LT DAVID ALLEN KARDELL

 

31 Jan 2008 David was young, handsome, intelligent, enthusiastic, loved flying and the pursuit of life. He was a member of my wedding party in 1964 at Naval Air Station Miramar when he was assigned to VF-154. He had wonderful parents and a sweet, loving, beautiful fiancee. I have so many wonderful memories of David that it still fills my heart (with tears in my eyes) after 40 plus years - he is still the fun, young man I knew then. His Naval Aviation wings still hang prominently on my military plaque in my study. I continue to miss him. From a friend, David B Davis, II Capt (MC) USNR (Ret) Vietnam 1967-68 dbd21029@comcast.net

 

A Note from The Virtual Wall Lieutenant Kardell in F-8D BuNo 148673 was in a section of F-8Ds providing fighter cover for a flight of A-4s conducting an armed recon mission west of Thanh Hoa, North Vietnam. The A-4s noted a military truck but decided it was too close to a village for a bombing attack and the attack lead asked the F-8s to destroy the truck with cannon fire. Kardell rolled in for a strafing pass but failed to pull out in time - his aircraft impacted in a massive explosion. Since his wingman and the A-4 flight had observed the entire event there was no question that LT Kardell had not ejected before ground impact. He was classed as Killed in Action/Body not Recovered. On 31 July 1989 the North Vietnamese returned 15 boxes of human remains. Box #14 was identified by the Vietnamese as the remains of LCDR James W. Hall, who had gone missing when A-7C BuNo 156775 was shot down on 28 Oct 1972 about 20 kilometers east of where Kardell went in. Forensic examination proved the remains actually were those of LT Kardell, and positive identification was publicly announced on 3 Nov 1989. As matters turned out, LCDR Hall's incorrectly identified remains had been returned on 31 July 1989, but then-current techniques were not adequate for positive identification. During the following decade more advanced techniques were developed and on 14 Mar 2000 the positive identification of LCDR Hall's remains was made public.

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