Ron Zinn

Ron Zinn’s sixth-place in the 1964 Olympic 20 km. walk was one of the top performances in walking for an American at the Olympics. Zinn also won a bronze medal in the event at the 1963 Pan American Games. From 1960-64 he won 12 AAU walk titles over various distances. The USATF annually awards the Captain Ron Zinn Memorial Award to the top racewalker of the year.

Zinn was a graduate of the US Military Academy and was sent to Vietnam late in 1964. He was company commander of Company B, 2d Battalion (Airborne), 503rd Infantry. In July 1965 he was presumed killed in a firefight near Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City). Zinn was killed while trying to save the life of his patrol/point man. He was awarded the Purple Heart, Bronze Star, and an expert marksmanship citation. After his death, the company named their camp after their beloved friend calling it Camp Zinn for the duration of the war. Zinn was posthumously promoted to the rank of Captain. He was later inducted into his high school hall of fame in Orland Park, Illinois, the Carl Sandburg High School Athletic Hall of Fame. In Orland Park, the memorial garden is named in his memory, the Ronald L. Zinn Memorial Garden.

Personal Best: 20kmW – 1-32:43 (1964).