Gerald Ray Roberts, age 31, from Hays County San Marcos, Texas .
Parents: Boone S. Roberts
Spouse: Married
Children: Two
Service era: Vietnam
Schools: Oglesby High 91951), Southwest Texas State College, University of Texas, San Diego State College (1963)
Date of death: Thursday, December 2, 1965
Death details: On October 10, 1996, the Central Identification Laboratory-Hawaii (CILHI, now DPAA) identified the remains of Lieutenant Commander Gerald Ray Roberts, missing from the Vietnam War. Lieutenant Commander Roberts entered the U.S. Navy from Texas and was a member of Attack Squadron 196, Carrier Air Wing 19. On December 2, 1965, he was the pilot of an A-1A Skyraider (bureau number 139755, call sign “Milestone 612”) leading a formation of aircraft on a bombing mission against enemy targets in North Vietnam. His aircraft crashed for unknown reasons prior to departing the target area, and LCDR Roberts was killed in the incident. The crash site was in Ha Tinh Province where a heavy enemy presence prevented any immediate search and recovery efforts for his remains. In 1993 and 1994, U.S. personnel investigated the crash site and recovered physical evidence and human remains; and in 1996, analysts identified the remains as those of LCDR Roberts. Lieutenant Commander Roberts is memorialized on Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific. His name is also inscribed along with all his fallen comrades on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington, DC.
Source: National Archives, Waco Times Herald ((1965)
