Robert A. Young, 92 years old, of Green City, Missouri, passed away Tuesday, December 20, 2016 at the Missouri Veterans Home in Mexico, Missouri.
Robert was born on June 22, 1924, south of Green City, to Glenn and Maggie (Clelland) Young. In 1962 he married Betty Jane (Judge) Young, she preceded him in death in November of 1981.
Robert is survived by: one sister, Phyllis Jobe of Green City; two nephews, Michael and Linda Jobe of Kansas City, Missouri and David and Alicia Jobe of Columbia, Missouri; three great nieces, Jillian Jobe of College Station, Texas, Paxton Jobe of Columbia, and Payton Jobe of Columbia; and several cousins.
He was preceded by: his wife; his parents; a stepmother, Ruth Bledsoe Young; and a brother-in-law, John Jobe.
Robert graduated in 1942 from Green City High School. For a few months he worked at Mars Candy Company in Chicago and in April of 1943, he joined the U.S. Army and was assigned to the 17th Airborne Division. With the 17th he participated in three campaigns in Europe during the war. In 1945 he was reassigned to the 82nd Airborne Division in Berlin, Germany for occupation duty, returning to the USA in January of 1946. After spending a year back in Green City, Robert reenlisted for the 82nd Airborne Division at Ft. Bragg. After five years Master Sgt. Young was assigned to the 508th Airborne Regimental Combat Team at Ft. Benning. He then moved to Ft. Campbell, Kentucky, then to Japan to work on "Operation Gyroscope" before returning to Ft. Campbell to form the 101st ABN Division. As part of the 506th Battle Group, he was promoted to CSM-E9 in 1959.
Following a tour in Korea, his next assignment was Headquarters SGM of U.S. Strike Command in Tampa, Florida. Bob served two tours in Vietnam, and his final assignment was at the Presidio of San Francisco.
In 1973, Bob retired with 30 years of service. During his 30 years, he received three Legion of Merit Awards, Meritorious Service Medal, Five Army Commendation Medals, Master Parachute Badge, Combat Infantry Badge, European Theater Operation Ribbon with 3 stars, Vietnam Badge with seven stars and numerous other awards. He also made over 100 parachute drops during his career.
Bob and Betty retired to Santa Rosa, California. In 2002, he relocated to Green City to be near his sister, Phyllis.
Funeral services for Bob will be held 11:00 AM, Saturday, December 24, 2016, at Ruschmeier Funeral Home in Green City with a visitation one hour prior to the service, starting at 10:00 AM. Burial will follow at a later date at Golden Gate National Cemetery in San Bruno, California.
Memorial contributions are suggested to the Mt. Olivet Cemetery or the Green City Presbyterian Church.
