Richard Emmett Tobin

West Point, 1949

Be Thou At Peace

Posted by Terry Powers on March 19, 2023:

17249 RICHARD EMMETT TOBIN Died in Kenmore, NY, 14 Feb 1990 interred in Arlington National Cemetery. RICHARD EMMETT "DICK" TOBIN was born in Buffalo, NY, in September 1925, the first of three children born to Daniel and Mary Tobin. He was named after his paternal grandfather, who had emigrated from Ireland in the 1890's. Growing up on the Niagara frontier in the 1930's, Dick was active in the Boy Scouts and fond of swimming and fishing in Lake Erie and the Niagara River. At an early age, he developed a deep, lifelong interest in the history of the Niagara frontier. That interest became the genesis of his military career. As a teenager, he would often visit Ft. Niagara, Ft. George, and the battle sites of Chippewa and Lundy's Lane in Canada. At the age of 16, Dick graduated from high school in 1942, with his high school yearbook noting his ambition to become an Army officer. In early 1943, he enlisted in the U.S. Army Reserve and was called to Active Duty on his 18th birthday. After basic training, Dick enrolled as an air cadet stationed at Miami Beach. When the program was discontinued in early 1944, he was assigned to the Second Air Force Headquarters in Sioux City. While there, he competed for a Regular Army appointment to USMA and was sent to the preparatory school detachment at Cornell University. After a short stint at Ft. Benning, Dick joined the Class of '49 in August 1945. Upon graduation, Dick was commissioned in the Infantry and attended the Ground General School at Ft. Riley and the Basic Course at Ft. Benning. In August 1950, he joined the 7th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division, in Korea as a rifle platoon leader. Like many of his classmates, Dick distinguished himself in combat in the Pusan Perimeter, fighting the breakout and advance to Pyongyang, the November 1950 withdrawal, and the battles in early 1951. At the time of his rotation in September 1951, he was a company commander, a captain, and the holder of the Silver Star. After Korea, Dick attended the Advanced Course at Ft. Benning, and then had successive assignments as an ROTC instructor at UCLA, a three-year stint with the 24th Infantry Division in Hawaii, and a tour with the 2d Armored Division at Ft Hood. In 1963, he went to Viet Nam and served as a regimental advisor with the 7th ARVN Division in the Mekong Delta. Upon his return, he was assigned as a combat arms advisor at the Army's development lab in Natick, MA. In 1967, Dick returned to Vet Nam with the Americal Division. Upon return from his second tour in Viet Nam, Dick requested, and was granted, assignment to the Niagara Frontier, becoming the National Guard Advisor for the western New York area. In 1970, after distinguishing himself in three wars, he retired from the Army as a lieutenant colonel. In civilian life, he was Director of Security for Canisius College and, later, was a sales representative for the ADT security company. Dick died suddenly of a ruptured ulcer at the age of 64, and was interred in Arlington National Cemetery with full military honors. Dick's marriage in 1955 to Monnie Jo Price ended in divorce in 1970. He is survived by two sons and two daughters. A grandson, Richard Mase Tobin, and a granddaughter, Leah Powning, both born in 1990, also survive Dick. His brother Dan '54

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