Robert Sink

{{Short description|United States Army general}} {{use American English|date=December 2025}} {{Use dmy dates|date=December 2024}} {{Infobox military person | name = Robert Sink | image = Lieutenant General Robert F Sink506e.png | image_size = | alt = | caption = | nickname = "Bourbon Bob" | birth_date = {{birth date|1905|4|3|df=yes}} | birth_place = [[Lexington, North Carolina]], U.S. | death_date = {{death date and age|1965|12|13|1905|4|3|df=yes}} | death_place = [[Fort Bragg (North Carolina)|Fort Bragg]], North Carolina, U.S. | burial_place = [[Arlington National Cemetery]] | allegiance = United States | branch = [[United States Army]] | service_years = 1927–1961 | rank = [[Lieutenant general (United States)|Lieutenant general]] | service_number = | unit = | commands = {{plainlist| *[[United States Caribbean Command]] *[[Strategic Army Corps]] *[[XVIII Airborne Corps]] *[[44th Infantry Division (United States)|44th Infantry Division]] *[[7th Armored Division (United States)|7th Armored Division]] *[[506th Infantry Regiment (United States)|506th Parachute Infantry Regiment]] *[[503rd Infantry Regiment (United States)|503rd Parachute Infantry Battalion]] }} | battles = {{tree list}} *[[World War II]] ** [[Battle of Normandy]] ** [[Operation Market Garden]] ** [[Battle of the Bulge]] ** [[Western Allied invasion of Germany]] *[[Korean War]] {{tree list/end}} | awards = {{plainlist| *[[Silver Star]] (3) *[[Legion of Merit]] (2) *[[Bronze Star]] (2) }} | alma_mater = [[United States Military Academy]] | relations = | spouse = {{ubl|{{marriage|Margaret Coe|1932|1963|end=died}}|{{marriage|Grace Cannon|1964}}}} | children = 5 | other_work = }} '''Robert Frederick Sink''' (3 April 1905 – 13 December 1965) was an American soldier who served as an officer in the [[United States Army]] from 1927 to 1961. His most notable command was of the [[506th Parachute Infantry Regiment]] of the [[101st Airborne Division]] during [[World War II]], which fought in [[Operation Overlord]], [[Operation Market Garden]], and the [[Western Allied invasion of Germany]]. He also served as an assistant [[division (military)|division]] commander during the [[Korean War]], and held an array of high-ranking staff positions until his retirement as a lieutenant general.

==Early life and education== [[File:Robert Frederick Sink (1905–1965) at West Point in 1927.png|thumb|left|150px|Sink as a West Point cadet in 1927]] Sink was born in [[Lexington, North Carolina]], to Frederick Obediah and Mary Wilson (Cecil) Sink. Frederick was the owner and publisher of ''[[The Dispatch (Lexington)|The Dispatch]]'' newspaper in Lexington. Sink entered Trinity College (now [[Duke University]]) in 1922 before being appointed to the [[United States Military Academy]] at West Point in 1923. He graduated with a [[Bachelor of Science]] degree in 1927,<ref name="who">{{cite book |author= |editor= |date=1975 |title=Who Was Who in American History: The Military |url=https://archive.org/details/whowaswhoinameri0000unse_a6j9/page/530/mode/2up |location=Chicago |publisher=[[Marquis Who's Who]] |page=530 |isbn=0-8379-3201-7 |access-date=2025-12-29}}</ref> ranking 174th out of 203 cadets.<ref name="cullum">{{Cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/biographicalregi0000unse/page/2074/mode/1up |title=Biographical Register of the Officers and Graduates of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y. From Its Establishment, in 1802, to 1890 |first=George Washington |last=Cullum |author-link=George Washington Cullum |editor-first=William H. |editor-last=Donaldson |volume=VII: 1920–1930 |publisher=Association of Graduates, [[United States Military Academy]] |page=2074 |year=1930 |access-date=2023-01-04}}</ref>

