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PO2 Robert H. Holloway

A sailor from Keithsburg, a small Mississippi River town in Illinois. The casualty file lists him as a petty officer second class and aviation ordnanceman (the sailors who load bombs and ammunition onto aircraft) on the carrier USS Hancock, and records his death in an accident on 20 February 1966. The Virtual Wall adds his squadron, Fighter Squadron 211, and his place on the Wall, panel 13E. No photo or story turned up, so the report shows what the official file says and where families usually find more.

What was typed into the search: Robert Holloway · Navy · Vietnam War · Keithsburg, Illinois

Service
U.S. Navy, Vietnam War
Unit
Fighter Squadron 211, USS Hancock (CVA-19)
Conflict
Vietnam War
Hometown
Keithsburg, Illinois
Born
29 December 1942
Died
20 February 1966 (accident)

Summary sources: NARA AAD: his Vietnam casualty record (DCAS) · The Virtual Wall.

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Built only from public records. Family who want this corrected or removed: corrections & takedowns. The full automatic report follows. It is a research summary, not an official record. Lines marked "Likely" are labeled guesses.
Service story · researched from public records

Robert Harry Holloway — Navy, Vietnam War

Born 29 December 1942 · Died 20 February 1966

CONFIRMED

VIETNAM1 RECORD PAGE1 SOURCES CITED
At a glance

Robert Harry Holloway

Confirmed match   ·   Written for family readers — military jargon explained as you go.

Who
Robert Harry Holloway · born 29 December 1942 · died 20 February 1966
Service
Navy · Vietnam War
His job
Petty Officer Second Class — Aviation Ordnanceman (rank and duty as listed in the casualty file)
Where
Keithsburg, Illinois
Most notable moment (from the records):
Died in an accident on 20 February 1966 in South Vietnam, serving with the USS Hancock (CVA-19). Source: the Defense Department casualty file at the National Archives.
Why we matched this record (Confirmed, 115 evidence points)
same last name; first name matches; same branch; record dated 1966, fits the years given; war listed as Vietnam War; home/burial state Illinois matches; home of record city Keithsburg matches; independently corroborated by The Virtual Wall (virtualwall.org); public casualty/death profile matched; unit listed as USS Hancock (CVA-19).

Other records that line up:

Confirmed = an exact identifier matches. Likely = several independent details match. Possible = some details match; needs checking.

01 · Timeline

What the records say, in order

20 February 1966
Died in an accident in South Vietnam (Defense Department casualty file): Petty Officer Second Class, Navy, USS Hancock (CVA-19). from records found CONFIRMED1
Ranks explained

His rank, explained

Each rank in his records, in plain English, with its pay grade and what it usually meant day to day.

PO2 rating badge
Rate / rank

PO2 — Petty Officer Second Class

Pay grade: E-5  ·  Rough Army equivalent: Sergeant

What it meant: Navy non-commissioned officer with a trade, supervising junior sailors.

Appendix · Original documents (archive scans)

Scans from the National Archives. Click to enlarge when viewing in a full browser.

02 · His job, and what that meant there

What someone in his job was likely doing

General descriptions from service manuals and base histories. They describe the typical specialty at that place, not documented personal events. See Ranks explained for badge, pay grade, and suffix decode.

Job code AO

Aviation Ordnanceman

What it meant: This is the duty written in his casualty file.

A typical day (general, not personal): A Navy sailor who loaded, armed and maintained bombs, rockets, guns and ammunition for aircraft.

03 · Units

The units in his records

USS Hancock (CVA-19)

USS Hancock (CV/CVA-19) was one of 24 Essex-class aircraft carriers built during World War II for the United States Navy. Hancock was the fourth US Navy ship to bear the namesake of Founding Father John Hancock, president of the Second Continental Congress and first governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Hancock was commissioned in April 1944 and served in several campaigns in the Pacific Theater of Operations, earning four battle stars.

History (Wikipedia) ↗

Fighter Squadron 211 (VF-211)

No public unit history page found automatically. Unit histories are held by NARA and the service history offices.

Family input

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Notable stories

What the public record says

Robert Holloway in the public record

Official casualty file: Petty Officer Second Class Robert Harry Holloway; Navy; home of record Keithsburg, Illinois; duty: aviation ordnanceman; unit USS Hancock (CVA-19); died 20 February 1966; in South Vietnam; accident. — Vietnam Conflict Extract Data File (DCAS), NARA RG 330

Name on The Wall, panel 13E; unit Fighter Squadron 211 (VF-211), Carrier Air Wing 21, USS Hancock, Task Force 77, 7th Fleet; job code AO2 (aviation ordnanceman 2nd class). — The Virtual Wall (virtualwall.org)

Notable-story text is labeled with sources. Memoir and secondary accounts are marked; primary award citations are preferred when available.

04 · Gaps and next records

What we couldn't find, and how to get it

Most families' searches turn up only part of the story. These free records usually fill in the rest.

1
No VA-maintained burial record found under this name. Private-cemetery government headstones before 1997 are often missing from the VA dataset.
2
Discharge date, decorations and full unit list are in the personnel file (request with SF-180; a DD-214 copy from the family can be decoded here).
NEXT

Ask for his official file (free for family)

Use form SF-180 or the National Archives' online eVetRecs. Give his full name, branch and rough dates. Next of kin (spouse, child, parent, sibling) pay nothing. Files of anyone who left service more than 62 years ago are open to everyone.

Start ↗
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The Wall of Faces

The Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund collects a photo and remembrances for every name on the Wall. Families can add theirs.

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Headstone application

Government headstone applications (NARA, 1925–1963, and later VA files) often give serial, unit and dates.

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05 · Sources
  1. 1 Vietnam Conflict Extract Data File (DCAS), NARA RG 330 — https://aad.archives.gov/aad/record-detail.jsp?dt=2513&mtch=1&cat=all&tf=F&sc=27435,27438,27439,27445,27447,27448,27450,27468,27423&bc=,sl,fd&txt_27438=HOLLOWAY+ROBERT&op_27438=0&nfo_27438=V,40,1900&rpp=200&pg=1&rid=23862
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Not affiliated with the VA, National Archives or Department of Defense. Not an official record, and not for benefits, medals or burial claims. Official copies come from the National Personnel Records Center via SF-180: free to veterans and next of kin, or a $25–$70 copy fee for files over 62 years old. Lines marked "Likely" are labeled guesses.