433rd TFS: Early on the morning of 14 May 1966 a section of F-4C Phantoms from the 433rd Tac Fighter Sqdn took off from Ubon RTAFB for an armed reconnaissance mission near Dong Hoi, just north of the Demilitarized Zone. The two aircraft hit the tanker and headed for their target area. Before actually locating or prosecuting any targets, the wing aircraft (F-4C 64-0760, flown by Capt D. L. King and 1stLt Frank D. Ralston) went down under rather mysterious circumstances. The flight leader saw a "streak of light", suggesting a surface-to-air missile, and heard a garbled call from his wingman - but nothing more. Search and rescue efforts failed to locate either aircraft or crew, and the two men were classed as missing in action.

433rdTFS: On 5 October 1966 four F-4C Phantoms launched from Ubon RTAFB as escorts for two RB-66 electronic warfare aircraft which, in their turn, were supporting a strike on a bridge some 45 miles southwest of Yen Bai, North Vietnam. While orbiting at 30,000 feet in the target area the support package received a MiG warning and at about the same time the Phantom flight lead realized that his #3 aircraft was missing. The #3 aircraft, F-4C tail number 64-0702, was being flown by 1st Lt E. W. Garland and Capt William R. Andrews. Shortly thereafter voice communications were established with Garland and Andrews, who had ejected from their F-4 after it was struck by an Atoll missile fired by a MiG-21. Before search-and-rescue aircraft reached the scene Captain Andrews reported that he had been wounded and was losing consciousness. The 38th ARRS, Det 5, responded with two HH-3E helicopters escorted by A-1 Skyraiders. The first helicopter on-scene, HH-3E tail number 65-12785, was heavily hit by ground fire and was forced to withdraw with one wounded crewmember. The second helicopter, HH-3E tail number 65-12778, also was heavily hit, with two crewmembers wounded, but succeeded in picking up 1st Lt Garland before withdrawing (this aircraft was shot down on 20 Oct 1966 during another SAR effort). No trace of Captain Andrews was found. Andrews was classed as Missing in Action and was twice promoted while in that status. When the POWs were repatriated in 1973 Andrews was not among them, nor did any of the POWs have knowledge of him. The Secretary of the Air Force approved a Presumptive Finding of Death for Lt Col Andrews on 24 Sep 1974, changing his status to Died while Missing/Body not Recovered. On 13 Sep 1990 the Vietnamese turned over human remains that were publicly identified on 11 Dec 1990 as those of William R. Andrews. He was buried with full military honors in Phoenix, Arizona, on 14 February 1991.

433rd TFS, On the night of 26 Jul 1967 a flight of F-4C Phantoms from the 433rd Tactical Fighter Squadron, 8th TFW, Ubon RTAFB, was scheduled for an armed reconnaissance mission along Highway 15 which ran from Laos through the Mu Gia Pass into North Vietnam. The wing position was flown by 1st Lt Richard Brazik and Captain Richard A. Claflin. While operating within North Vietnam about 24 kilometers north-northeast of the pass, the two aircraft encountered a truck convoy and prosecuted the target. 64-0848 exploded in midair as it was making its second pass against the target. While the cause of the explosion was unknown, it was suspected that its own ordnance detonated on release, destroying the aircraft. Although the flight lead initiated search and rescue operations, no contact was made with either crewman. Both men were carried as Missing in Action until the Secretary of the Air Force approved Presumptive Findings of Death for Brazik on 09 Oct 1973 and Claflin on 28 May 1974.

433rd TFS. On 1 March 1969, MAJ Wendell R. Keller, pilot, and 1LT Virgil K. Meroney III, co-pilot, launched as the lead aircraft in a flight of two, call signs "SHERMAN 01" and "SHERMAN 02". The flight was tasked with a Forward Air Controller (FAC), call sign "CANDLESTICK 43", a C123 from Nakhon Phanom Air Base, Thailand. The target was a suspected storage area and vehicles moving through the mountains southwest of the Ban Karai Pass, Khammoune Province, Laos. CANDLESTICK 43 located the target area and the SHERMAN flight began multiple rocket passes on it. Moderate to light ZPU-23 and 37mm anti-aircraft artillery fire was encountered. At about 0145, SHERMAN 02 held high while SHERMAN 01 went down to make their final rocket pass. A few seconds later, SHERMAN 02 observed a large explosion in the target area. SHERMAN 02 immediately attempted to make radio contact his lead but without success. CANDLESTICK 43 initiated electronic and visual search and rescue (SAR) efforts. Neither CANDLESTICK nor SHERMAN 02 observed parachutes or heard emergency beepers or radio calls. Because the area was under total enemy control, no ground search was possible. When formal search efforts were terminated Keller and Meroney were listed Missing in Action. Their last known position was about 12 miles southwest of the Ban Karai Pass.

