Robert Frank Creson

Lieutenant Colonel Robert Frank Creson, US Army, was born 17 July 1927 in Fayetteville, TN. He grew up during the Great Depression working in tobacco fields for 25 cents a day. After high school graduation, he enlisted in the Army Air Corps at the end of WWII. After basic training, he was selected for the first post-war Army Officer Candidate School class in June 1947. At age 19, he was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the Infantry. When the Korean War began, he volunteered for Ranger training and served in the 8th Army Ranger Company in Korea. Later, he served with the 187th Airborne Infantry Regiment.

On 28 May 1951, Creson was Executive Officer and his Infantry company was attacking on a narrow road leading out of Inje, Korea. The enemy was dug in on the hills overlooking the road. The company was sustaining heavy casualties from intense mortar, machine gun, and small arms fire. LT Creson moved forward to assault an enemy machine gun position that had direct fire on the column. With complete disregard for his own safety, LT Creson charged the machine gun position, destroying the machine gun and six of the enemy with hand grenades. After the company commander was wounded, he valiantly led the company until reinforcements arrived. Creson received the Silver Star and Purple Heart medals for his actions.

Creson retired from the Army in 1970. In 1971 he was selected to organize and manage the Transportation Safety Institute of the US Department of Transportation in Oklahoma City. Later in life, Creson earned his Bachelor's and Master's degrees from Oklahoma City University. He entered politics and was an elected city council member in Norman, OK, from 1987 to 1989. LTC Creson died on 26 June 2014 and rests in Sunset Memorial Park Cemetery in Norman, OK.