Joe Crecca was a USAF F-4C Phantom pilot who served during the Vietnam War and was shot down by a Surface-to-Air Missile (SAM) while on a deep strike to a target very near the capitol city of Hanoi on November 22, 1966. Joseph Grainger: USAID civilian captured 8 Aug 64. The documents below are PDF's of computer print-outs of Navy and Marine Corps Aircraft Losses in Southeast Asia. The original records are held by the Marine Corps History Division. Crash Location: Xom Thong Xoai. The listings are arranged using different subject matter as the primary source for sorting. The following article was published in the San Diego Union Tribune by John Wilkens on January 8, 2017 about the last pilots to die in Vietnam:. 28 NOV 67. Prior to 1957, there were three XH-40 prototypes and six YH-40 test helicopters manufactured. In total, the U.S lost 3,374 fixed wing aircraft in combat during the war; in both North and South Vietnam. The most prominent name on the civilian list was that of Philip W. Manhard of McLean, Va., a 52‐year‐old career diplomat, who was taken prisoner in Hue, South Vietnam… Wise and Ensch, good friends from the war, took a tour of the ready room, where they spent much of their time on the Midway , and visited with other friends they had made during the war. John Graf: USN Lt Cmdr, shot down 15 Nov 69 over South Vietnam. By Pierre Kosmidis. 155495 was shot down on 7 June 1970. Gary D Barnhill Pilot Status: Rescued EWO: EWO Status: Tail Number: 610189 Date Lost: 9/16/1965 Country: N Viet Model: F105D Base/Squadron: Korat 67 Mission: Strike Target: SAM Site 5 N Thanh Hoa Cause: Guns Where Lost: 14 NE Thanh Hoa Bridge Pilot: Maj. Raymond James Merritt Pilot … Between January and July, U.S. Air Force fighters flying air-to-air missions shot down 29 MiGs while losing just two of their own—a 14.5-1 kill ratio. Pilots lost control in low clouds during a night flare mission. History remembers them as the last two American pilots to die in Vietnam, killed when their Marine Corps helicopter went into the South China Sea during the frantic evacuation of Saigon on April 29, 1975. Binh Duong Province. Pilot captured with Graf reported Graf attempted escaped in late Jan 1970. After licking their wounds, North Vietnamese pilots again began challenging American aviators in late April, but as the fighting intensified in May, it became apparent that they would not succeed. B/2/20 ARA #63-08597 A/C was shot down and after it hit exploded into flames. Crash Location: Near an island in the Mekong River, five miles northeast of Vinh Long. Days later the main cabin section washed on the beach, a short distance south of Chu Lai. SP4 John C. Hughes [G] 1 injured. Killed in Hueys - 1,151 pilots and 1,231 non-pilot crew members (we do not have a good count on Vietnamese). William Reeder Jr., who served two tours in Vietnam as a U.S. Army pilot, was shot down on May 9, 1972, while flying a mission in a Bell AH-1 Cobra helicopter. Total helicopter pilots killed in the Vietnam War was 2,165. Total non-pilot crew members was 2,712. 23 NOV 67. According to the North Vietnamese, 31% were shot down by S-75 missiles (1,046 aircraft, or 6 missiles per one kill); 60% were shot down by anti-aircraft guns; and 9% were shot down by MiG fighters. Believed to have been killed in that attempt. He barely survived a forced march along the Ho Chi Minh Trail, only to become a prisoner in Hanoi. Mr. Crecca was a POW for the next six years and three months until his repatriation on February 18, 1973. SGT Sam Tenorio [G] 2 injured. Both Aircrew members ejected and were rescued; 155394 was shot down on 29 October 1971. Pilot was Killed In-Action, Copilot ejected and was rescued; 155497 was shot down on 29 September 1970. 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