HONORED ON PANEL 3W, LINE 118 OF THE WALL
ROBERT JOHN DI PIETRO
WALL NAME
ROBERT J DI PIETRO
PANEL / LINE
3W/118
DATE OF BIRTH
CASUALTY PROVINCE
DATE OF CASUALTY
HOME OF RECORD
COUNTY OF RECORD
STATE
BRANCH OF SERVICE
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REMEMBRANCES
LEFT FOR ROBERT JOHN DI PIETRO
POSTED ON 3.15.2023
POSTED BY: [email protected]
Ground Casualty
SP4 Robert J. Di Pietro was a Finance Specialist serving with the 23rd Administration Company, Americal Division. Working in payroll, his duties included record keeping and organizing and distributing pay to Americal personnel. On July 18, 1971, a Sunday, Di Pietro was recreational swimming with other U.S. servicemen at Chu Lai Beach in Quang Tin Province, RVN. Some swimmers, including Di Pietro, were diving into the waves as they came in. Inexplicably, Di Pietro made a miscalculation as he lunged into the next wave, striking the bottom, and damaging his C5 cervical vertebrae. He was carried out if the surf and placed in an ambulance and admitted to the 91st Evacuation Hospital at Chu Lai. There Di Pietro received a grim prognosis: the compression fracture he sustained was causing total paralysis of his wrists, hands, trunk, and legs. He had little time to fully comprehend the new future he faced as a quadriplegic when a urinary tract infection set in. Nine days after being injured, medical staff were unable to halt septicemia (blood poisoning), and Di Pietro expired at 7:35 PM on July 29, 1971. He was twenty-four years old. [Taken from coffeltdatabase.org and information provided by Richard J. Penna (March 2023)]
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POSTED ON 3.5.2023
POSTED BY: [email protected]
SP4 Robert J. Di Pietro’s Military ID Card
POSTED ON 4.30.2022
POSTED BY: John Fabris
honoring you...
Thank you for your service to our country so long ago sir. The remembrances from Michael Cutajar are touching. As long as you are remembered you will remain in our hearts forever…..
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POSTED ON 3.4.2022
POSTED BY: Just Someone Who Served With Bob
We served together in Chu Lai
I remember Bob. We served together in 23 Infantry Finance. I remember his dream was to save his money to buy a new Audi when he got back home. He always kept a picture of it with him. I volunteered to go with the 196th when they moved north to DaNang. Bob decided to stay in Chu Lai. Still remember the day we got the message that he had died. RIP.
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