Sink, Robert F. (Robert Frederick), 1905-1965

Robert Frederick Sink (b. April 3, 1905, Lexington, N.C.-d. Dec. 13, 1965), U.S. Army officer, graduated from West Point in 1927. Early in his career he served with the 65th Infantry in Puerto Rico; the 34th Infantry; the 57th Infantry in the Philippines; and with the 25th Infantry as company commander and regimental operations officer. In the early 1940s he was assigned to the 501st Parachute Infantry Battalion (PIB), and later commanded the 503rd PIB and the 5033rd and 506th Parachute Infantry Regiments. In 1943 the 506th joined the forces in Europe, and in 1945 General Sink became assistant division commander of the 101st Airborne Division. He was named assistant commander, 7th Infantry Division, in Korea in 1951. Following service in Brazil in 1955, he assumed command of the Strategic Army Corps in 1958. His last major assignment was as commander, U.S. forces in Panama. He retired in 1961.

A native of Lexington, N.C., Lt. General Robert Sink was commander of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment in World War II, participating in the invasion of Normandy and the Battle of the Bulge. In 1958, Sink was given command of the Strategic Army Corps (STRAC) and the 18th Airborne. In 1961, Sink was named Commander of the U.S. Army in the Caribbean, a position he held until his retirement in 1961.