Colonel Robert W. Black was born on a farm situated between Carlisle and Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Black enlisted in the Army in 1949 and volunteered for Airborne School. When the Korean War began, he volunteered for one of the newly formed Ranger companies, stating, “I knew the Korean War and I were made for each other.” After being accepted into the 8th Airborne Ranger Company, Black served as a Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR) gunner. After serving in three campaigns in Korea, Black was commissioned in 1954 and served in Vietnam. Black later became the founding President of the Association of the Ranger Infantry Companies (Airborne) of the Korean War. He is the author of several authoritative books, including A Ranger Born, Rangers in Korea, and Rangers in World War II. An expert in Ranger history, Black founded the Ranger Research Collection, which was originally housed at the U.S. Military History Institute and includes the largest collection of Army Ranger photographs in the country.