433rd TFS: . On 12 July 1969 then-Major Paul Bannon and then-1st Lt Peter Pike launched from Ubon RTAFB in F-4D tail number 66-7697 on a Wolf Forward Air Controller mission over the northern part of the Ho Chi Minh Trail in the Laotian pan handle. The target area was covered with low cloud. Major Bannon, finding it impossible to operate below the overcast, advised the airborne control post that he was going to find a hole to climb through enroute to an area with better weather conditions. However, his radio transmission stopped in mid-sentence and the radar return from the Phantom disappeared from the controller's radar scope. The aircraft was known to have gone down in a mountainous area south of Ban Nathon, but search and rescue efforts were severely hampered by bad weather. The SAR forces were unable to locate the F-4's wreckage, nor was voice contact established with either crewman. When the formal SAR effort was terminated both men
were classed as Missing in Action since their was no firm evidence of their deaths

1995

minor injuries

433rd TFS/8th TFW, Gulf of Tonkin 35 M NE of DMZ, NVN, hit and damaged by SAM lust E of Kep AB, Flew out to sea and finally lost control, 2 crew ejected and rescued by USAF helicopter

25th TFS L/C Sharp and Mike, were strike force lead for the Linebacker mission that day.  Their flight had taxied onto the runway.  I was in the flight behind them in the arming area.  They began their takeoff roll and just as they reached abort speed there was a flash and a puff of smoke from under the left wing as the left main tire blew.  They aborted and took the departure end barrier.  HOWEVER, debris from the disintegrating left main wheel had punctured the centerline fuel tank.  As the barrier retracted from its full extension the hot wheel was dragged into a pool of JP-4 with obvious results.  With the left side of the aircraft engulfed in flames the crew egressed over the right side.  Mike was able to go over the intake onto the wing with some protection, and started to run clear.  Brad, who had taken time to shut down the engines, then stood up in the cockpit and had to jump clear, over the flames that were now starting to spread to the right side.  Landing on the hard runway he broke either his leg or ankle, (can't remember which).  Mike looked back, saw him struggling on his hands and knees, and ran back to help him get clear.  By now the flames were engulfing the entire aircraft and about the time the first fire truck arrived the fireworks started.  First the seats cooked off leaving white smoke trails behind them as they shot up several hundred feet.  The fire dept backed off and very shortly the two 2,000 pounders went off low order.  The casing of the left one landed over by the post office.  I can't recall seeing the two Aim-7s cook off, but I'm sure they must have.  Needless to say this shut down all operations for most of the rest of the day.  The linebacker mission was cancelled theater-wide.  I assume the folks from Korat and Udorn were refragged, but don't know.  This destroyed another Pave knife pod and the remaining Nellis pod was dispatched to Ubon, meaning all subsequent Pave knife training was done in-theater.  Brad spent a few days in the Ubon hospital before being medevaced to Clark. His DEROS rolled around before he was released and he PCS'd from there to Ramstein where he was promoted to Colonel and became the USAFE IG.  Mike was awarded the Airman's Medal. 
Tip of the hat to Jim Shaw for the info

497th TFS/8th TFW, 20 M SW of Hue, SVN, F‑4D 66‑8772 was flying lead in LORAN mission information with A‑7Cs 156771 & 156792. Upon dropping bombs one exploded, badly damaging all 3 aircraft. Caught fire, pilot survived, WSO ejected but died of injuries

Rescued
Sgt Richard Williams
Sgt Carl Stevens

16th SOS, Thor, Shot down near Pakse Laos 21 Dec. 1972. About the only things agreed on with respect to the last flight of AC-130A 56-0490 are that it departed Ubon RTAFB on the night of 21/22 Dec 1972 for an armed recon mission over the Ho Chi Minh Trail with 16 men were aboard, that it was shot down, and that two crewmen were recovered alive. According to the POW Network and Task Force Omega (TFO) sites, the aircraft was enroute to its target area when it was hit by enemy fire. It then attempted a return-to-base, remaining in stable flight for about ten minutes before exploding and crashing in flames. According to Hobson's Air Losses in Vietnam, the AC-130A was actively prosecuting a small truck convoy near Ban Laongam when it was hit by 37mm AAA fire, exploded, and crashed. Oddly, the map provided on the TFO site supports Hobson's account rather than the POW Network/TFO account. All sources agree that two men - Sgt Richard Williams and Sgt Carl Stevens - parachuted from the aircraft and were picked up by a USAF HH-53 from the 40th ARRS. The POW and TFO sites both say bloody bandages and five deployed parachutes were sighted in the area (TFO says by a ground team), and both agree that the partial remains of one crewman - Captain Joel Birch - were recovered. The fourteen men not recovered, including Captain Birch, were classed as "Missing in Action". In early 1985 a joint US-Lao team excavated the crash site, recovering numerous small bone fragments. In time, the US Government announced that the recovered materials were sufficient to account for the remaining crewmen. Several of the families involved refused to accept the government's identification of individual human remains, while others did accept the findings. A successful court case temporarily overthrew the USG identifications but was itself overturned on appeal. As matters stand, the US Government considers that the following men died in the crash and that they have been accounted for: