Biography
Colonel Robert Noe “Bob” Lichtenberger, USA (Ret.) is a fourth generation Texan who was born
April 7, 1943 in Corpus Christi, Texas and raised in Agua Dulce, Texas. He is a Texan of mixed heritage, proudly claiming German, Mexican and Irish cultural backgrounds. Before he was twelve months of age Bob would lose his father, his only brother as well as his mother. He was taken in and raised by his maternal grandparents in a Hispanic environment, speaking only Spanish. In fact, Bob did not start to learn to speak English until he entered grade school.
–He was a stand out as a school boy in the Agua Dulce school system excelling in academics, sports and other extra-curricular activities. Bob earned the distinction of Valedictorian when he graduated from Junior High and went on to achieve a stellar high school career.
–In High School he lettered in football, basketball and track & field. Bob was elected to serve on the Student Council and served as a chapter officer in several capacities. He was a member of the Future Farmers of America (FFA) for four years serving as a chapter officer and as the member of an FFA Livestock Judging Team that won First Place in State at Texas A&M University his junior year in high school. Bob participated in several University Interscholastic League (UIL) competition events and placed Sixth in State in Number Sense at the University of Texas, Austin his senior year in high school. He went on to graduate as Salutatorian of his class earning a four year scholarship to the University of Dallas.
–Instead of pursuing a college career, Bob elected to join the US Army immediately out of High School in June 1962. Very early he was identified as a soldier of promise and was encouraged to obtain a commission as a Second Lieutenant. He did and thus began a singularly outstanding military career which covered slightly over 28 years. His career included two years of enlisted service and 26 years as a commissioned officer.
–During his military career, Bob served in both the continental United States as well as overseas. As a result of his latter service he experienced action in several combat zones. His service was primarily with troops but was also interspersed with service on various staffs. His troop time included command of four company level units and two battalions.
Military career highlights include the following:
–His leadership abilities were very obvious early in his career and as a 23 year old First Lieutenant he was given command of a unit which trained young soldiers to become officers. This position is normally reserved for a Captain but his battalion and unit commanders had the trust and confidence in him to effectively perform the duties of a higher grade officer. During this tour Bob was also called on by the Pentagon several times to serve as an interpreter for Spanish speaking officers from South America who were touring the United States. The requirement to serve as an interpreter became a recurring requirement throughout his military career and by the end of his active service he had translated for military members from every Spanish speaking nation in the world. The last occurrence was as a battalion commander when he hosted the Minister of Defense from the former Spanish colony in Sub-Sahara Africa.
–Bob was promoted to Captain during this tour and was subsequently assigned to serve in Vietnam. During this Vietnam tour he was decorated for valor for ground combat and he was also awarded a Purple Heart Medal for wounds received during the Tet Offensive of 1968.
–Captain Lichtenberger then returned to the Continental United States, completed his Bachelors degree graduating Summa Cum Laude and attended flight school, graduating in the top 10% of his flight school class. In light of his high standing in flight school he was rewarded with post graduate training in the AH1G, Cobra attack helicopter. At the time this was the Army’s premier armed helicopter. Following this training Bob returned to Vietnam for a second tour of duty. Upon arrival in country he was immediately placed in command of a Cobra helicopter unit. He served with distinction and was again decorated for valor, this time for an action involving aerial combat.
–Upon returning to the US, the Commanding General of the 1st Cavalry Division ordered Lichtenberger to form an attack helicopter unit like the one he had commanded in Vietnam. Captain Lichtenberger formed the unit from the remnants of three other helicopter units. He went on to lead, train and inspire the unit into becoming a cohesive fighting machine. During this tour, Lichtenberger applied the expertise he had learned on the battlefields of Vietnam to develop and implement Army Aviation tactics Army wide that are in use on today’s battlefield.
–His unit distinguished itself so well that it was selected to test numerous items of equipment and newly developed flight techniques and tactics. Several of these tests were observed and written about by the noted Army historian Brigadier General S.L.A. Marshall. In October 1972 Lichtenberger’s unit earned the distinction of being awarded the Army Aviation Unit of the Year Award by the “Army Aviation Association of America.” He was rewarded by the Army for this sterling performance by being selected early for attendance at the US Army Command and General Staff College (C&GSC). He was selected as a Captain when the typical officer selected for attendance at this prestigious college is a Major.
