| Date: 8 February 1968 |
| Aircraft type: A-1H Skyraider |
| Serial Number: 52-135043 |
| Military Unit: 1 ACS, 56 ACW |
| Service: USAF |
| Home Base: Nakhon Phanom |
| Name(s): |
| Maj Robert Granthan Lapham (KIA) |
| The pressure on Khe Sanh continued despite almost continuous air strikes by B-52 and tactical aircraft. A new and worrying development was the employment of tanks by the North Vietnamese. Three tanks had been seen near the recently captured Special Forces camp at Lang Vei, about five miles southwest of Khe Sanh and practically on the border with Laos. Maj Lapham, along with three other Skyraider pilots, fought through intense anti-aircraft fire to attack the tanks with napalm. On its second pass, Maj Lapham’s aircraft (call sign Hobo 1) was hit by ground fire and crashed before the pilot could escape. Robert Lapham was posthumously award the Silver Star for his courage in the face of huge odds. The serial 52-135043 may be incorrect as this belongs to an A-1G. In 2003 Maj Lapham’s ID tag was found during a survey of the presumed crash site. Over the next four years several excavations took place during which wreckage, personal equipment and human remains were recovered. The remains were identified through dental records and other evidence as being those of Maj Lapham and were buried in Arlington National Cemetery in October 2007. |
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