Robert Wesley Gilardi

Korean War
Service #021766
Unit312 MAR ATK SQ 12 MAR AIR GP
RankMajor U.S. Marine Corps
Date of DeathJanuary 6 1952
StatusMissing In Action
Memorialized
Courts of the Missing
Court
8
Air Medal
Combat Action Ribbon (Navy)
Distinguished Flying Cross
Korean Service Medal
National Defense Service Medal
Prisoner of War Medal
Purple Heart
Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation
Republic of Korea War Service Medal
United Nations Service Medal
For his leadership and valor, Major Gilardi was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Air Medal with Gold Star, the Purple Heart, the Combat Action Ribbon, the Prisoner of War Medal, the Korean Service Medal, the United Nations Service Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Korean Presidential Unit Citation and the Republic of Korea War Service Medal.
Notes
Major Gilardi was the pilot of a F4U-4B Corsair fighter with the Marine Fighter Squadron 312, Marine Air Group 12, 1st Marine Air Wing. On January 1, 1952, while on a combat mission near Chorwon, Korea, his aircraft received a direct hit by anti-aircraft fire and caught fire. He bailed out and was taken Prisoner of War. He died while a prisoner on January 6, 1952. His remains were not recovered. His name is inscribed on the Courts of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial.