Robert Charles Forbes (1917–2002) was a

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

major general who served as commander of the

199th Light Infantry Brigade The 199th Infantry Brigade (Light) is a unit of the United States Army which served in the Army Reserve from 1921 to 1940, in the active army from 1966 to 1970 (serving in the Vietnam War), briefly in 1991–1992 at Fort Lewis, and from 2007 as ...

during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

Early life and education

He attended William Penn High School and then graduated from the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

in 1939.

Military service

World War II

He served with the

63rd Infantry Division 63rd Division may refer to: ; Infantry divisions : *63rd Infantry Division CireneItalian Army (Second World War) *63rd Rifle Division (Soviet Union) *63rd Guards Rifle Division (Soviet Union) *63rd Division (Spain) *63rd (2nd Northumbrian) Division ...

seeing action in France and Germany.

Post WWII

Forbes was promoted to Brigadier General in July 1966 and appointed assistant division commander of the 9th Infantry Division.

Vietnam War

BG Forbe deployed to

South Vietnam South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam (RVN; , VNCH), was a country in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975. It first garnered Diplomatic recognition, international recognition in 1949 as the State of Vietnam within the ...

with the 9th Infantry Division in December 1966. He was then reassigned to be chief of staff of

II Field Force, Vietnam II Field Force, Vietnam was a United States Army Corps-level command during the Vietnam War. Activated on 15 March 1966, it became the largest corps command in Vietnam and one of the largest in Army history. II Field Force was assigned the linea ...

. In September 1967 when BG

John F. Freund John Frederick Freund (April 27, 1918 – March 22, 2001) was the thirty-sixth Adjutant General of the State of Connecticut. Early life and education Freund was born in New York City, New York on April 27, 1918. Raised in Scarsdale, New York, ...

was wounded on operations, Forbes was given command of the

and commanded that unit until May 1968. During the

Tet Offensive The Tet Offensive was a major escalation and one of the largest military campaigns of the Vietnam War. The Viet Cong (VC) and North Vietnamese People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) launched a surprise attack on 30 January 1968 against the forces of ...

Forbes led his Brigade in ejecting the

Viet Cong The Viet Cong (VC) was an epithet and umbrella term to refer to the communist-driven armed movement and united front organization in South Vietnam. It was formally organized as and led by the National Liberation Front of South Vietnam, and ...

from

Saigon Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) ('','' TP.HCM; ), commonly known as Saigon (; ), is the most populous city in Vietnam with a population of around 14 million in 2025. The city's geography is defined by rivers and canals, of which the largest is Saigo ...

Post Vietnam

From September 1968 to September 1969 he served as commander of

United States Army Security Assistance Command The United States Army Security Assistance Command (USASAC) implements security assistance programs, including the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program, for the Department of the Army. USASAC is responsible for the United States Army securit ...

. He retired from the Army in 1973.

Later life

Personal life

He married Anne Catherine Eckenrode in 1942 and they had 3 sons and a daughter.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Forbes, Robert C. 1917 births 2002 deaths United States Army generals Recipients of the Silver Star