Robert H. York was born in Birmingham, Alabama on April 23, 1913, the son of Arthur Leonidas "Lonnie" York and Carrie (Cooper) York.[2][3][4] His mother died when he was five years old, and he was raised in Hartselle by his aunt and uncle, John and Eula Cooper, who became his legal guardians.[4]
In July 1944, York was transferred to the 83rd Infantry Division and assigned to command the 331st Infantry Regiment with the rank of colonel.[4] The regiment had lost six commanders in less than month, and had sustained high casualties in post-Overlord combat in Normandy, so morale was at an ebb.[4] York was credited with restoring the regiment's combat effectiveness, and remained in command through the end of the war, including combat in France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and Germany.[4] After the end of the war in May 1945, he led the 331st Infantry during the initial stages of Allied-occupied Germany, and he returned to the United States in April 1946.[4]
Continued career
From 1946 to 1950, York was assigned to West Point as an instructor of tactics.[4] From 1950 to 1951, he was assigned as a staff officer in the office of the Army's Assistant Chief of Staff for Operations (G-3).[4] In 1951, he began attendance at the United States Army War College, and after graduating in 1952 he was a student in the army's Strategic Intelligence Course.[4] He was then assigned as the Assistant Chief of Staff for Intelligence (G-2) liaison officer in Singapore, British Malaya, and British Borneo.[4][8] In this assignment, he aided in coordinating U.S. support to Great Britain during the Malayan Emergency, and he remained until 1956.[4][8]
York served at Fort Benning from August 1956 to July 1959, and was successively director of the Tactical Department at the Infantry School, assistant chief of staff for operations (G-3) at the Infantry Center, director of instruction and assistant to the deputy commandant at the Infantry School, and chief of staff at the Infantry Center.[4] In early 1958, he attended a three-month course in advanced management at Harvard University.[9] In July 1959, York was appointed deputy chief of staff for the United Nations Command in South Korea.[4] He returned to the United States in July 1960 and was assigned as chief of the International Division in the army's Office of Research and Development.[4]
Later career
In late 1961, York was promoted to brigadier general, and in May 1962 he began an assignment as military advisor to the deputy director for tactical programs in the Department of Defense's Office of Defense Research and Engineering.[4] In October 1962, he was assigned to duty in South Vietnam as director of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's Development Field Unit and Joint Operations Evaluation Group.[4] In this posting, he was responsible for observing and providing reports on tactics and techniques of North Vietnam's military and Viet Cong so the U.S. and South Vietnamese militaries could develop responses and counteractions.[4]
In retirement, York was a resident of Hartselle, where his civic activities included helping start a halfway house for teenagers recovering from drug addiction.[4] In 1983, he moved to San Diego, California.[4] He died in San Diego on April 15, 1988.[4] York was buried at West Point Cemetery.[4]
In 1941, York married Grace Buckland, the sister of a West Point classmate, and they were married until his death.[4] The Yorks were the parents of five daughters, one of whom did not live to adulthood.[4]
Sternberg, Ben; Straus, Jack M. (January 1991). "Death Notice, Robert Howard York". Assembly. West Point, NY: Association of Graduates, United States Military Academy. pp.157–159 – via Google Books.
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