“Paul K. “P.K.” Robinson, Jr., was born January 5, 1939, in Galion, Ohio. He graduated from Galion Senior High School in 1957. During his school years, he was on the National Honor Society and lettered on the football and baseball teams. Following graduation from High School, “P.K.” attended one year of college at the College of Wooster, Wooster, Ohio. During this time, he applied for and was accepted as a member of the newly formed United States Air Force Academy. As a cadet, he was named to the Superintendent’s, the Dean’s and the Commandant’s Lists. He was active in many sports and served as a member of the Honor Society. As a first classman, he was a group commander.
Following graduation as a Distinguished Graduate in June 1962, “P.K.” attended pilot training at Williams AFB, Arizona. He subsequently completed F-100 training at Luke AFB, Arizona as he was selected for future assignments as a fighter pilot. His first operational tour was at RAF Lakenheath. During this tour, he was named as a “Select Crew”. He was then assigned to Tuy Hoa AB, RVN, Southeast Asia. During this tour and while assigned as a “Misty FAST-FAC” at Phu Cat AB, he completed over 250 combat missions, including 101 missions over North Vietnam. He participated in many of the key battles of the Vietnam War including the Dak To Offensive, the siege at Khe Sahn and the Tet Offensive.
“P.K.” was then selected as an Olmsted Scholar and, after language training at the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, California, attended l’lnstitut d’Études Politiques in Paris, France. He obtained a diplôme in Intemational Relations and graduated with laureat honors. He then returned to Southeast Asia as an F-4E pilot flying out of Korat RTAB, Thailand. On July 1,1972, while on a mission north of Hanoi, “P.K.” was shot down by a surface-to-air missile and was captured by the North Vietnamese militia. He was incarcerated in various prisons in the Hanoi area and was released on March 28,1973, during Operation Homecoming.
