DOB/DOD: August 22, 1932 (Corregidor Island, Philippines) – June 13, 1967; 34 years old
RELIGION: Methodist
MARITAL STATUS: Married Jacinta “Jaya” Martinez (1934-2022) on June 10, 1957, in Boston. Jaya joined the Army Nurse Corps shortly after her husband’s death. She eventually married Reverend James Lupton (1933-2007) in 1969.
COLLEGE: Attended Torres High School in Manila, Philippines. Arrived in the United States in 1950 and attended Western Maryland College (now McDaniel College), Class of 1954. Attended Boston University, Class of 1958. Endorsed as a chaplain by the Methodist Commission on Chaplains and entered the Army as a chaplain in 1960.
SERVICE NUMBER: O-2300900
ENLISTMENT: June 13, 1960. Assigned as the base chaplain at Fort Meade, Maryland, and worked with the 69th Signal Corps there. He was then assigned to Fort Campbell with the 101st Airborne.
MILITARY OCCUPATIONAL SPECIALTY: 75310; Chaplain (Airborne Qualified)
TOUR START DATE: November 6, 1966
UNIT: Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 14th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division
CASUALTY LOCATION: Wounded in Vietnam on May 25, 1967, and died in the base hospital at Clark Air Force Base, Philippines, 19 days later, June 13, 1967.
ON THE WALL: Panel 21E, Line 97
FAMILY: Born to Andres G. (1905-1972) and Primitiva Salazar Grandea (1904-1995). Three brothers, Andres “Samuel” Jr. (1930-1991), David (1938-2015), and Exequiel S. (1943-). Three sisters, Estrella Grandea Ocampo (1935-2010), Rachel “Ray” Grandea Abraham (1936-1972), and Elizabeth “Betty” Grandea Mayonado (1941-).
OTHER: Their father, Andres Grandea Sr., started in the Philippine Scouts as a Major. Transferred to the U.S. Army during World War II and is buried in Arlington National Cemetery. A musical family with all siblings playing either violin or piano. Jerry was also a great singer. Upon Jerry’s death, his father donated a portion of his insurance money to buy property in Cavite City, Philippines.
DECORATIONS: Received the Silver Star Medal, the Army Commendation Medal, and the Purple Heart Medal. In 1972, he was awarded the Hall of Heroes Gold Medal posthumously at the annual banquet of the Chapel of Four Chaplains in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
CIRCUMSTANCES: Attempting to aid men in battle, he was wounded by multiple fragmentation wounds from mortar rounds on Artillery Hill (Hill 54), 18km Northwest of Chu Lai Airfield on May 25, 1967.
Western Maryland University Class of 1953 yearbook
Boston University Class of 1958 yearbook caption (no picture)
From The Evening Sun (Baltimore, MD) on June 7, 1967
By William Burnett
TWO TELEGRAMS COME FROM VIETNAM
A Viet Cong mortar shell has canceled Jaya Grandea’s plans for a November visit to her native Manila, to be reunited with her husband and start a second honeymoon trip back to Baltimore. The message that changed everything for the diminutive Maryland General Hospital nurse had a terrifying start: “The Secretary of the Army has asked me to inform you that your husband was wounded in Vietnam as a result of hostile action.”
Wounded In Both Legs
“He sustained metal fragment wounds to both legs while he was conducting religious services… mortar rounds… hospital… treatment…” But the end was reassuring: “He is not, repeat not, wounded.” For this reason, the popular Jaya, real name Jacinta, was glad the Philippine trip was off.
To Be Flown Back
Her husband, Captain Ambrosio (Jerry) Grandea, a Protestant chaplain who trained in 1965 as a paratrooper at Fort Benning, Georgia, was due to be flown back to either Walter Reed or Bethesda Naval Hospital in the next few weeks. “He’s coming home. He’ll be all right now. I can only say I am happy—so happy,” said the tiny R.N. But two days ago, Jaya’s momentary happiness was dashed again. She received a second telegram from the Army. Captain Grandea has taken a turn for the worse, it said, and now is listed in “critical condition.” Mrs. Grandea now sits and waits, hoping and praying for her husband’s recovery. Mrs. Grandea, 33, who lives with her husband’s parents in the 1200 block of Black Friars Road, Catonsville, said her husband’s letters have indicated that, although he was attached to the 71st Evacuation Hospital in Chu Lai, he was trying to be among American fighting men in action as much as possible. He was recommended for a Silver Star, she said, after one exchange of gunfire in which he raced to a wounded man without regard for flying bullets. He called his expeditions with fighting units “humping the jungle with the troops,” she said, but at one point wrote a weary “I wish to God that the war would stop right now.”
