Robert MacDougall – Bringham Colonel, United States Army

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From a contemporary press report

Robert M. Bringham, 82, a retired Army Colonel who served in combat operations in the Philippines during World War II and as an adviser to a Vietnamese infantry unit during the war in Vietnam, died of pneumonia April 11, 2001, at the Belvoir Woods Healthcare Center at The Fairfax at Fort Belvoir, Virginia.

Colonel Bringham, a resident of Fairfax County since 1970, was born in Bath, New York.  As a youth he was an Eagle Scout. He graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in 1942.

He served in infantry units during World War II and was wounded in action on the island of Leyte in the Philippines. He received a Silver Star for service as an operations officer on Okinawa.

Postwar duty included service in Europe, command of an infantry battalion in Korea, personnel planning assignments in Japan and study at the Command and General Staff College and the Army War College, where he was later course director. In the late 1960s, he was senior adviser to the Vietnamese 9th Infantry Division in the Mekong Delta.

His awards included the Combat Infantry Badge, Legion of Merit, Bronze Star, Purple Heart, Air Medal with four Oak Leaf Clusters and the Army Commendation Medal.

After his retirement from the Army in 1970, Colonel Bringham was assistant director of park management for American Mobilehome Corp. Later, he was staff director for accreditation services for the American Association of Medical Clinics. He retired from civilian employment in the 1980s.

His wife, Marcella Richards Bringham, died in 1992. A daughter, Marcia, died in 1978 in Portland, Oregon.

Survivors include a son, Robert M. Jr., of California; and two brothers, John, of Alexandria, and Bill, of Mission Viejo, California.

NOTE: The Colonel’s father, Robert Amedee Bringham, Captain, United States Army, is buried nearby in Section 8 of Arlington National Cemetery.  The Colonel was the great-grandson of Clinton Dugald MacDougall, Brigadier General, United States Army, and a relative of of Clinton’s son, William MacDougall, Rear Admiral, United States Navy, each of whom is buried in Section 1 of Arlington National Cemetery.

BRINGHAM, ROBERT M., COL. US ARMY (Ret.)

On Wednesday, April 11, 2001, at Fort Belvoir Woods Health Center, COLONEL ROBERT M. BRINGHAM of Alexandria, Virginia. Husband of the late Marcella Bringham; father of Robert M. Bringham, Jr.; brother of Colonel John L. B. Bringham and Lieutenant Colonel William N. Bringham (note: deceased in 2006).

Funeral services will be held on Tuesday, May 15, 2001, at 11 a.m. at the Memorial Chapel, Fort Myer, Virginia, with Full Military Honors. Interment Arlington National Cemetery. Memorial contributions may be made to Hospice of Northern Virginia, 6565 Arlington Blvd., Suite 500, Falls Church, Virginia 22042.

rmbringham-gravesite-photo-august-2006

BRINGHAM, ROBERT M

  • COL   US ARMY
  • DATE OF BIRTH: 01/24/1919
  • DATE OF DEATH: 04/11/2001
  • BURIED AT: SECTION 8  SITE 6630
    ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY

BRINGHAM, MARCELLA RICHARDS

  • DATE OF BIRTH: 03/12/1919
  • DATE OF DEATH: 02/07/1992
  • BURIED AT: SECTION 8  SITE 6630
    ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY

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