Graham, Gilbert James, SN

This Sailor has an (IMO) In Memory Of Headstone in Carlton Cemetery, Lolo, Montana. 

The U.S. Naval Forces Vietnam command history for September 1967 contains this account of the incident: "During the afternoon of 28 September, PBRs 86 and 100 were investigating sampan traffic in the Cai Coi Canal off of the Mekong River about five miles north of Vinh Long. While in the process of checking a sampan, PBR 100 was ambushed with a B-40 rocket and small arms fire. The PBRs evaded to the west to clear the ambush site. Four Navy UH-1B armed helicopters scrambled to escort the river boats as they transitted back through the enemy positions to reenter the main river. Upon approaching the ambush site, a B-40 rocket struck the lead boat, PBR 100, inside the coxswain's flat and exploded. Three U. S. sailors and one Vietnamese policeman were blown over the side from the explosion, which started a raging fire aboard the craft. PBR 100 went out of control and beached on the south side of the river, where it was completely consumed by fire. Meanwhile, PBR 86 recovered the three U. S. sailors from the water as the overhead helicopters made attacks into the ambush area to drive any looters away from the stricken PBR. The Vietnamese policeman could not be found initially but was later recovered in the main river by a passing sampan. Later that evening, Vietnamese Navy RAG units salvaged two .50 caliber machine guns and one gun mount from the demolished boat. The bodies of Engineman Second Class J. T. MUSETTI, Jr., and Seaman G. J. GRAHAM were not recovered, but a survivor's eyewitness account stated that MUSETTI was cremated aboard the boat, and GRAHAM was not seen after the first explosion. Pending further investigation, both of these men are officially considered missing in action. There were also four sailors wounded in this encounter."