–Lichtenberger was promoted to the grade of Major just as he was departing for C&GSC. While at that professional military education course he also started a graduate degree program. Upon completion of C&GSC, Bob completed his residence work and a Masters thesis. He completed his graduate studies with a 3.5 GPA.
–Major Lichtenberger’s next assignment was again with troops. At his new post he was quickly marked as an officer with great promise and was ordered to create and command a new field artillery battalion as part of the Army’s buildup to 16 divisions following the Vietnam War. The assignment as a battalion commander while in the grade of Major was a significant accomplishment since almost exclusively the commander of a battalion is a Lieutenant Colonel. Again, he served with distinction.
–His follow-on assignment was as a Military Observer with the United Nations in Lebanon during Jan-Dec ’79. His primary responsibility was to ensure that the peace accords between the Palestinians and the state of Israel were being adhered to by all the parties. As a UN peacekeeper he was required to work in both Lebanon and Israel in dealing with the issues of all the factions involved in the struggle between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). Although he was unarmed this, effectively, turned out to be a combat tour.
During the twelve months he was there he was on the wrong end of incoming mortar and artillery fire as much as he had been in two tours in Vietnam. Numerous times he was detained at gunpoint by a combatant armed with an AK-47, an M-16 or a rocket propelled grenade (RPG). In addition, on one occasion he was taken prisoner by Israeli soldiers pretending to be PLO fighters and on another occasion he stood down an individual by the name of Abu Nidal.
In the latter situation, Lichtenberger had arranged for an exchange of two Christian Lebanese prisoners held by the PLO for the return of the remains of a PLO fighter. Just as he was to take the live prisoners away Abu Nidal arrived on the scene and decided that he was going to kill both prisoners on the spot. Although he was unarmed, Bob intervened to prevent their murder. Then Abu Nidal and his bodyguards turned their weapons on Lichtenberger. At this point under the gun and without backup Bob now had to scramble for all he was worth to save not only the lives of the two prisoners but his own as well. Standing on principle and a prior agreement with the PLO Bob maintained his position with the terrorists and negotiated to hold them to their word of going through with the exchange. He walked away unscathed with his two prisoners in tow. It was not until a year later that he found out the true nature of Abu Nidal. In 1980 back safely in the Pentagon, Bob was reading a report on terrorism commissioned by then Vice President George H. W. Bush in which Abu Nidal had been designated as the number one terrorist in the world.
–Following the Middle East tour Lichtenberger was personally selected by the US Army Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations for duty in the Strategy, Plans and Policy Directorate on the Army Staff. As a Desk Officer, Bob was given the task of planning, organizing and implementing helicopter programs for two Central American countries and an officer training program for one of these nations. These actions were part of the Reagan Administration’s initiative to curtail the advance of Communism in Latin America. All three programs were very successful and helped fulfill the goals set out by President Reagan. Lichtenberger was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel (LTC) while serving in the Pentagon.
–Bob was then rewarded by the Army with command of another Field Artillery battalion. This unit was, in fact, the largest artillery battalion in the Army. During this second battalion command LTC Lichtenberger trained and deployed the first nine Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS) batteries to US Army units worldwide. This weapons system played a key role in the first Gulf War and was credited with taking out many Iraqi Army formations and weapons systems. Field commanders in Iraq determined that the MLRS was a decisive weapon in many battles against Iraqi forces.
–Bob’s next assignment was to the US Southern Command in the Republic of Panama. Initially, he was assigned to lead the Strategy, Plans and Policy Division of the J-5, Politico Military Directorate of the command. Subsequently, Lichtenberger was promoted to Colonel (COL) and then assigned as the Deputy J-5. In this capacity, COL Lichtenberger directed the planning and conduct of the first US military counter drug operation in South America. The program proved to be highly successful and effectively destroyed the illicit drug infrastructure in one of the Andean nations.
