VVA Robert E. Chisolm Chapter 844 El Paso Tx. Newsletter Editor / Historian Edward E. Wilkes All information and documents listed were provided with permission from LTC (Ret) Robert E. Chisolm Note: Compiled with the approval of, and in cooperation with, John Ceballos, Chairman of the El Paso Chapter of the 82nd Airborne Division Association VVA Robert E. Chisolm Chapter 844 El Paso Tx. Newsletter Editor / Historian Edward E. Wilkes ROBERT EUGENE “BOB” CHISOLM LTC (Ret.) U. S. ARMY - 1942 - 1971 Combat Veteran - World War II, Korea & Vietnam Born in Dallas , Texas on 23 June 1925. The 3rd of 4 children and grew up in Dallas and was commonly referred to as Gene by friends and family. Bob Chisolm played football and tennis in high school. As a junior in High School, Gene dropped out and joined the Army in August of 1942. Robert E. Chisolm entered military service on August 24, 1942 for the duration of the War plus 6 Months. Received orders & attended basic combat training at Fort Walters, Texas. He completed Airborne “Jump School” at Fort Benning, GA and was assigned to the 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 82nd Airborne Division. During World War II, he made combat parachute jumps into Normandy, France on D-Day as part of Operation Overlord. He suffered his first combat wound on his 19th birthday on June 23, 1944. His second combat wound was during Operation Market Garden as he 18126484 was about to exit the aircraft over Holland. He was awarded the Bronze Star Medal. His combat actions in Holland would later be described in a book written by the author William G. Lord. “After combat jump into Holland - Unit Officers, and most Non-Coms, had become casualties - Corporal Robert Chisolm takes charge of approximately 83 men and demonstrating exemplary leadership in action that ensued, is awarded the Legion of Merit,” wrote Lord in his book: History of the 508th Parachute Infantry. VVA Robert E. Chisolm Chapter 844 El Paso Tx. Newsletter Editor / Historian Edward E. Wilkes On January 7, 1945, Robert E. Chisolm was also involved in bitter fighting during the “Battle of the Bulge” where he was wounded a third time. His wounds were of such severity that, had it not been for the extreme cold which caused his blood to coagulate, he may have bled to death. He was evacuated back to the United States where 18126484 he was hospitalized at William Beaumont Army Hospital for ten months. While he was at the hospital, he was promoted to Staff Sergeant on April 7, 1945. On September 2, 1945, WWII was over. His Commanding Officer came in to talk about re-enlisting to continue his career in Army and he was offered the rank of Sergeant First Class. He requested re-assignment to 82nd Airborne, with orders to return back to Frankfurt, Germany. Robert E. Chisolm re-enlisted on January 9, 1946. Robert E. Chisolm was promoted Sergeant 14 February 1946 First Class on January 9, 1946, and he married Miss Margaret Francis Browning on 14 February 1946. He met Margaret while he was in the 2nd grade and she To Maraget st My was in the 1 grade in Dallas, Texas. He knew then he Perpetual Valentine was going to marry her, and he did. You talk about Forever Love Bob marrying your childhood sweetheart. His perpetual Valentine. He received orders to report back to Frankfurt, Germany accompanied by his wife to be part of the Honor Guard for General Dwight D. True Love Eisenhower. On 18 July 1947, their daughter, Cheryl Dawn Chisolm, was born, making her the first American born in Europe post-WW II. Sergeant First Class Robert Eugene Chisolm remained in Frankfurt, Germany with his family. On Jan 9, 1949 Robert Eugene Chisolm was promoted to First Sergeant. He then was promoted to Master Sergeant Regular Army and completed his tour in Frankfurt, Germany in 1951. He then returned by ship to the United States with his family. VVA Robert E. Chisolm Chapter 844 El Paso Tx. Newsletter Editor / Historian Edward E. Wilkes Citing Robert Eugene Chisolm’s extraordinary leadership of Units assigned to Officers within his Command and his exemplary service, a Field Commission Board headed by COL Roy C. Evans at the Presidio in San Francisco, CA, awarded him a Temporary Battlefield Commission with the rank of 2nd Lieutenant on 23 November 1951 with orders to report to Fort Benning, Georgia for a 22-week Associate Infantry Company Officers Course. He earned a Diploma on 21 August 1952. Robert E. Chisolm was promoted to 2nd Lieutenant within the Commissioned Officers Reserve Corps in the Army of the United States on 27 October 1952. At the time, he was in the 505th at Fort Benning, Georgia, having wished to stay Airborne. With his promotion, he was moved to Infantry at Fort Jackson, South Carolina. By 1953, Chisolm