==Career== ===Early career=== After graduation from West Point, Sink was commissioned as a [[second lieutenant]] and assigned to the [[8th Infantry Regiment (United States)|8th Infantry Regiment]] at [[Fort Screven]], Georgia.<ref name="cullum" /> Between 1929 and 1933, Sink was assigned to [[Puerto Rico]] (with the [[65th Infantry Regiment (United States)|65th Infantry Regiment]]), the [[United States Army CBRN School|Army Chemical Warfare School]], [[Fort Meade]], the [[34th Infantry Regiment (United States)|34th Infantry Regiment]], and the [[Civilian Conservation Corps]] at [[McAlevys Fort, Pennsylvania]]. In 1935, he trained at the [[United States Army Infantry School]] at [[Fort Benning]], Georgia. In November 1937, after assignment to the [[57th Infantry Regiment (United States)|57th Infantry Regiment]] at [[Fort William McKinley]] in the Philippines, Captain Sink returned to the United States and was assigned to the [[25th Infantry Regiment (United States)|25th Infantry Regiment]] at [[Fort Huachuca]], Arizona, where he served as a [[company (military unit)|company]] commander and then as [[regiment]]al operations officer.<ref name="downs">{{cite book |editor-last=Downs |editor-first=Winfield Scott |date=1968 |title=Encyclopedia of American Biography |volume=37 |url=https://www.familysearch.org/library/books/viewer/118956/?offset=13#page=1020&viewer=picture&o=search&n=0 |location=Washington, D.C. |publisher=[[American Historical Society]] |pages=646–647 |isbn= |access-date=2025-12-29}}</ref>

===World War II=== In 1940, Sink joined the Army's fledgling [[paratrooper]] force and was assigned to the [[501st Infantry Regiment (United States)|501st Parachute Infantry Battalion]] at [[Fort Benning]]. Sink subsequently commanded the [[503rd Infantry Regiment (United States)|503rd Parachute Infantry Battalion]] before assuming command of the [[506th Infantry Regiment (United States)|506th Parachute Infantry Regiment]] at [[Camp Toccoa]], Georgia, in July 1942.<ref name="downs" /> Sink was responsible for building the regiment's officer corps as well as the camp's obstacle courses.<ref name="historynet">{{cite web |date=2006-06-12 |title=Dick Winters: Reflections From Major Winters of Easy Company |url=https://www.historynet.com/dick-winters-reflections-on-the-band-of-brothers-d-day-and-leadership/ |website=[[HistoryNet]] |access-date=2025-12-29}}</ref> In December 1942, Sink read in ''[[Reader's Digest]]'' about a Japanese army battalion that marched {{convert|100|mi|km}} in 70 hours. Not to be outdone, he ordered the 2nd Battalion of the 506th to march from Camp Toccoa to [[Atlanta]], covering 118 miles in 75 hours.<ref>{{cite book |title=Band of Brothers: E Company, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne from Normandy to Hitler's Eagle's Nest |first=Stephen E. |last=Ambrose |pages=26–27 |publisher=Simon & Schuster |location=New York |year=1992 |isbn=0-671-76922-7}}</ref> The regiment was attached to the [[101st Airborne Division]] on 1 June 1943 and arrived in England in September and was [[billet]]ed in the [[Wiltshire]] villages of [[Aldbourne]], [[Chilton Foliat]], [[Froxfield]], and [[Ramsbury]].<ref>{{cite web |title=World War II 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment |url=https://www.506infantry.org/page-18169 |website=506th Airborne Infantry Regiment Association |quote=...the 506th PIR was attached to the 101st Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, NC, on June 1, 1943. |access-date=2025-12-29}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Rendezvous with Destiny: A History of the 101st Airborne Division |last1=Rapport |first1=Leonard |last2=Northwood Jr. |first2=Arthur |publisher=101st Airborne Division Association |page=44 |location=Greenville, Texas |year=1948 |isbn=}}</ref>

On [[D-Day]], Sink parachuted into Normandy from the lead plane of the [[439th Troop Carrier Group]].<ref name="blair">{{cite book |last=Blair |first=Clay |date=1985 |title=Ridgway's Paratroopers: The American Airborne in World War II |url=https://archive.org/details/ridgwaysparatroo00blai/page/220/mode/2up/ |location=New York |publisher=The Dial Press |pages=221–223 |isbn=0-385-27888-8 |access-date=2025-12-30}}</ref> He commanded the 506th until the final month of World War II,<ref name="historynet" /> leading it through engagements on D-Day, the [[Battle of Normandy]], [[Operation Market Garden]], the [[Battle of the Bulge]] (including the [[Siege of Bastogne]]), and the [[Western Allied invasion of Germany|invasion and occupation of Germany]]. The regiment was sometimes called the "Five-Oh-Sink" after its leader.<ref name="beyond">{{cite book |title=Beyond Band of Brothers: The War Memoirs of Major Dick Winters |last1=Winters |first1=Dick |last2=Kingseed |first2=Cole C. |publisher=Berkley Caliber |location=New York |page=249 |year=2006 |isbn=0-425-20813-3}}</ref> Sink's drinking earned him the nickname "Bourbon Bob", but Major [[Richard Winters]] said he believed it did not affect his leadership.<ref name="historynet" />