During this tour Lichtenberger was also ordered to plan, organize and carry out a program to evaluate the helicopter and officer training programs in a Central American country. These were the same programs which he had installed while serving on the Army Staff in the Pentagon. The mission required that he and a team of over 50 service members travel, work and live in that country for approximately one year. That particular nation was still embroiled in a civil war and Bob had to not only successfully carry out his mission but also do all he could to ensure his team’s safety. As the team leader in country Lichtenberger interviewed, inspected and dealt with all levels of the military as well as the president of that country. The team suffered no casualties and the mission was carried out to the satisfaction of the military leadership in the Pentagon.
In 1987, prior to returning to the United States COL Lichtenberger was inducted into to the US Army Field Artillery Officer Candidate School Hall of Fame. He and other leaders like General Tommy Franks are a few that belong to that elite community.
His last major task during this assignment was to help formulate a plan to take out the Noriega regime. However, before he could participate in the plan’s execution he was reassigned back to Washington, DC.
–This next assignment was to the Inter-American Defense College (IADC), the war college for senior officers from all the countries in the Americas. All course work was conducted in Spanish. He graduated from the course and also served as a member of the faculty of the college. While a member of the IADC Lichtenberger was invited as a guest lecturer at the National War College and the Industrial College of the Armed Forces to address the drug problems in Latin America.
While assigned to the IADC, Lichtenberger was offered the opportunity to command a brigade level unit in Panama. This was a tempting offer since the political situation in Panama was heating up and it was obvious that the end was imminent for the Noriega regime. In spite of all the possible career benefits of such a position Bob elected to turn down the command because of family considerations. He then made the decision to retire and go into business. Approximately one year later Operation Just Cause was carried out against Noriega. As a result of this operation the command he had been offered would have turned out to be a combat command with the possibility of promotion to general officer.
Just prior to his retirement from active duty in September 1990, Bob became a life member of the Military Order of the Purple Heart (MOPH). This is the only congressionally chartered veterans’ organization exclusively for combat wounded military members.
Colonel Lichtenberger’s military awards and decorations include the Legion of Merit, Bronze Star Medal with one oak leaf cluster, Purple Heart Medal, Defense Meritorious Medal, Meritorious Service Medal with two oak leaf clusters, Air Medal with numeral 6 and “V” device for valor, Joint Service Medal with one oak leaf cluster, Army Commendation Medal with one oak leaf cluster and “V” device for valor, Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal with one bronze star, Vietnam Service Medal with six campaign stars, Army Service Medal, Overseas Service Ribbon with numeral two, Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry with Silver Star, United Nations Medal, Inter-American Defense Board Medal with Silver Star, Vietnam Campaign Medal with numeral 60. In addition, Bob also earned Army Aviator wings, Army Parachutist wings and the Army General Staff Identification badge. He was also designated a qualified Joint Staff Officer.
–Upon retirement, Lichtenberger went into business for himself in the financial services industry in the Northern Virginia area. He built up his business for several years but Texas beckoned. In August 1997, he returned to his home state and brought his business with him. As soon as he arrived in Austin, Texas he was contacted by the local Chapter of the Military Order of the Purple Heart. The leadership of the chapter identified him as a future leader and before long he became a chapter officer. Concurrently, he pursued his financial services business.
–He had previously decided that it was time for him to give back to community since this state and nation had given him so many opportunities. This thinking led to what his wife, Sue, refers to as his “two ministries.” First Bob decided to give his support to the veterans’ community in the Austin area. Secondly, he decided to give back to the Hispanic community through his financial services business by helping Hispanics obtain various types of insurance, investments and home mortgages. In short order he became totally immersed in both endeavors.
–His work with veterans and the Hispanic community was briefly interrupted in September 1999 when he was called to Washington, DC to serve on a team which was to evaluate the armed forces of a South American country. This nation had asked the US government for $1.5B to fight the illicit drug trade on its homeland and the Clinton Administration wanted to ensure that the money would be used appropriately. The team that Bob served on went to the South American nation to conduct a top to bottom review of the country’s entire political and military systems. The objective was to evaluate whether the money would be put to good use. As a member of this team Lichtenberger interviewed key people from the host nation’s President’s office down to soldiers in the jungle. Lastly, as the best qualified Spanish speaker on the team, Lichtenberger was called on to perform simultaneous translation during negotiations between the Minister of Defense and the US team leader. After avoiding several bomb explosions while working in South America and with his work completed, Bob returned to Austin in early 2000
Work with and for veterans (first “ministry”):
–Upon joining the local MOPH Chapter Bob had quickly immersed himself in the organization’s activities. Upon returning from South America he picked up where he had left off. He began by doing volunteer work at the Austin VA Clinic. Over time he volunteered several hundred hours serving refreshments to veterans at the clinic. He also advised veterans on how to obtain VA benefits and arranged for many veterans to be interviewed by the local service officer so that the veterans could file claims for benefits they had earned as a result of their active duty service.