would be involved in the Korean War where he would serve as Commander for L Company, 31st Infantry, 7th Infantry Division, as a 2nd Lieutenant and would be involved in one of the last major actions of the conflict. His service as a Company Commander was an extraordinary assignment as most Company Level Units are assigned to Officers in the Rank of Captain or above. For his exemplary service as Commander, he earned a battlefield commission to 1st Lieutenant on 4 May 1955. He would later sustain a ruptured ear drum from direct artillery fire, a wound that would subsequently become infected and lead to his transfer to a United States Army Hospital in Yokohama, Japan. Later he was transferred to United States Army Hospital at Camp Mercy, Okinawa, where his wife Margaret, and daughter, Dawn, would join him. VVA Robert E. Chisolm Chapter 844 El Paso Tx. Newsletter Editor / Historian Edward E. Wilkes Robert E. Chisolm was promoted to Capitan, a Reserve Commissioned Officer, on 10 April 1958 and later in the Vietnam Conflict, he would serve as Regimental Advisor with the Vietnamese Army 45th Regiment and G-3 Advisor to the 23rd Division. Robert E. Chisolm was promoted to Temporary Rank of Major on 10 April 1962. He received orders to Fort Leavenworth, Kansas to attend Associate Command General Staff Officers Course for 44 weeks, and he earned a Diploma on 10 May 1963. Later Robert E. Chisolm left Fort Leavenworth, Kansas for his second tour in Southeast Asia on 14 July 1963. There he served at Chief Plans and Operation Division and Deputy Chief Joint United States Military Advisory Group (JUSMAG) Thailand. Robert E. Chisolm was promoted to Permanent Rank of Major (USAR) United State Army Reserve on 14 June 1964. On December 20, 1966, Robert E. Chisolm was promoted to Temporary Rank of Lieutenant Colonel. His wife, Margaret (in photo at left), helped pin it on. He would subsequently be assigned to Fort Leavenworth, Kansas from October 1968 – June 1970 where he served at Chief War Games Branch Combat Development Command. On February 5, 1971 Robert E. Chisolm was promoted to Permanent Rank of Lieutenant Colonel United States Army Reserve, and then he was medically retired. His Terminal Date of Reserve / UMT & Service Obligation to the United States Army was effective on 30 August 1973. Bob Chisolm is also a successful businessman and highly respected citizen of the El Paso Community. After his retirement from the Army, Bob owned and operated ranches in East Texas. After his move to El Paso in 1974 he served as the President of Jim Johnson of El Paso, Inc. He later incorporated J-Tex, Inc., a manufacturing and export business, where he served as CEO and President. In 1981 he incorporated FDYA, a Texas non-profit corporation which supports disadvantaged and deprived youth. He continues to manage his one remaining business and donates many of its proceeds to the Benavidez- Patterson “All Airborne” Chapter of the 82nd Airborne Division Association. Bob continues to serve his community and the active-duty military and local veteran population, through his involvement with the non-profit organization: Roy Benavidez-Robert Patterson “All Airborne” Chapter of the 82nd Airborne Division Association. LTC (Ret) Robert E. Chisolm was a founder and charter member of the organization, which has now grown to be the largest chapter in the state of Texas and seventh largest nationwide. Robert E. Chisolm’s Bob’s honors include his name being etched into the annals of military combat history at the National Infantry Museum (just outside of Fort Benning, Georgia), where the name, ROBERT E. CHISOLM, appears as entry number 45 in a list of only 325 combat veterans who have earned the Triple CIB (Combat Infantry Badge Third Award), for service in three military conflicts: World War II, Korea and Vietnam. VVA Robert E. Chisolm Chapter 844 El Paso Tx. Newsletter Editor / Historian Edward E. Wilkes Bob, Margaret, and Dawn were responsible for the establishment of the Benavidez- Patterson Scholarship Fund. This fund provides annual educational stipends to the children and grandchildren of local veteran paratroopers. Bob's beloved wife of 63 years, Margaret Francis Chisolm, passed away Friday, August 15, 2009 in El Paso, Texas. Visitation was held from 6pm – 8pm on Monday, August 24, 2009 at Sunset Funeral Homes - West. Graveside services were held at 9:00am on Tuesday, August 25, 2009 at Fort Bliss National Cemetery. Photo by Sgt. Barry St. Clair, 24th Press Camp Headquarters Robert E. Chisolm lost his daughter, Dawn Chisolm – Doyle, on 22 March 2013 to cancer, and he is survived by her husband, Richard Doyle. Richard has been close family to Bob since the loss of Margaret in 2009 and then Dawn in 2013.