Background
Dolby was born on May 14, 1946, in Norristown, Pennsylvania. His father, Charles L. Dolby, was a personnel manager for Benjamin Franklin Goodrich Company in Oaks, Pennsylvania.
Dolby was born on May 14, 1946, in Norristown, Pennsylvania. His father, Charles L. Dolby, was a personnel manager for Benjamin Franklin Goodrich Company in Oaks, Pennsylvania.
He had a younger brother, Daniel. Dolby joined the Army from Philadelphia at age 18, and by May 21, 1966, was serving in the Republic of Vietnam as a specialist four with Company B, 1st Battalion (Airborne), 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile). On that day, his platoon came under heavy fire which killed six soldiers and wounded a number of others, including the platoon leader.
Throughout the ensuing four-hour battle, Dolby led his platoon in its defense, organized the extraction of the wounded, and directed artillery fire despite close-range attacks from enemy snipers and automatic weapons.
He single-handedly attacked the hostile positions and silenced three machine guns, allowing a friendly force to execute a flank attack. The medal was formally presented to him by President Lyndon B. Johnson on September 28, 1967.
In 1967 he served there with the 1st Brigade, 101st Airborne Division, in 1969 with C Company (Ranger), 75th Infantry (Airborne), First Field Force Vietnam, in 1970 as an Adviser to the Vietnamese Rangers, and in 1971 as an Adviser to the Royal Cambodian Army. He left the Army that same year with the rank of staff sergeant.
Dolby married, but had no children.
Over the last 20 years, Dolby attended many veterans events around the United States. and once opened the New York Stock Exchange on Veterans Day. He most recently worked to bring attention to the neglected Medal of Honor Grove at the Freedoms Foundation in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. Dolby died at age 64 on the morning of August 6, 2010, while visiting Spirit Lake, Idaho, for a veterans" gathering.
Dolby died in his sleep.