Born On Corregidor
Captain Grandea, 34, was born on Corregidor and was living there when the Japanese overran that stronghold and Bataan. His father, Andres, was a member of the Philippine Scouts during World War II and later moved to Baltimore to become an accountant. The elder Grandea, now retired, is a lay leader of Wesley Methodist Church. Captain Grandea was educated at Western Maryland College and the Boston University School of Theology. It was while studying in Boston that he met Jaya, then in training at Boston Lying-In Hospital. They were married in 1957. After serving as minister at two churches in New Hampshire, Jerry Grandea joined
the Army in 1960 and was stationed in Germany during the Berlin crisis of 1962. He left Baltimore for Vietnam last November after preaching a sermon at Wesley Methodist. He is a member, however, of the North Avenue Methodist Church. In his first letter to Jaya after he was
wounded, Captain Grandea used his customary salutation, “My dearest darling.” In longhand obviously made less legible by pain, he stated simply: “I was wounded by shrapnel. No big
thing. Cracked the fibula, so I’m being sent to Japan. Do not worry. Do not cry. The Lord has been so good to us. I love you so much. Jerry.”
Citation to accompany the award of the Silver Star Medal
AWARDED FOR ACTIONS
DURING the Vietnam War
Service: Army
Rank: Captain
Battalion: 1st Battalion
Division: 14th Infantry Division
GENERAL ORDERS:
Headquarters, 14th Infantry Division, General Orders No. 3079 (September 23, 1967)
The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress July 9, 1918 (amended by an act of July 25, 1963), takes pride in presenting the Silver Star (Posthumously) to Captain (Chaplain) Ambrosio Salazar Grandea (ASN: 0-2300900), United States Army, for gallantry in action while engaged in military operations against an armed hostile force in the Republic of Vietnam. On 6 May 1967, Chaplain Grandea distinguished himself while accompanying Company A, 1st Battalion, 14th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Division on a search and destroy operation near Thanh Hoa. One platoon of the company had been receiving devastating and accurate automatic and small arms fire from enemy forces to the front and flanks, which wounded several men. Chaplain Grandea was with the Command Group when the firing started. As he heard the cries of “medic,” he left the Command Group, which was not receiving fire, and crawled forward to the wounded soldiers. Paying no heed to the heavy volume of fire being directed at the platoon by enemy troops both on the ground and in the trees, Chaplain Grandea moved to each of the wounded and assisted the medics in the administration of first aid. Shouting words of encouragement not only to the stricken men but also to those repelling the attack, he inspired the men of the platoon to fight with renewed vigor and determination. Chaplain Grandea’s courageous actions were in large part responsible for the defeat of the enemy. His unselfish gallantry is in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflects great credit upon himself, his unit, and the United States Army.
From vvmf.org
Courtesy of Exequiel Salazar Grandea:
I want to add to my niece’s description of my late brother’s biography – Chaplain (Major) Ambrosio Salazar Grandea, United States Army, was awarded the Silver Star for Bravery and Valor when he pulled wounded soldiers to safety while under heavy fire in Chu Lai Province. This was two weeks before he was injured by a booby trap that eventually caused him to lapse into a coma three days after the event, and then to his succumbing to those injuries twenty days later in his native land of the Philippines at Clark Air Base. The Department of Defense stated at that time that “Chaplain Grandea’s weakened condition contributed to his demise.”
From “Confidence In Battle, Inspiration In Peace; The United States Army Chaplaincy 1945-1975”
Chaplain Ambrosio Salazar Grandea, Methodist, had moved with his parents from his home in the Philippines Islands to the United States at the age of 18. During postgraduate work at Boston University, he had served a church in New Hampshire before entering the Army in 1960. Arriving in Vietnam in November 1966, he was conducting a worship service for men of the 4th Infantry Division on 25 May 1967 when he was wounded by an enemy mortar round. After treatment in Vietnam, he was evacuated to a hospital at Clark Air Force Base in the Philippines. There, near his birthplace, Chaplain Grandea died only a few days later on 13 June 1967. The chaplain’s wife, Mrs. Jacinta Grandea, working as a nurse in Baltimore, Maryland, had first been informed that his wounds were slight, but each new message carried reports of the growing seriousness of his condition. At her own expense, she left for the Philippines to be with him, but was stopped while changing planes in San Francisco by an officer who informed her of her husband’s death. Six months later, 2 days before Christmas, Mrs. Grandea participated in a dual ceremony at Fort Meade, Maryland, after receiving the posthumous awards of her husband’s
Silver Star and Purple Heart, she was sworn in as an Army nurse. Mrs. Grandea volunteered with the stipulation that she be sent to Vietnam. “We are engaged in a tough war in Vietnam,” she said. “All of us have to do our little bit to end the task with success and honor.”
The road leading to the Base Chapel on Fort Meade, Maryland, is named in his honor.
Buried in Arlington National Cemetery, 1 Memorial Drive, Arlington, Virginia; Section 2, Grave E-186-1. Picture courtesy of ancexplorer.army.mil.
END