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Casualty Info
Home Town Norristown
Last Address England AFB, Louisiana (home base) Da Nang AB, Vietnam (TDY base)
Casualty Date Feb 19, 1965
Cause MIA-Finding of Death
Reason Air Loss, Crash - Land
Location Quang Nam (Vietnam)
Conflict Vietnam War
Location of Interment Alexandria Memorial Gardens - Alexandria, Louisiana
He was shot down while on a combat mission over Laos.
The location of his remains is unknown.
His AF Cross citation: Awarded for actions during the Vietnam War
The President of the United States of America, authorized by Title 10, Section 8742, United States Code, takes pride in presenting the Air Force Cross (Posthumously) to Major Robert Francis Ronca (AFSN: 0-41457), United States Air Force, for extraordinary heroism in military operations against an opposing armed force as Pilot of an F-100 Aircraft of the 613th Tactical Fighter Squadron, DaNang Air Base, Vietnam, in action in Southeast Asia on 19 February 1965. On that date, Major Ronca led an air strike on an objective of extreme importance. After aggressively attacking the target on the first pass, Major Ronca's aircraft was severely damaged by the intense ground fire. Realizing the importance of totally destroying his objective, Major Ronca, with complete disregard for his own safety, reassured his flight that he could continue the mission and did aggressively lead a second attack. Although his aircraft was critically damaged, a determined attack was successfully completed resulting in heavy damages to the opposing forces before his crippled aircraft crashed into the target area. Through his extraordinary heroism, superb airmanship, and aggressiveness in the face of hostile forces, Major Ronca reflected the highest credit upon himself and the United States Air Force.