Navy Federal Credit Union

Awards Received

  • Soldier’s Medal

    Service:

    United States Army

    Rank:

    Sergeant First Class [then Corporal]

    Batallion:

    1st Battalion

    Regiment:

    15th Infantry Regiment

    Division:

    3d Infantry Division

    Action Date:

    March 17, 1952

    Headquarters, 3d Infantry Division, General Orders No. 23 (January 28, 1953)

    The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress, July 2, 1926, takes pleasure in presenting the Soldier’s Medal to Sergeant First Class [then Corporal] Robert A. Tartaglione (ASN: US-52102559), United States Army, for heroism not involving actual conflict with an enemy of the United States while serving with Company A, 1st Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment, 3d Infantry Division, in action in Korea. On the afternoon of 17 March 1952, Sergeant Tartaglione was with a detail of men who were assigned the mission of unloading bunker logs from a utility pole-type trailer on the side of a steep hill in the vicinity of Wanjing-Myon, Korea. After the men had removed the logs and while they were in the process of attaching the empty trailer to a vehicle, the weight of it, together with the steepness of the hill, forced them to lose their grip. As the trailer broke loose, a coupling ring struck a member of the detail, leaving him stunned and lying in the path of the uncontrollable trailer. Realizing the precarious position in which his comrade lay, Sergeant Tartaglione, unhesitatingly and with complete disregard for his personal safety, leaped into the path of the onrushing trailer and dragged the unconscious soldier to safety. Sergeant Tartaglione’s heroism and selfless action spared a fellow soldier from serious injury or possible death and reflects great credit upon himself and the military service.