Biographical Note
Robert Frank Augur was born in Meriden, Connecticut, on April 18, 1910, the first of six children born to Frank Augur and Nellie Symonds Augur. In 1924, the family moved to Oregon, and Augur enrolled in Benson Polytechnic High School in Portland, where he studied mathematics and electrical sciences, and joined the Army’s Cadet Military Training Corps. After graduating from high school in 1928, Augur was admitted to Oregon State College to study engineering, but could not afford to attend. Instead he went to work, first selling women’s shoes, then in an electricians’ supply store, and ultimately as a freight handler for Union Pacific Railroad. In his spare time he completed correspondence courses to help advance toward a reserve officer’s commission, and he served with an Army Reserve unit, training at Fort Vancouver, Washington, Fort Stevens, Oregon, and Fort Lewis, Washington. In October 1939, he earned a reserve commission as a Second Lieutenant in the Coast Artillery Corps.
On December 2, 1940, Augur was called to active duty at Fort Stevens, and the following month he was assigned to Fort Mills, Corregidor, in the Philippines. His initial assignment was as a junior staff officer with a searchlight battery of the 60th Coast Artillery. He subsequently took command of E Battery, 92nd Coast Artillery, a unit made up of 105 Philippine Scouts. E Battery served as a guard battalion for approximately 900 civil prisoners, and commanded a pair of 155 millimeter guns protecting the entrance to Manila Harbor. He went on to serve as executive officer of the Battery Kysor gun crew.
On April 12, 1942, Augur was injured by heavy artillery fire, resulting in the amputation of his leg. After the fall of Corregidor, Augur was taken prisoner by the Japanese, and transferred to Bilibid Prison. Augur was held as a prisoner of war (POW) for 33 months. During this time, he was able to keep a diary in which he made some brief notes about events, and made lists of books and food, and noted the names and addresses of fellow prisoners. Bilibid Prison was liberated on February 5, 1945, and Augur soon began a ten day journey back to the United States, where he recuperated at Letterman General Hospital in San Francisco, California, and Bushnell Army Hospital in Brigham City, Utah.
On April 28, 1945, Augur married Anna Christina Anderson, a friend with whom he had corresponded prior to the war. On December 18, 1945, he was discharged with the rank of Captain. Augur toured with other decorated veterans to promote the sale of war bonds, and then moved to Washington, DC, to work for the Republican National Committee as Director of Veterans’ Activities and as Executive Secretary of the Republican Veterans’ League. Augur resigned these positions in 1946, and he and Anna returned to Oregon, where Augur went to work in the freight shipping business until his retirement in 1981.
Robert Frank Augur died on March 9, 2000, and was buried with full military honors at Willamette National Cemetery. On April 24, 2004, a rail deployment facility at Fort Bliss, Texas, was named in his honor.