Robert C. Healey, Jr. was born on December 20, 1949 to Mr. and Mrs. Robert Healey. His home of record is Trenton, NJ. He attended Reynolds Junior High School, entered the Job Corps and enlisted in the Marines when he was 17.
He served in the US Marine Corps and attained the rank of Private First Class (PFC). Robert began his tour of duty on February 28, 1968 with the 7th Marine Division.
Healey was killed in action on April 13, 1968 in Thua Thien, South Vietnam. According to the Defense Department, Healey braved a hail of enemy machine gun fire in an attempt to rescue a Vietnamese baby from an endangered village. He was just 18 at the time of his death. He had only been in Vietnam for five weeks. In his last letter home, he asked his parents to send a box of fruit that he could distribute to Vietnamese children.
Besides his parents he was survived by three brothers, John J., Leroy U. and Patrick K, and four sisters, Bettyjean A., Mrs. Marie Ownes, Mrs. Mary Stopkowicz and Mrs. Gail Dionne. Robert Healey is buried at Greenwood Cemetery in Trenton, NJ. He is honored at the Mercer County Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Central Mercer County Park located in Princeton Junction, NJ.
Source: NJVVMF, newspapers and various websites, Photo from VVMF.
12/17/2024
