William "Rip" Robertson
William Alexander Robertson Jr. | |
---|---|
Nickname(s) | Rip |
Born | Manard, Special Activities Division | August 3, 1920
Battles/wars | World War II Korean War |
Alma mater | Vanderbilt University |
William Alexander "Rip" Robertson Jr. (August 3, 1920 – December 1, 1970)
He died in December 1970 of malaria he contracted in Laos, and is interred at Arlington National Cemetery.
Biography
Early life and military service
Robertson was born on August 3, 1920, in Manard,
Central Intelligence Agency
He entered the
In a subsequent Central American operation, a team of guerrillas led by Robertson mis-identified a British cargo ship for a Soviet freighter at anchor in a Nicaraguan harbor that was thought to be en route to Cuba with arms and ordnance for Fidel Castro. Robertson's guerrillas mined the vessel, sinking it in the harbor and killing some British seamen, resulting in an international uproar and a diplomatic demarche from London. Robertson accepted responsibility for the operation and although he was dismissed from the Agency by the chief of the CIA's Western Hemisphere Division, Colonel J.C. King—reportedly on Eisenhower's orders—Robertson was never considered to be an outcast by his CIA colleagues.
Robertson remained in Nicaragua, where he acquired large tracts of farmland near Puerto Cabezas on the Caribbean coast and went into the coffee business. He was thus well positioned to provide covert assistance to CIA when it began the search for remote sites to train Cuban exiles. Robertson offered such a site which became the principal training camp for what was to become Brigade 2506, which subsequently landed at the Bay of Pigs in 1961. At this time, Robertson was re-employed by the Agency on a contract (vice staff) basis to help lead the 2506 Brigade during the 1961 invasion of Cuba. During the battle he commanded the ship Barbara J while Grayston Lynch commanded the ship Blagar. Robertson and Lynch both went ashore to supervise the brigade from the beach. Both Robertson and Lynch were under fire for several hours until they were ordered by Washington off the beach—an order which they reluctantly obeyed.
During Operation l'Ommegang, Robertson subsequently led a unit of 17 Cuban exiles in the
Robertson left Laos in November 1970 on an emergency evacuation due to the effects of Malaria.
Death
He died in
References
- ^ a b c "Robertson, William A". ANCExplorer. U.S. Army. Retrieved 2022-06-01.
- ^ "William Alexander "Rip" ROBERTSON b. 3 Aug 1920 Manard, Muskogee Co., Oklahoma d. 1 Dec 1970 Dallas, Dallas Co., Texas: Our Family History".
- ^ "William Robertson, Vanderbilt Commodores, Football, Where Are They Now? | LostLettermen.com". Archived from the original on 2011-07-21. Retrieved 2011-03-22.
- ^ pp.194–195 Smith, By W. Thomas Encyclopedia of the Central Intelligence Agency Infobase Publishing, 2003
- ^ p.85 Villafaña, Frank Cold War in the Congo: The Confrontation of Cuban military forces, 1960–1967 Transaction Books
- ^ Hudson, Andrew "Congo Unravelled: Military Operations from Independence to the Mercenary Revolt 1960–68" Helion & Co Ltd
- ^ The Rouge Scarf: Inside the CIA's secret role in 'Operation Dragon Rouge'. Independently Published. 21 February 2023.
- ^ "William Alexander "Rip" ROBERTSON b. 3 Aug 1920 Manard, Muskogee Co., Oklahoma d. 1 Dec 1970 Dallas, Dallas Co., Texas: Our Family History".
- ^ "William Alexander "Rip" ROBERTSON b. 3 Aug 1920 Manard, Muskogee Co., Oklahoma d. 1 Dec 1970 Dallas, Dallas Co., Texas: Our Family History".