to strengthen the ties of friendship between two great countries. He and Colleen made many lasting friendships with Brazilians, both military and civilian. Prior to his departure, the Brazilian government awarded him the Ordem do Duque de Caxias, O Pacificador, an award named after Brazil’s greatest soldier and Father of the Army.</p>
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It was after this tour in Brazil that Robin was called back to West Point to instruct Portuguese for a year. He saw this as an opportunity to go far beyond the strict limits of the section-room and to help mold the characters and aspirations of the cadets. He did so by setting a daily example of devotion to duty for them and by freely giving his time and interest to them both on and off duty.</p>
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From West Point, Robin was again called to the field of battle and was assigned as Executive Officer, 1st Battalion 5th Cavalry of the 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile). He served in this capacity until his death at Quan Loi on 6 December 1969. His posthumous awards included the Bronze Star Medal, Bronze Star Medal with "V,” Air Medal, and Army Commendation Medal, 1st Oak Leaf Cluster. He was also promoted to Lieutenant Colonel with a date of rank of 22 May 1969. He was buried on 16 December at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery, San Antonio, Texas. At the service, the tribute was rendered by The Reverend Father Ernest Sweeney, S.J., an old friend of Robin’s and Colleen's who is now Vicc President of the University of Argentina in Buenos Aires. Perhaps his words best summarize Robin’s life—what he stood for, and how those who knew him remember him.</p>
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"My peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you.” John 14:2F "Today we come to pay our final tribute and farewell to a soldier and friend we dearly loved.</p>
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"Major Robin Mangum was a man to be admired, respected, and remembered forever. He served his country on four continents—here, in Europe, in South America, and in Asia. A professional soldier, he had the distinction of graduating from West Point, the alma mater of so many of our great patriots and national leaders in time of peace as well as in time of war. He had the further distinction of returning to West Point to teach there, to help form the finest of American youth in the glorious traditions of that great Academy dedicated to the defense of all that we hold sacred and good.</p>
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"Major Mangum believed in his fellow men. He believed that they had the right to freedom, freedom from fear, freedom from oppression, freedom from tyranny, freedom to live upright and decent lives, freedom to be responsible for the building of a better world. He fought that we might be secure in our rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness under law. Because he believed in his fellow men, he dedicated his life to the defense of that freedom which is the basis of all our liberties under Cod.</p>
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“Yet, Major Mangum was not just our defender, he was also our friend. It was always a privilege and a joy to be with him—in studies, in recreation, in thought, in social concerns, in the wide ranging of his gentle, yet strong and restless spirit. He was a source of strength to all who knew him, a model of courage, an example of single dedication, a man for all seasons.</p>
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“He was blessed in his family, in his wife Colleen, and in his children—and they were blessed in him. He was a man totally and manfully dedicated to his family. Whenever possible, he was with his wife and children, caring and providing for their needs, especially for those moral and spiritual needs all the gold of the universe cannot buy. He was a husband and a father whose every deed and action was stamped with devotion, responsibility, reflection, and love.</p>
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“A man of strong convictions, Major Mangum apologized to no man concerning his belief in God. He prayed in the depths of his own soul, and prayer was part of the daily life of his home. The church was of vital concern to him—more vital than words can say. He returned to Austin before leaving for Vietnam, so that he could settle his family here in order that they might be part of this congregation.</p>
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"He was a man close to God, and he so lived that now his wish is certainly fulfilled—that wish which rang out in song over the green and wooded hills of West Point:</p>
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‘And when our work is done,</p>
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Our course on Earth is run,</p>
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May it be said—Well Done!</p>
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Be thou at peace!</p>
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Well done! Be thou at peace!’ ’’</p>