Robert Steven McBeth

Robert Steven McBeth grew up in Des Moines and graduated from Lincoln High School in the class of 1966. He joined the Marine Corps and trained as a mortarman. Upon deploying to Southeast Asia LCPL McBeth was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 5th Marines in the 1st Marine Division. In September 1967 his unit participated in Operation Swift. During the operation 127 Americans were killed, including LCPL McBeth. During the particular engagement in which he was killed, 15 other Marines and 2 Navy Corpsmen were killed on September 6, 1967. McBeth was 19 years old at the time of his death. The young Iowan’s body was returned to the United States and buried at the Glendale Cemetery in Des Moines.