SP4 Richard N. Robey

Killed in Action July 4, 1967

SP4 Richard N. Robey, 3rd Platoon D Company 39th Eng Bn
July 4th 1967, Duc Pho RVN

Rick was from Spencerville Ohio, 20 years old, a truck driver for my
platoon.  We were on a mine sweep just North of Duc Pho and Rick was
operating a mine detector when a explosion occured on his hip.  Fragments
tore off his leg and much of his hip.  He was alive and talking to us as we
put him on the chopper.  His last words to us was "Tell my mother I love
her."  He was a great worker and soldier.  His name is on panel 23E Line 7
up at the top.  His memory lives on with me.

1st Lt. Jim Shamblen

The circumstances are still unclear as to how Dixon and Robey
died on that road that day. But DeMartini recalls that one of the
doctors in the morgue pointed out that Dixon died from a shrap-
nel wound that pierced his heart. “It was a tiny hole in his chest,”
DeMartini recalled.
And there still remains the question of how the two men were
killed. “I believe a Vietcong sniper ambushed them,” Realme, a
crane operator who served alongside Dixon before and during
their time in Vietnam, speculated recently. “The 137th had its 40th
reunion at Junction City, Kansas on July 4, 2005, and Cecil Dixon
along with our other brothers who paid the ultimate price were
honored.”
Several months after Dixon and Robey were killed, investigators
talked with Shamblen about the incident. Intelligence was point-
ing toward a Russian sawhorse gun that was being tested by the
Communists at that time. Speculation was that a sniper using the
weapon probably hit one of the four grenades Robey was carrying
that day. Something did explode on his right hip, and no one be-
lieves it was a land-mine.
“Rich had a few hand grenades on his web belt, as we all did,”
Daniels said. “We all were a bit puzzled as to what exactly hap-
pened to Rich. Something set off one of his grenades.”
For Shamblen, Robey’s death still haunts him, but he did eventually
find the man’s family to explain what happened to the Spencers-
ville, Ohio-native on July 4, 1967

 
ON THE WALL: Panel 23E Line 7
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PERSONAL DATA:
  Home of Record: Spencerville, OH
  Date of birth: 12/22/1946
MILITARY DATA:
  Service Branch: Army of the United States
  Grade at loss: E4
  Rank: Specialist Four
Promotion Note: None
  ID No: 52669152
  MOS or Specialty: 12B20: Combat Engineer
  Length Service: 01
  Unit: 3RD PLT, D CO, 39TH ENG BN, 45TH ENG GROUP, 18TH ENG BDE, USARV
CASUALTY DATA:
  Start Tour: 02/02/1967
  Incident Date: 07/04/1967
  Casualty Date: 07/04/1967
  Age at Loss: 20
  Location: Quang Ngai Province, South Vietnam
  Remains: Body recovered
  Casualty Type: Hostile, died outright
  Casualty Reason: Ground casualty
  Casualty Detail: Multiple fragmentation wounds


Also on Find-A-Grave  https://findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=27086579