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Infantry Trooper

File Name: Robert W. Graves

Birthplace: Columbus, Ohio Rank: Specialist

Primary Military Specialty: Infantry

Secondary Military Specialty: Small arms armorer; Artillery coordinator

Status: Reserve

First Appearance: G.I. JOE #1 (July 1982)

     Grunt's code-name comes from the old army nickname for regular infantry soldiers, "grunts." Grunt's job is the most basic part of the Army, the infantry. Without a specialized talent, Grunt had to be quite a soldier to qualify for the G.I. Joe team. He graduated Advanced Infantry Training school in the top ten of his class. Soon afterward, Grunt became one of the original 13 members. He was part of many of the Joes' major missions including the rescue of Dr. Adele Burkhart. Grunt quite possibly saved the country from annihilation when he helped Zap disarm a nuclear bomb set to detonate by Commander Vance Wingfield, the leader of a local para-military group funded by Cobra. Hawk and Grunt infiltrated the team and exposed Wingfield's plan to trigger World War III. He was involved in many other important operations, as well. He was also one of the Joes assigned to guard Cobra Commander after his capture. All of the Joes were taken by surprise when the Cobra ninja, Storm Shadow, rescued the Commander. He was involved in many other important operations, as well, including the rescue of several Joes trapped in Sierra Gordo.

    After the re-dedication of G.I. Joe headquarters, aka "The Pit", Grunt and many of the other original Joes were taken off active duty. Even so, Grunt continued to occasionally participate in missions with the team. He was part of the security team during the Joes' invasion of the Cobra-controlled town of Springfield. Soon after that mission, Grunt retired from Army life and was accepted into Georgia Tech where he studied to be an engineer. Grunt at first had trouble adjusting to civilian life and missed the camaraderie of the Joe team. He had an easier time of things when he met Lola one morning while jogging through the campus. When he saw Stalker, Snow Job and Quick Kick on the television news, arrested and thrown into a Borovia gulag, Grunt called Joe headquarters and offered to help in the rescue since he was now not an official part of the Army. He was surprised when Roadblock told him there would be no official rescue mission. Later, the Joe team was on the losing side of the Cobra Island civil war. A group of corrupt generals in the Pentagon denied having any knowledge of the debacle. When many members of the team were unrightfully taken into custody, several other Joes went underground. Roadblock, remembering Grunt's offer of help months earlier, called Grunt and asked for his help. They and the other Joes who had escaped organized a mission to rescue Hawk and General Hollingsworth when they were arrested for acting without orders and entering the civil war. During the rescue, Hawk and Hollingsworth were cleared of all charges and the corrupt generals responsible were exposed.

    After getting his degree from Georgia Tech, Grunt struggled to find a job. He met up with the Joe team again in New York when Mutt and Spirit were cleared of charges after being wrongfully imprisoned. Some of the Joes told Grunt he should rejoin the team. They could use good soldiers like him. But Duke told Grunt to keep looking for work as an engineer. "Take it from an old soldier," Duke told him. "It's better to build things than tear them down." Grunt heeded Duke's advice and eventually did find work as an engineer. Years later, Grunt returned to the Army, believing his engineering skills could be put to good use there. After the G.I. Joe team's reinstatement in 2001, Grunt was called back to the team to join in the fight against the forces of a revived Serpentor on Cobra Island. Some time after that battle, members of the Joe team fought Cobra forces that were drawn into an attack on a train guarded by the Joes, believing that Destro was being held prisoner onboard. At the battle's end, Hawk was shot in the back by Cobra Commander and paralyzed. In Hawk's absence, the Jugglers began to take control of the team to reign it in, if not disband it altogether. Eventually, the team's roster was cut down to only a dozen Joes, and Grunt was one of many reassigned to other units. After the remaining Joes stopped a plot by Cobra to unleash the weapon known as the Tempest, and defeated a new threat, the Red Shadows, the military again disbanded the team. One year later, the Joe team was reformed with a smaller roster of active members. Grunt, like most former Joes, is a reserve member of the new team.

Artwork: Action figure art; G.I. JOE #1 (interior) by Herb Trimpe and Bob McLeod