Newton County native and retired Lt. Col. William (Ike) Robertson was awarded the “cross of military service” by the United Daughters of the Confederacy (UDC).

The award was presented to Robertson at the Confederate Memorial Day ceremony by the General James Longstreet Chapter of the UDC in Gainesville on April 27. Members of the UDC and family and friends of Robertson were in attendance.

The UDC honors men and women of Confederate descent who have served their country in time of war by bestowing a variety of military service awards.

The cross of military service, an outgrowth of the “Southern Cross of Honor”, which was presented only to  actual Confederate veterans, is presented to veterans of WWI, WWII, the Korean War, the Vietnam Conflict and the Global War on Terror, who are lineal personnel.

UDC military crosses awarded for “service during wartime” have pentagon approval and may be worn on the uniform of today’s service personnel.

LTC Robertson is a direct descendent of John Walker Robertson, of Newton County, and was awarded the medal in his honor and lineage. John Walker Robertson is the great-grandfather of William Robertson, and served in the 13/16 Ga. Calvary before being captured and serving eight months in a prisoner of war camp in Douglas, Illinois.

 He is also the great-great-grandson of Captain Silas Henry Starr Jr. of Starrsville, Georgia, who was with the Youngs Guards in Newton County of the 3rd Volunteer Infantry Division, and great-grandson of Grant Davis Carter of Newton County, who was with the 2nd battalion Georgia Volunteer Infantry out of Bib County.

William Robertson, then captain, served in the Vietnam Conflict from June 1968-June 1969 as an intelligence officer, assistant S-2, headquarters, XXIV Corps Artillery.

During his Vietnam service, he was awarded the Bronze Star, the Army Commendation Medal, the Vietnam Service Medal with five stars and the Vietnam Campaign Medal.

LTC Robertson is a 1962 graduate of North Georgia College and retired from the U.S. Army in 1988 at Fort McPherson after 25 years of service.

He is married to the former Betty Jeanne Johnson of Porterdale. Both graduated from Newton County High School in the Class of 1958 and have resided in Newton County since June 2006.