Obituary: CDR Robert “Bob” S. Fant Jr. (Ret.)

Clemson Resident and Navy Veteran Who Survived Years as POW in Vietnam Dies at 87

CLEMSON, S.C. — Commander Robert "Bob" S. Fant Jr., a retired U.S. Navy officer whose plane was shot down during the Vietnam War and who spent nearly five years as a prisoner of war, died June 1, 2026, at the age of 87.

Fant was born in Anderson, S.C., the son of Robert S. Fant and Jeanne Gandy Fant. A graduate of Anderson Boys High School, he earned the rank of Eagle Scout before enrolling at Clemson University, where he joined the class of 1960, majored in forestry, and served as a football manager.

After college, he worked briefly for the U.S. Forest Service in Wyoming before commissioning into the Navy. His early career included assignments aboard destroyers and in aviation. In 1968, by then a lieutenant, Fant was serving with a fighter squadron aboard the aircraft carrier USS America when it deployed to Vietnam.

His aircraft was shot down, and he was captured and held as a prisoner of war for nearly five years. Following his release in 1973, he married his fiancée, Rebecca Otts of Virginia Beach, Va. He returned to naval service and continued his career until retiring from active duty in 1980 at the rank of commander.

Fant and his family later settled in Maine, where he worked as a survival training specialist for the Navy in Brunswick until 1998, drawing on his own experiences as a POW to instruct other aviators. The couple eventually moved to Clemson, S.C., though they maintained a lakeside cottage in Maine and split time between the two places in retirement.

In later years, Fant and his wife relocated to the Clemson Downs Retirement Community. He was a member of Fort Hill Presbyterian Church, the Clemson Alumni Association, the Tiger Letterwinners Association, the Association of Baptists for Scouting, and the Military Officers Association of America.

He is survived by his wife, Becky; three children, Chris Fant of Los Angeles, Emily Fant-Nelson of Topsham, Maine, and David Fant of Nashville, Tenn.; and one grandson, Coan Fant-Nelson.

A service is scheduled for Saturday, July 11, 2026, at 2 p.m. at Fort Hill Presbyterian Church, with the family receiving guests afterward until 3:30 p.m. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Boy Scouts of America Blue Ridge Council, Fort Hill Presbyterian Church, or the Brunswick Naval Aviation Museum. Online condolences may be submitted through the McDougald Funeral Home website.