The Military Years
Before the herbarium and the lecture hall, before a lifetime spent naming the wild grasses of the American South, Robert Kral wore his country's uniform — twice. His service in the United States Marine Corps and the United States Army shaped the man who would later become one of the South's most beloved botanists.
From Marine to Mortar Officer
Robert Kral's military story is one of resilience, sacrifice, and quiet courage — a chapter that profoundly shaped the man and the scholar he would become.
Robert Kral first entered the United States Marine Corps on May 8, 1944, beginning active service that same day at the height of the Second World War. He completed his enlistment with honor and was discharged at the rank of Corporal at Great Lakes, Illinois, on July 7, 1946.
Years later, his sense of duty called him back. On June 6, 1951, Robert was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the United States Army Reserve. He entered active duty on May 25, 1952, and trained at the Infantry School at Fort Benning, Georgia, before advancing to the Mortar Officers Course at Fort McClellan, Alabama, in early 1953.
By April of 1953, he was deployed to Japan, and shortly thereafter to the front lines in Korea — arriving as the war was reaching its most ferocious final chapters.
Milestones of service
Returned, but changed forever.
After his release from captivity, Robert returned to Japan, then onward to Michigan, where he convalesced through the autumn of 1953. The young man who had entered the Marines as a teenager during the Second World War had now seen the worst of two of the twentieth century's defining conflicts.
What he carried home with him — the discipline, the perspective, the deep understanding of what it means to endure — would inform every chapter of the long and remarkable life that followed.
A first-hand account.
Listen to Dr. Robert Kral recount his memories of the war, told in his own voice — a personal record of what he witnessed and endured.
East of the Pukhan River
The following passages are drawn from the official battalion record of the action in which Robert Kral was wounded and captured. They are preserved here as a testament to the men who served alongside him, and to the gravity of what he endured.
At 1600 hours on the 11th of June, the battalion was alerted for movement. By 2100 hours they were assembled on the IX Corps parade field on Riverside Drive. After traveling all night, the battalion arrived in the X Corps area shortly after daybreak — only to learn that orders had been amended, and they were now bound for the II ROK Corps area, in the 5th ROK Division sector east of the Pukhan River.
By 1640 hours on the 12th, the advance party had reached the new position. By 2205 the battalion was firing. By 2305, enemy counter-mortar fire had inflicted the first casualty — a mortar crewman from Company C.
Over the next two days, the men fought without rest. Ammunition trucks ran a treacherous mountain road in continuous resupply. Wire crews crawled out under shellfire to relay broken lines, sometimes laying four parallel circuits to maintain communication.
On the evening of June 14th, the enemy launched a massive offensive. By 1840, the assault on Hill 949 was known to be at least battalion size. By 1930, another enemy battalion was attacking Hill 739. The mortar companies were now firing at maximum rate.
It was at this moment that Lieutenant Kral of Company C was reported wounded on the observation post. Lieutenant Kruse was sent to replace him. Both officers and their entire OP party were later declared Missing in Action — they had been unable to withdraw when Chinese forces overran their position.
Within the hour, contacts were reported all across the sector. Companies took direct hits. Ammunition pits caught fire. Hundreds of ROK troops fell back through the battalion's lines. By 2310, the battalion itself was ordered to withdraw to alternate positions, having fired more than 11,000 rounds in the engagement and suffered 5 killed, 15 wounded, and 17 missing in action.
— Colonel Wetherell, Commander, 11th ROK Field Artillery Group
Certificate of Service
This certificate, issued at Great Lakes, Illinois, on July 7, 1946, marks the close of Robert Kral's wartime service in the United States Marine Corps. It is one of two distinct chapters of military service he would give to his country.
World War II
— July 1946
Great Lakes, IL
He came home from war — and turned his attention to the quiet, patient work of understanding the living world. The same eye that had once watched a horizon for danger would soon learn the smallest grasses of the southern pinelands by name.