09 Nov 2005 Date of Loss: 12/29/1967 Remains Identified: 10/18/1995 Before joining the Air Force, Bill was in the Army and served with the Old Guard at The Tomb of The Unknown Soldier. He was a friend, neighbor, fellow Vet, and above all - a great guy. He was laid to rest where his military career began ... in Arlington National Cemetery, December of 1996. Rest in peace, my friend. You are dearly missed. Mick Powner Santa Rosa, California mpowner@sonic.net

 

14 Mar 2007 Rest in peace, brother, and welcome home. From a fellow commando, maybe a cousin, and certainly a brother in arms. Joseph D. Potter (12th ACS 1966 TSN AB RVN) RR #2 Caledonia, Nova Scotia, Canada B0T 1B0 ranchhand66@hotmail.con

 

A Note from The Virtual Wall The 606th Air Commando Squadron at Nakon Phanom RTAFB (NKP) operated the A-26A Invader in an interdiction role against the Ho Chi Minh Trail. On 29 Dec 1967 A-26A tail number 64-17641 launched from NKP for a night mission along the trail. The crew was attacking a convoy about 35 miles southwest of Khe Sanh when, on its fourth pass, it was hit by 37mm AAA fire and crashed in flames. There was no indication that any of the crewmen had escaped before ground impact and search and rescue efforts were fruitless. Since there was the possibility that one or more had escaped, all three aircrew were classed as "Missing in Action" and remained in that status until the Secretary of the Air Force approved Presumptive Findings of Death in each case. The three were Captain Carlos R. Cruz, Arroyo, PR, pilot (PFoD 07/19/1976) Captain William J. Potter, Ambridge, PA, navigator (PFoD 04/28/1978) A1C Paul L. Foster, Knoxville, TN, crew chief (PFoD 08/12/1975) The wreckage was investigated and human remains repatriated on 17 March 1993. Positive identification of the three men was announced on 18 Oct 1995.

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