Grantham, Robert Eugene Army Sergeant

Robert E. Grantham, age 19, from Los Angeles, California, Los Angeles county.

Parents: Marjorie Pickett (1924-2008)

Service era: Vietnam

Date of death: Monday, March 8, 1971
Death details: On March 8, 1971, an OH-6A Cayuse (tail number 67-16645) with two crew members took part in an armed reconnaissance mission over Quang Tri Province, South Vietnam, along with two other helicopters.

During the mission, the helicopters received enemy ground fire, and this OH-6 was hit and crashed in the vicinity of grid coordinates YD 199 129, exploding on impact. One of the other helicopters made two attempts to examine the crash site, but on both attempts, the crew saw no sign of survivors before the helicopter was driven away by intense enemy fire. The enemy presence in the area prevented insertion of a ground search team, and both members of the crew were lost in the crash. Corporal (CPL) Robert Eugene Grantham, who entered the U.S. Army from California, served with Troop B, 2nd Squadron, 17th Cavalry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division. He was the observer aboard this OH-6 at the time of its loss. His body was not recovered and he remains unaccounted for. Following the incident, the Army promoted CPL Grantham to the rank of Sergeant (SGT). Today, Sergeant Grantham is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, findagrave.com. San Bernardino County Sun (1996)