===Later career=== On 12 August 1945, Sink was named assistant division commander of the [[101st Airborne Division]]. In January 1946, he assumed command of the infantry detachment of the United States Military Academy. He graduated from the [[National War College]] in June 1949, and was transferred to the [[United States Civil Administration of the Ryukyu Islands|Ryukyus Command]] in Japan, becoming chief of staff in October 1949. In January 1951, he was promoted to brigadier general and named assistant division commander of the [[7th Infantry Division (United States)|7th Infantry Division]] during the [[Korean War]].<ref name="who" /><ref name="downs" />

In December 1951, Sink became assistant division commander of the [[11th Airborne Division]] at [[Fort Campbell]], Kentucky. In February 1953, he assumed command of the [[7th Armored Division (United States)|7th Armored Division]] at [[Camp Roberts, California]]. In November 1953, Major General Sink became commanding general of the [[44th Infantry Division (United States)|44th Infantry Division]] at [[Fort Lewis (Washington)|Fort Lewis]], [[Washington (state)|Washington]]. In October 1954, he was assigned to the [[Joint Airborne Troop Board]] at [[Fort Bragg]], North Carolina. In early 1955, he was transferred to [[Rio de Janeiro]], Brazil, and in April 1955 assumed the dual functions of chairman of the United States Delegation to the Joint Brazil–United States Military Commission and chief of army section, [[Military Assistance Advisory Group]], Brazil.<ref name="who" /><ref name="downs" />

Sink assumed command of the [[XVIII Airborne Corps]] and Fort Bragg in May 1957. In May 1958, he was appointed commander of [[Strategic Army Corps]] (STRAC). His final assignment was as the commander of U.S. forces in Panama.<ref name="who" /><ref name="downs" /> Sink retired at the rank of lieutenant general in 1961 due to declining health.<ref name="collection">{{cite web |url=https://digital.lib.ecu.edu/special/ead/findingaids/0255 |title=Robert Frederick Sink Papers |publisher=[[East Carolina University]] |access-date=2025-12-30}}</ref>

==Personal life and death== [[File:RobertSink.jpg|thumb|right|Sink's headstone at Arlington National Cemetery|200x200px]] Sink married Margaret Elizabeth Coe in 1932. They had three children together before Margaret died in 1963. In 1964, Sink married Grace (Gall) Cannon and became step-father to her two children.<ref name="downs" />

Sink died of pulmonary [[emphysema]] at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, on 13 December 1965, at the age of 60.<ref>{{cite news |agency=[[Associated Press]] |date=1965-12-16 |title=Gen. Sink Rites Held |url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/621119966/ |work=[[The Charlotte Observer]] |quote=Sink, 60, pioneer paratroop officer who jumped into Normandy on D-Day, died Monday of pulmonary emphysema at a Ft. Bragg hospital. |page=20B |access-date=2025-12-29 |archive-date=14 January 2026 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260114184814/https://www.newspapers.com/image/621119966/ |url-status=live }}</ref> He was interred at [[Arlington National Cemetery]].<ref name="valor">{{cite web |title=Robert Frederick Sink |url=https://valor.militarytimes.com/recipient/recipient-84426/ |website=Hall of Valor |publisher=[[Military Times]] |quote=Cemetery: Arlington National Cemetery. |access-date=2025-12-29 |archive-date=7 November 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20251107092541/https://valor.militarytimes.com/recipient/recipient-84426/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Legacy== General [[Maxwell D. Taylor]], commander of the 101st Airborne Division, said of Sink: "He was among the bravest, most able men I knew—exposed himself to enemy fire more than anyone in the division." Taylor said with regret that Sink deserved a wartime promotion, but the promotion of [[Gerald J. Higgins]] to brigadier general as Taylor's assistant division commander after the death of [[Don Pratt]] prevented any further promotions of colonels in the 101st.<ref name="blair" />

In his memoir ''Beyond Band of Brothers'', Richard Winters wrote of his former commanding officer:

{{blockquote|text=In short, Bob Sink was an extraordinarily talented officer who was the heart and soul of the 506th. He did things with a personal flair, and his southern drawl was full of home-spun sayings that endeared him to the regiment he led so gallantly beginning in July 1942. He always talked to his soldiers on a man-to-man basis. He gave us all a sense of "we." The 506th PIR was going to fight the war together, not as a series of independent battalions. To have been a member of the "Five-Oh-Sink" had been a badge of honor...How Colonel Sink welded a disparate group of citizen soldiers into a first-class fighting unit is a topic that merits a book of its own. The army had given him kids fresh off the streets. Many were undernourished and poorly educated...This was the kind of officer Sink was assigned and told to turn the group into a crack airborne unit. Colonel Sink straightened us out. He was the one who put it all together...In my opinion, our regimental commander was one of the finest West Point officers of the war.<ref name="beyond" />}}

In the 1977 film ''[[A Bridge Too Far (film)|A Bridge Too Far]]'', Robert Stout, the commander of the 506th PIR played by [[Elliott Gould]], is based on Sink.<ref>{{cite book |last=Ferreiro |first=Larrie D. |date=2023 |title=Churchill's American Arsenal: The Partnership Behind the Innovations that Won World War Two |url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Churchill_s_American_Arsenal/1SZ_EAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&pg=PA272&printsec=frontcover |location=New York |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |page=272 |isbn=978-0-19-755401-2 |access-date=2025-12-30}}</ref> Sink is also featured prominently in the 2001 [[HBO]] miniseries ''[[Band of Brothers (miniseries)|Band of Brothers]]'', where he is played by [[Dale Dye]].<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Dye |first=Dale |date=December 2020 |title=Hollywood and the Military: A Q&A with Dale Dye |url=https://www.usni.org/magazines/naval-history-magazine/2020/december/hollywood-and-military-qa-dale-dye |magazine=[[Naval History]] |volume=34 |number=6 |access-date=2025-12-30}}</ref>

==Awards and decorations== Sources:<ref name="who" /><ref name="downs" /> {| style="margin:1em auto; text-align:center;" | colspan="3" |[[File:Master Combat Parachutist - 2nd Award.png|105x105px]] |- | colspan="3" |[[File:Combat_Infantry_Badge.svg|alt=A metal device depicting a blue bar with a rifle, in front of a wreath of silver leaves.|center|200x200px]] |- |{{ribbon devices|number=2|type=oak|ribbon=Silver Star Medal ribbon.svg|width=106}} |{{ribbon devices|number=1|type=oak|ribbon=Legion of Merit ribbon.svg|width=106}} | align="center" |{{ribbon devices|number=1|ribbon=Bronze Star Medal ribbon.svg|width=106|other_device=}} |- |{{ribbon devices|number=1|type=oak|ribbon=Air Medal ribbon.svg|width=106}} |{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=American Defense Service Medal ribbon.svg|width=106}} |{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=American Campaign Medal ribbon.svg|width=106}} |- |{{ribbon devices|number=3|type=service-star|other_device=arrowhead|ribbon=European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign ribbon.svg|width=106}} |{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=World War II Victory Medal ribbon.svg|width=106}} |{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=Army of Occupation ribbon.svg|width=106}} |- |{{ribbon devices|number=1|type=service-star|ribbon=National Defense Service Medal ribbon.svg|width=106}} |{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=Korean_Service_Medal_-_Ribbon.svg|width=106}} |{{Ribbon devices|number=|type=|ribbon=United Nations Service Medal Korea ribbon.svg|width=106px}} |- |{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=Dso-ribbon.svg|width=106}} |{{Ribbon devices|number=|type=|ribbon=BEL_Croix_de_Guerre_1944_ribbon.svg|width=106px}} |{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=Croix_de_Guerre_1939-1945_ribbon.svg|width=106}} |- |{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=BEL - Order of Leopold - Officer bar.svg|width=106}} |{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=NLD Bronze Lion bar.svg|width=106}} |{{Ribbon devices|number=|type=|ribbon=Korean War Service Medal ribbon.svg|width=106px}} |}

{| style="margin:1em auto; text-align:center;" |- |{{ribbon devices|number=1|type=oak|ribbon=United States Army and U.S. Air Force Presidential Unit Citation ribbon.svg|width=106}} |{{ribbon devices|number=0|type=oak|ribbon=Korean Presidential Unit Citation.png|width=106}} |}

