Robert Dean Albracht

Their Story

Robert Dean Albracht was born in Rock Island, Illinois, on September 26th, 1943 to Germaine and Leander Albracht. Albracht joined the United States Army in 1961 after graduating from Alleman High School, serving during the Vietnam War in the 5th Special Forces Group: the ‘Green Berets’.^[1] The 5th Special Forces Group had its origins in the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) and the First Special Service Force (‘The Devil’s Brigade’) of World War II. They parachuted behind enemy lines, and organized civilian resistance to the enemy over the course of the war. The 5th Special Forces Group undertook similar missions in Vietnam, serving with tenacity and distinction,

Units from within the group deployed from its operational base at Nha Trang to the four military regions of South Vietnam. Operational detachments established and manned camps at 254 locations to train and lead indigenous forces of the Civilian Irregular Defense Groups and regular units of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Vietnam. The 5th SFG (A) also formed specialized units that conducted special reconnaissance and direct action missions… Despite being one of the smallest units engaged in the Vietnam conflict, the group’s colors fly 20 campaign streamers. Soldiers from the group are among the most highly decorated warriors in the history of our nation.^[2]

After Albracht returned home he earned a degree in civil engineering from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana. He used this degree to work for the US Army Corps of Engineers on Arsenal Island, continuing his service to his country in the Army Reserves. During this time, Albracht had oversight of the Mississippi Lock and Dam systems.^[3]

After twenty years of working as a civil engineer, Albracht decided to switch careers. He joined the St. Louis Division of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) as a criminal intelligence officer.^[4] The purpose of the DEA is to police illegal drug activity in the United States,

To enforce the controlled substances laws and regulations of the United States and bring to the criminal and civil justice system of the United States… those organizations and principal members of organizations, involved in the growing, manufacture, or distribution of controlled substances appearing in or destined for illicit traffic in the United States.^[5]

Albracht’s experience in criminal intelligence would be a boon to him in his next stretch of service in the United States Armed Forces. After the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, Albracht was recalled to service in the U.S. Army as a Criminal Investigative Division Special Agent. Albracht’s first mission in this new role was to perform evidence recovery and forensics on the Pentagon Crash Site. Albracht would later serve in the protection detail of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and then as leader of the Drug Suppression Team at Fort Stewart, Georgia. After twenty-two years of service to his country, during which he earned two Bronze Stars, two Army commendations, and the Combat Infantryman’s Badge among numerous other decorations, Albracht retired from the Armed Forces.^[6]

Albracht spent the rest of his life after retirement enjoying life with his large family. He enjoyed restoring his 1973 Firebird, and renovating his and his sons’ homes. He and his wife Nanette spent most of their time with their many grandchildren, whom they adored. Albracht passed away unexpectedly on February 6, 2015.^[7] He is fondly and honorably remembered in his headstone at the Rock Island Arsenal, which captures both his military honors with its upper engraving, and his role as a loving family man with its lower engraving, “BELOVED HUSBAND, DAD, AND BOMPA”.^[8]