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Thomas Hugh Amos
Major
35TH TAC FTR SQDN, 366TH TAC FTR WING, 7TH AF United States Air Force Republic, Missouri September 25, 1940 to June 23, 1976 (Incident Date April 20, 1972) THOMAS H AMOS is on the Wall at Panel W1, Line 4 |
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MAJ THOMAS HUGH AMOS
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Major Thomas H. Amos was Missing In Action since 1972. His F-4D Phantom was shot down while escorting an AC-130 on 20 April, 1972 near the Laos/Vietnam border. An accidental discovery by locals in 1989 led to the recovery of Major Amos's dog tags and partial remains. These were returned and buried on Saturday November 6, 1999 in Springfield Missouri with full military honors. In the spring of 2000, the remaining remains, along with those of his F-4D back seater, Mason I. Burnham, will be sent to Arlington National Cemetery for burial. Completing the circle of the POW/MIA bracelet, I returned mine to his daughter at the funeral for a true American Hero.
Rusty |
A Note from The Virtual WallThe United States beefed up its deployable forces in response to the Spring Offensive, particularly its air assets. The 35th Tactical Fighter Squadron, part of the 3rd TFW based at Kunsan AB, South Korea, was sent to Danang on 03 April 1972. For obvious reasons, the 35th's aircrews were integrated with the combat experienced aircrews from the 366th TFW's F-4 squadrons until the 35th learned the lay of the land.One such mission was flown on the night of 19/20 April, when Captain Thomas A. Amos of the 35th TFS teamed with Captain Mason I. Burnham of the 421st TFS to fly a mission in support of an AC-130 strike. The two men were in a 421st TFS F-4D, tail number 65-0602. The mission area was in the SVN/Laotian border area about 15 miles west of Kham Duc. The AC-130 crew identified a suitable target for the F-4, which then called in on the target. The AC-130 crewmen saw a large fireball on the ground and could not raise the F-4 by radio. Although search-and-rescue efforts continued for three days, neither crew nor wreckage were located. Both men were placed in MIA status, and both eventually were declared dead - Burnham on 27 March 1975 and Amos on 23 June 1976. As noted above villagers located the crash site and first turned over aircrew-related items in 1993. Joint US/VN excavations were conducted on several occasions between 1994 and 1998 and succeeded in recovering the mortal remains of Thomas Amos and Mason Burnham. |
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