THE WALL OF FACES

Thank you for your service to our country so long ago sir. The remembrances from June Fremont who wears your MIA bracelet are touching. It remains my fervent hope you will be returned home after the passage of so many years.

Fireman Apprentice Robert James Cordova, Served aboard the USS Valley Forge, Task Force 76 (TF-76), 7th Fleet.

Dear FA Robert Cordova,
Thank you for your service as a Fireman Apprentice. Today is your 50th anniversary, which was also the day my grandmother passed. Say hi to her, she is Civ. You are still MIA. PLEASE COME HOME.
It is so important for us all to acknowledge the sacrifices of those like you who answered our nation's call. Please watch over America, it stills needs your strength, courage and faithfulness. Rest in peace with the angels.

FA Robert J. Cordova was a Fireman Apprentice serving on the amphibious assault ship USS Valley Forge (LPH-8). At about 1915 hours on January 27, 1968, FA Cordova was observed leaping overboard from the ship. Flashlights, flares, life rings, and life jackets were dropped into the water. All engines of the ship were stopped when the incident occurred, and the area of Cordova’s disappearance was easily localized. He was seen to surface and go under a second time. LCPL John R. Nance jumped into the water in an unsuccessful attempt to rescue the man. He saw Cordova hook an arm through a life ring and get a firm hold. LCPL Nance was separated from Cordova by a swell and was picked up by a rescue helicopter or the motor whaleboat launched to assist in the rescue attempt. An empty life ring, believed to be the one seized earlier by Cordova, was seen about 15 feet from where Nance was taken from the water. An extensive search, expanded quickly by other small boats from the attack transport ship USS Navarro, was terminated at 2300 hours. When no trace of Cordova was found, he was declared Killed in Action/Body Not Recovered. Cordova was from Boys Town in Grand Junction, CO, arriving there March 31, 1960. He graduated from Boys Town High School and left Boys Town on May 30, 1965. In addition to his academic studies, he learned the ceramics trade, and was active in Scouting. In 1972, it was reported that 13 Boys Town Alumni had given their lives for their country in the Vietnam conflict. [Taken from coffeltdatabase.org and pownetwork.org]

It is almost 15 years since my first post here. I still wear your bracelet. I still think of you everyday and of the sacrifice you made for your country. I will continue to wear your bracelet until my own death or you are returned. It will be passed down to one of my daughters when I die if you have not returned home.