12 Nov 2006 Colonel Ford was like my military dad. I was responsible for his A-1 aircraft and ground support as a Spad team member with the 6th ACS. From his crew chief. E-mail address is not available.

 

A Note from The Virtual Wall According to Hobson's "Vietnam Air Losses", LtCol Ford was flying A-1H tail number 52-137620 when he was shot down about 15 miles west of Tam Ky in Quang Tin Province - but the casualty file says LtCol Ford died in Quang Tri Province, well to the north of Tam Ky. LtCol Ford was graduated from the US Military Academy with the Class of 1949, taking his commission in the Air Force. He is buried at West Point in Site 155, Section VII, of the US Military Academy Cemetery. The A-1 Skyraider was developed by the Navy during World War II but didn't enter fleet service until after the war ended. It served very well as a ground attack aircraft in Korea and had a well-earned reputation as a sturdy, reliable aircraft capable of carrying a wide range of ordnance and was still in Navy service in the 1960s. As Vietnam heated up the Air Force recognized the value of the "Spad" and obtained a number of aircraft from the Navy. USAF A-1 training was conducted at Hurlburt Field, part of the Eglin AFB complex in the Florida panhandle. The photo below is of class "Express 12": Back row: Capt John V. Duell; Maj John P. O'Gorman; Capt Donny D. Clemens; unknown; Capt John R. Gearhart; Maj Wallace A. Ford. Front row: Capt Oliver C. Chase; unknown; Capt Paul T. McClellan; Capt J.B. Ledbetter; unknown. Not pictured: Capt R. V. Arbuckle; Capt Don R. Hood; and Capt William H. Kyle. Four men from Express 12 died in Vietnam: Capt Oliver C. Chase, 1st ACS, A-1E 52-131414, Binh Dinh Province, 22 Jul 1965 Capt Don R. Hood, 602nd Ftr Sqdn, A-1E 52-132593, Binh Dinh Province, 02 Oct 1965 Capt Paul T. McClellan, 1st ACS, A-1E 52-132898, Pleiku Province, 14 Nov 1965 LtCol Wallace A. Ford, 606th ACS, A-1H 52-137620, Quang Tri Province, 24 May 1968 Captain McClellan was shot down while supporting the 1st Bn, 7th Cavalry during the fight at Landing Zone X-Ray ("We Were Soldiers"); his body was not recovered. Perhaps oddly, more Air Force than Navy pilots died flying the Skyraider in Vietnam; as the Air Force increased its inventory of A-1s the Navy phased the aircraft out of service - it was judged not survivable in the much higher threat areas of North Vietnam where the Navy was flying.

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