Robert S Kennemore
Robert was born on the 21st of June, 1920, in Greenville, South Carolina. He attended high school in nearby Simpsonville until 1935, when he worked for the Montgomery Ward Company, a mail order company in Chicago, Illinois. Robert enlisted in the US Marine Corps on the 20th of June, 1940, and completed his recruit training at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot in San Diego, California in August. He remained in San Diego for almost a year and a half before deploying to the Pacific with the 1st Marine Division. He fought in the Guadalcanal-Tulagi campaign, returning to the States in June of 1943, before being stationed at several different duty stations and in Japan for occupation duty with the 2nd Marine Division. By October 1949, Robert was a Staff Sergeant and moved to the West Coast with the 2nd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, where they became part of the 7th Marines, 1st Marine Division. In September of 1950, he was deploying to Korea in support of the Seoul and Chosin Reservoir campaigns. It was Robert's actions that not only saved the lives of his comrades and cost him both his legs, but also earned him the Medal of Honor. The citation reads:
For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty as Leader of a Machine-Gun Section in Company E, Second Battalion, Seventh Marines, First Marine Division (Reinforced), in action against enemy aggressor forces in Korea on 27 and November 28, 1950. With the company's defensive perimeter overrun by a numerically superior hostile force during a savage night attack north of Yudam-ni and his platoon commander seriously wounded, Staff Sergeant Kennemore unhesitatingly assumed command, quickly reorganized the unit and directed the men in consolidating the position. When an enemy grenade landed in the midst of a machine-gun squad, he bravely placed his foot on the missile and, in the face of almost certain death, personally absorbed the full force of the explosion to prevent injury to his fellow Marines. By his indomitable courage, outstanding leadership and selfless efforts in behalf of his comrades, Staff Sergeant Kennemore was greatly instrumental in driving the enemy from the area and upheld the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.
What the citation doesn't say is that before this grenade, a different grenade had landed in the slit trench and Robert had grabbed it and threw it back. A second grenade had also landed in the trench and he shoved it into the dirt with his foot. The grenade in the citation was in fact the third grenade to land in the slit trench. He was quickly sent back to the States for treatment at the US Naval Hospital in Oakland, California, where he stayed until his retirement on the 31st of October, 1951. A little over a year later, Robert received the Medal of Honor from President Truman in a ceremony at the White House on the 24th of November, 1952. He and his wife, Mary Jo Smith, had five children and remained in the San Francisco area until his death on the 26th of April, 1989, at the age of 68. Robert Sidney Kennemore is buried in the San Francisco National Cemetery with his wife: Plot H, grave CA-404.