{| class="wikitable" style="margin:1em auto; text-align:center;" !Badge | colspan="10" align="center" |[[Parachutist Badge (United States)|Master Parachutist Badge]] with two [[Parachutist Badge (United States)#Combat Parachutist|combat jump stars]] |- !Badge | colspan="10" align="center" |[[Combat Infantryman Badge]] |- !1st row |colspan="3"|[[Silver Star]] with two [[oak leaf clusters]] |colspan="3"|[[Legion of Merit]] with oak leaf cluster |colspan="3"|[[Bronze Star Medal]] with oak leaf cluster |- !2nd row |colspan="3"|[[Air Medal]] with oak leaf cluster |colspan="3"|[[American Defense Service Medal]] |colspan="3"|[[American Campaign Medal]] |- !3rd row |colspan="3"|[[European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal]] with 3 [[service stars]] and [[arrowhead device]] |colspan="3"|[[World War II Victory Medal]] |colspan="3"|[[Army of Occupation Medal]] with Germany and Japan clasps |- !4th row |colspan="3"|[[National Defense Service Medal]] |colspan="3"|[[Korean Service Medal]] |colspan="3"|[[United Nations Korea Medal]] |- !5th row |colspan="3"|[[Distinguished Service Order]] (Britain) |colspan="3"|[[Croix de guerre (Belgium)|Croix de Guerre]] with Palm (Belgium) |colspan="3"|[[Croix de Guerre|Croix de Guerre]] with bronze Palm (France) |- !6th row |colspan="3"|[[Order of Leopold (Belgium)|Order of Leopold]], Officer with Palm (Belgium) |colspan="3"|[[Bronze Lion]] (The Netherlands) |colspan="3"|[[Korean War Service Medal]] (South Korea) |- !Unit awards |colspan="4"|[[Presidential Unit Citation (United States)|Presidential Unit Citation]] with oak leaf cluster |colspan="4"|[[Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation|Presidential Unit Citation]] (South Korea) |}

==Dates of rank== Source:<ref name="downs" /> {| class="wikitable" ! Insignia !! Rank !! Component !! Date |- |align="center" |[[File:US-O1 insignia.svg|7px]]||[[Second Lieutenant#United States|Second lieutenant]]||[[Regular Army (United States)|Regular Army]]||1927 |- |align="center" |[[File:US-O2 insignia.svg|7px]]||[[First Lieutenant#United States|First lieutenant]]||Regular Army||1933 |- |align="center" |[[File:US-O3 insignia.svg|18px]]||[[Captain (United States)|Captain]]||Regular Army||1937 |- |align="center" |[[File:US-O4 insignia.svg|20px]]||[[Major (United States)|Major]]||[[Army of the United States]]||1941 |- |align="center" |[[File:US-O5 insignia.svg|20px]]||[[Lieutenant Colonel (United States)|Lieutenant colonel]]||Army of the United States||1942 |- |align="center" |[[File:US-O6 insignia.svg|25px]]||[[Colonel (United States)|Colonel]]||Army of the United States||1942 |- |align="center" |[[File:US-O7 insignia.svg|25px]]||[[Brigadier General (United States)|Brigadier general]]||Army of the United States||1951 |- |align="center" |[[File:US-O8 insignia.svg|36px]]||[[Major General (United States)|Major general]]||Army of the United States||1954 |- |align="center" |[[File:US-O9 insignia.svg|50px]]||[[Lieutenant General (United States)|Lieutenant general]]||Army of the United States||1959 |}

==References== {{Reflist}}

{{s-start}} {{s-mil}} {{succession box | title=Commander-in-Chief, [[United States Southern Command|United States Caribbean Command]] | before= [[Ridgely Gaither]] | years= 1958–1960 | after= [[Andrew P. O'Meara]] }} {{succession box | title=Commanding General, [[Third United States Army]] | before= [[Clark L. Ruffner]] | years= 1960 | after= [[Herbert B. Powell]] }} {{s-end}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sink, Robert}} [[Category:1905 births]] [[Category:1965 deaths]] [[Category:United States Army personnel of World War II]] [[Category:Band of Brothers characters]] [[Category:Duke University Trinity College of Arts and Sciences alumni]] [[Category:United States Army Infantry Branch personnel]] [[Category:People from Lexington, North Carolina]] [[Category:American recipients of the Croix de guerre (Belgium)]] [[Category:Recipients of the Croix de Guerre (France)]] [[Category:Recipients of the Silver Star]] [[Category:Companions of the Distinguished Service Order]] [[Category:Military personnel from North Carolina]] [[Category:United States Army generals]] [[Category:United States Military Academy alumni]] [[Category:Burials at Arlington National Cemetery]]