ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – Fred Robinson says he was blessed to have joined the U.S. Marines along with his twin brother when they were 17 years old.
“When I was a little boy there’s two things I always wanted to be: either a football player or a soldier. Lord blessed me to be a Marine,” Robinson recalled.
Robinson and his brother came up with a “buddy plan” to both sign up for the Marines. He would serve four years.
Robinson said they were inspired by the men in his family who served. His father was a Korean War veteran and two of his uncles also served in the U.S. armed forces.
“Every generation of any family member that I do know put on a uniform,” he said, including his older son.
Decades after serving, Robinson’s inspiration and love for the military continued. Today he’s the veteran liaison for VITAS Healthcare, a hospice organization, Vice-Chairman for Orange County’s Mayor veterans advisory council and he’s part of Gov. Ron Desantis’ Florida Department Veterans Affairs Forward March Program, which provides resources and services at the state level to veterans.
“One of the biggest reasons that I advocate so strong now is because I’m a Vietnam veteran. I know the different layers of the onion that these veterans went through,” the 66-year-old said.
And even during the pandemic, Robinson hasn’t stopped caring for elderly and sick veterans. He helped organize the drive-thru Vietnam Veterans Day.
“We have the greatest generation. They built the America I had the privilege to grow up in and I just look at it as my duty,” he said.
As the nation celebrates 245 years of independence, the father of two says the Fourth of July goes beyond a joyful day at the beach.
“What it means to me is to all those that are serving the men and women who gave everything for our freedom so we could have those barbecues, the ones that are currently serving we can’t forget about them,” he said. “The barbecues and stuff, I can barbecue any weekend but freedom and independence in our nation and the people who are serving our country and defending it for our freedom is the biggest thing that 4th of July could ever mean to me.”
However, he also thinks about his hero--his father.
“He grew up, he never saw his mother until he was 21. His sister died from sickle cell at 9. He never saw his dad. When him and my mother got divorced when we were 5 he raised us to make sure that we didn’t go through what he did. He was hard on us. He was really hard on us but you know, he was firm but he was fair. He made the man out of me,” he said. “He prepared me for life and that’s the biggest thing he could’ve ever did so I hit the lottery having him as my father.”