–Lichtenberger became the chapter commander in the year 2000 and quickly set up several programs to help even more veterans. He established a chapter program that he called “Project 100,000.” This was an effort for the chapter to contact veterans with the goal of getting 100,000 veterans in the five county area to sign up with the VA so that they could obtain the benefits promised to them as a result of their military service. This effort in part served to overwhelm the Austin VA Clinic and resulted in the opening of an additional clinic in Cedar Park, Texas. He also set up a fund for the Austin VA Clinic which provided money for veterans who needed transportation home. The other major project during his tenure as chapter commander was to organize and carry out the only Armed Forces Day celebration in Austin since the closing of Bergstrom AFB. The event was conducted at Camp Mabry and was open to the public. At the celebration Governor Perry presented a Bronze Star Medal to a WWII veteran as well as awarding a high school graduation certificate to that same veteran.
–Bob advanced to Department (State) Commander of MOPH and soon thereafter became MOPH Region V Commander in 2001. This post required him to oversee the MOPH departments in the states of Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Kansas and Colorado. He traveled throughout all seven states advising on the various programs available to veterans. He also provided direction to the Order’s service officers’ efforts in pursuing VA claims for veterans in their states.
Although Region Commander is a national position within the Order, Bob continued to work with veterans in Texas. Other national officers frequently called on him for assistance with helping veterans who lived in or were relocating to Texas. He also received calls from across the nation for helping the families of veterans in Texas who had a family member that had been wounded in either Afghanistan or Iraq. In addition, as he traveled around the country for the Order he would encounter Purple Heart recipients who would solicit his assistance with issues they had with benefits, obtaining military awards and decorations or just in joining the Order.
During this tour, Lichtenberger also supervised the Department of Texas’ efforts to place a Purple Heart Monument at the Texas State Cemetery. Permission was granted to place the monument at the cemetery and Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison was the guest speaker at the ceremony. In addition, while serving as Region V Commander, Bob challenged and stopped a Texas politician from illegally using the image of the Purple Heart Medal on a piece of campaign literature. The politician was not even a Purple Heart recipient.
–Bob became National Commander of the Military Order of the Purple Heart in August 2004. In so doing he became the first veteran of Hispanic origin to attain this position. In all likelihood he is also the only veteran of Hispanic origin to lead any congressionally chartered Veterans’ Service Organization. He enjoyed a challenging and fruitful year as commander. Accomplishments during his tenure include the following:
With significant efforts by the San Antonio chapter of MOPH he succeeded in obtaining approval by the State of Texas to designate Interstate 35 as the Purple Heart Trail. This designation covers the entirety of the highway from the Rio Grande to the Red River.
After approval of the naming of the highway, Lichtenberger obtained a substantial amount of money to help fund the highway signs. He, along with a large contingent of Purple Heart recipients attended the dedication ceremony presided over by Congressman Cuellar at Laredo, Texas.
During this year, Bob had to again take a politician to task for misuse of the image of the Purple Heart Medal. This resulted from an incident at one of the national political conventions where a politician had produced and issued a large number of bandages with the image of the Purple Heart Medal. Lichtenberger issued a nationwide press release decrying the abuse of this prestigious award and the bandages were quickly withdrawn.
He and his wife, Sue, visited combat wounded veterans at Brooke Army Medical Center (BAMC) in San Antonio, Texas and hosted dinners in Washington, DC for combat wounded veterans recuperating at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and Bethesda Naval Hospital.
The Order also started programs to help Soldiers Angels and the Wounded Warrior project. These included obtaining necessities for combat wounded service members in the combat zone and shipping these items to Iraq for these heroes.
