The Wall › Panel 5W › Pennsylvania › Robert Joseph Acalotto
ROBERT JOSEPH ACALOTTO
Staff Sergeant · U.S. Army
January 30, 1951 – February 20, 1971
Service recordRobert Joseph Acalotto, of Greensburg, Pennsylvania, served as a Staff Sergeant in the U.S. Army. He was lost on February 20, 1971, in Laos, and was later declared dead. His name is inscribed on Panel 5W, Line 122 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On the Wall
Panel 5W · Line 122
Names are inscribed in the order of loss, starting at Panel 1E at the apex and ending at Panel 1W. At the Memorial, find the panel number at the base and count down from the top line.
Remember
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Service
- Branch
- U.S. Army
- Rank
- Staff Sergeant (SSG)
- Service
- Regular
- Unit (as recorded)
- 1 AVN BDE
- Born
- January 30, 1951
- Home of record
- Greensburg, Pennsylvania (Westmoreland County)
Casualty
- Date of loss
- February 20, 1971
- Country
- Laos
- Casualty type
- Hostile
- Category
- Declared Dead
- Circumstance
- Helicopter Crash — crew
- First reported
- Missing in action
- Remains
- Not recovered as of the 2008 DoD record
Context · from the records
What was happening
23 names on the Wall carry the date February 20, 1971. In February 1971, 387 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.
The 1st Aviation Brigade, his unit in the record, lost 23 of its members that month.
He died in Laos while Operation Lam Son 719 was under way. In Lam Son 719 (February–March 1971), South Vietnamese troops drove into Laos to cut the Ho Chi Minh Trail, carried and supported by U.S. helicopters and aircraft; more than 100 U.S. helicopters were lost.
His remains had not been recovered when the 2008 record was compiled. The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency continues to search for Americans still missing from the war; families can find case information through dpaa.mil.
Read the history
Also on Panel 5W, Line 122
- ROY MILTON SMITHSpecialist Four · February 19, 1971
- JAMES EDWARD TUCKER JRCorporal · February 19, 1971
- FRANCISCO NEVARES VALDEZPrivate First Class · February 19, 1971
- CLAYTON LEON WOODSSpecialist Four · February 19, 1971
Same unit, same day
- RANDOLPH LEROY JOHNSONSergeant First Class · Panel 5W, Line 124
- DAVID MURRAY MAYCaptain · Panel 5W, Line 125
- JON ERIC REIDChief Warrant Officer 3 · Panel 5W, Line 126
From Greensburg
- EDWARD JOHN GINTERSpecialist Four · February 26, 1967
- ROBERT EARL STAUFFERSergeant · June 20, 1967
- TIMOTHY MORGAN DICKCorporal · December 11, 1967
- JOHN MICHAEL GALATAPrivate First Class · January 6, 1968
- RICHARD IVORY CULLENSergeant · May 23, 1968
- CHARLES KENTON BURKART JRLance Corporal · June 22, 1968
- VINCENT PISCAR JRLance Corporal · July 19, 1968
- GEORGE ROBERT GARRISPrivate · March 15, 1969
- FRED DEAN HIGHBERGER JRSergeant · October 26, 1969
- MICHAEL STEPHEN HRUTKAYPrivate First Class · November 8, 1969
Source. U.S. Department of Defense, Defense Casualty Analysis System, Vietnam Conflict Extract Data File (as of April 29, 2008), Records of the Office of the Secretary of Defense, Record Group 330, National Archives (NAID 2240992). Panel and line as recorded in that file. This page presents the official record and its historical context; no biography has been written for him yet. See something wrong? Report a correction.