Robert David Rudolph

Vietnam War
UnitLight Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron 63
RankLieutenant Junior Grade U.S. Navy
Entered Service FromEncino California
Date of DeathSeptember 8 1965
StatusRecovered
Memorialized
Courts of the Missing
Court
B
Notes
Lieutenant Junior Grade Rudolph, U.S. Naval Reserve, was a member of Light Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron 63 aboard the aircraft carrier USS ORISKANY (CVA-34). On September 8, 1965, he was the pilot of a Vought Crusader Reconnaissance Fighter (RF-8A) on a combat photo mission to locate surface to air missile sites north of Thanh Hoa, North Vietnam when his aircraft was hit by ground fire and crashed. His remains were recovered on December 15, 1988 and identified on March 13, 1989. His name is inscribed on the Courts of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial.
rosetta medal
When an individual’s remains have been accounted for by the U.S. Department of Defense, a rosette is placed next to the name on the Wall/Tablet/Court of the Missing to mark that the person now rests in a known gravesite.