At the conclusion of his tour Lichtenberger was recognized by the Chapel of the Four Chaplains. This organization awarded him the Legion of Honor Bronze Medallion “…for service to the local community, at the state level, and at the national level….” “…[T]he Legion of Honor Program [is intended] to publicly recognize persons whose lives model the kind of selfless service to community, nation, and humanity without regard to race, religion, or creed….” Other notable recipients include “Presidents Truman, Eisenhower, Carter, and Reagan….”
Bob’s most recent effort in support of veterans was his direct involvement in obtaining money for funding and sending two bus loads of combat wounded veterans from BAMC to the 2007 Armed Forces Bowl game.
–Following his tour as the National Commander, Bob was elected to join the MOPH Service Foundation as a Director and subsequently became the Secretary of the Executive Board. Other duties with the foundation followed as he was appointed as a member of the Foundation’s Investment Committee and after that appointment he was appointed Chairman of the Audit Committee. Upon being diagnosed with gastric cancer Lichtenberger resigned from all duties on the Foundation with the exception of the position of Director.
–After his tour as National Commander, Bob developed friendships with local businessmen who later came to him with offers to help the veterans’ community. The first of these involved donations of money generated by an Austin business program involving bracelets to memorialize combat wounded veterans. This same businessman followed up with a concept called “The Lifeteam.” Fundamentally, this concept is designed to provide organized assistance to homebound veterans so that they can lead as normal a life as possible. Lichtenberger introduced this businessman and the Lifeteam concept to the MOPH Foundation to obtain funding for start up costs. Through this businessman Bob was also connected with another businessman who is CEO of a nationwide business. This business leader coordinated with Bob to donate a substantial amount of money to the Military Order of the Purple Heart.
–Another Austin businessman with a national business came to Lichtenberger with an offer of money and computers for combat wounded veterans. Bob and this business leader reached an understanding and the result was another stream of money and support for combat wounded veterans.
Work with the Hispanic community (second “ministry”). This work was conducted concurrently with work in support of veterans:
–Since relocating to Austin, Texas Bob has reached out to the Hispanic community, initially offering financial services such as life insurance and investments. He helped small Hispanic business owners set up retirement and asset protection programs. He also helped people in the Hispanic community with home equity loans and other financial services products.
–Lichtenberger then decided to streamline his business and focus exclusively on his mortgage business. This was a result of a Hispanic family coming to him for assistance with a mortgage for a home purchase. As Bob reviewed the loan product and interest rate offered to the family he noted that the other loan officer was not providing the best product for the family. He went on to provide them with a better loan product and in the process save them a substantial amount of money. This resulted in referrals.
–Bob went on to help numerous Hispanic families not only to re-finance their existing home mortgage loans but also helped many families to purchase homes at lower interest rates. He did not provide loans to all the clients who sought a home mortgage or a re-finance mortgage. There were families who were not ready to purchase a home; some did not have adequate credit and there were others who had insufficient income to purchase the home of their dreams. In those cases where a loan was not possible, he educated the family showing them how they would be able to qualify for a home loan in the future. In addition, there were re-finance loans that he made to elderly Hispanic people at a loss to him. This was the only way to get these people out of bad loans and put them in a position to eventually own their home.
–As an experienced loan officer, Bob also reached out to Hispanic loan officers, coaching and mentoring them. These efforts helped the relatively inexperienced loan officers become better, more effective loan officers sooner. The end result was to increase the availability of Hispanic loan officers to help the Hispanic community.
–Lichtenberger remains hopeful that he will regain his health so that he can continue the work he started with his two “ministries.” There is much work to be done and, unfortunately insufficient people to do the work that is required.
–As his health permits Bob is continuing to write two books. One is his autobiography. The title of this work is “Lost in the Promised Land.” The second book is about the true nature of the war on terror and the title of this work is “America at the Horns of Hittim: The Islamist Jihadist Crusade Against America and the West.”
Bob is married to the former Sharron Sue Radney from Dallas, Texas. The couple has five children and eleven grandchildren.
Bob lost his courageous battle with gastric cancer on April 30, 2008.