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Army 1st Lt. George Seanor Robb commanded several soldiers in a famed military unit fighting in the trenches during the brutal last days of World War I. Robb took his duties to heart and refused to back down, even after several injuries. His bravery and fortitude led him to receive the Medal of Honor.
Robb was born on May 18, 1887, in the small farming community of Assaria, Kansas, to Thomas and Charlotte Robb. He had two older siblings, Francis and Susie.
After high school, Robb went to Park College (now Park University) outside of Kansas City before attending Columbia University in New York, where he graduated in 1915 with a master's degree in American history.
For the next four years, Robb worked as a history teacher. In the spring of 1917, he was selected to be the principal of Great Bend High School in Great Bend, Kansas. However, as World War I was raging in Europe, he resigned from that position in the fall to join the Army.
Robb trained to be an officer for three months before he was assigned to help lead the 369th Infantry, 93rd Division — an all-Black unit made up of New York National Guardsmen who became better known as the Harlem Hellfighters. The unit was sent to France by steamer ship in January 1918 to join the 4th French Army as part of the American Expeditionary Forces.
That summer, Robb took part in the Champagne-Marne and Aisne-Marne campaigns. His biggest show of valor, however, came during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, the largest fought by AEF troops and the war's most deadly battlefield. The offensive began in late September 1918, around the same time Robb was promoted to first lieutenant.
On Sept. 29, Robb was leading his platoon in an assault near Sechault, France, when he was severely wounded by machine gun fire. Instead of moving to the rear to get treatment, though, he stayed with his men until he was ordered to the aide station by his commanding officer.
About 45 minutes later, he returned to the front lines and stayed on duty all night, inspecting his platoon's lines and setting up outposts. He was wounded again the next morning, but again, he refused to seek medical attention.
Later in the day, Robb was wounded twice more by a bursting shell, which also killed his commanding officer and two other company officers. Robb quickly assumed command of the entire company in their stead, organizing its position in the trenches. He ended up being the only officer in his battalion to advance beyond Sechault, clearing machine gun nests and sniping posts as they went and even capturing a key railroad unit.
Robb's leadership was a large part of why the battalion was able to hold its objective. His courage, despite his many wounds, set a wonderful example for the enlisted men he commanded. However, the win came at a high cost. The 369th suffered some of the worst casualties of the war by any American regiment. About one-third of the unit was either wounded or killed.
The Meuse-Argonne Offensive was the last major battle of World War I. It knocked out Germany's last manpower reserves, helping to break the stalemate in the trenches and force the Germans out of France. The war ended on Nov. 11, 1918.
Robb's courage and tenacity were honored on April 16, 1919, when Army Brig. Gen. William H. Sage — a Medal of Honor recipient himself — bestowed the nation's highest honor upon the first lieutenant. The ceremony was held at an amphitheater in Salina, Kansas, about 20 minutes from where Robb grew up. Hundreds attended the special event, newspapers at the time reported.
After the war, Robb returned to Kansas and to civilian life. He married Winona McLatchey, and they had two daughters. The former soldier served as the postmaster in Salina for about 12 years before being appointed as the state auditor in 1935, a position he held for more than 20 years.
Robb died on May 14, 1972 — four days before his 85th birthday. He is buried in Gypsum Hill Cemetery in Salina.
His memory lives on at the George S. Robb Centre for the Study of the Great War, which was established in 2005 at his alma mater, Park University. The center is home to the Valor Medals Review Project, which began in 2019 after a bipartisan congressional effort called for a review of the records of Black and minority World War I service members who may have been denied certain honors due to racism of the time. In 2024, that review is ongoing.
The Valor Medals Review Project is the first to focus on service member records from World War I. Records for minorities who served in World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War have also received reviews over the past few decades.
This article is part of a weekly series called "Medal of Honor Monday," in which we highlight one of the more than 3,500 Medal of Honor recipients who have received the U.S. military's highest medal for valor.
