SINCLAIR, ROBERT THOMAS, DR. – MAJOR, U.S. ARMY RESERVE
Class of 1933Service: U.S. Army
Service Dates: 1944-1946
Rank: MAJOR
MOS: Doctor
Notable: Co-Founder Cape Fear Memorial Hospital
Service Army Medical Reserve Corp
Rank Major
Born December 29, 1913 – Wilmington, NC
NHHS Class 1931
MD Georgetown University
Buried Arlington Cemetary
Notable Five Battle Stars, Presidential Unit Citation, Bronze Star
Co-Founder Cape Fear Memorial Hospital
An Army doctor during World War II, Sinclair landed with the 51st Field Hospital near Omaha Beach on June 8, 1944, two days after D-Day. His unit worked under German artillery fire, tending to the wounded.
The 51st followed Army units through France, Belgium and Germany. In five major campaigns, they treated between 9,000 and 10,000 wounded, including 6,000 major battle casualties – sometimes, as many as 500 soldiers a day.
Sinclair ended the war as a major, with five battle stars, a Presidential Unit Citation and a Bronze Star. In 1946, he married Myrtle Reynolds, who had been chief nurse with his field hospital. Mrs. Sinclair also received the Bronze Star for her service.
Sinclair’s post-war career included Bulluck Hospital, a small medical facility on North Front Street. In 1957, along with Dr. William C. Mebane (NHHS – 1927) and Dr. Sam Pace, Sinclair acquired the Wessell Sanitarium off Wrightsville Ave, which later became Cape Fear Memorial Hospital. He would go on to found the Cape Fear Memorial Foundation, and was also active in developing the Cornelia Nixon Davis HealthCare Center.
Local honors include the Star News Lifetime Achievement Award and being named an Albert Schweitzer Honors Scholar at UNCW. Sinclair lived to be 100 and was often praised for "changing the landscape of health care in our region," He and his wife are buried at Arlington National Cemetary.
Accolades: Five Battle Stars, Presidential Unit Citation, Bronze Star
Accolades: Five Battle Stars, Presidential Unit Citation, Bronze Star