Dotson, Jefferson Scott, Capt

On 9 August 1969, Capt. Laurent L. "Lee" Gourley, pilot; and then 1st Lt. Jefferson S. "Scotty" Dotson, co-pilot; comprised the crew of an F100F aircraft (tail #45-3734), call sign "Misty 31," on a single aircraft flight. 
During the flight, Capt. Gourley made regular radio transmissions. In his last message, he reported the aircraft's position as "it was passing a well known location along an infiltration route." He stated they were "progressing to another location" in accordance with pre-flight briefing. The last reported location placed Misty 31 on the south side of Route 92, a primary east/west road that was a major artery of the Ho Chi Minh Trail. Route 92 ran along the southern side of a rugged jungle covered mountain range. 

At 1040 hours, Capt. Gourley and 1st Lt. Dotson were scheduled to rendezvous with an airborne tanker for refueling, but failed to do so. When no further radio contact could be established with Misty 31, another aircraft was dispatched to the area of operation. It arrived on site about an hour later and immediately began a visual and electronic search for the missing aircraft and crew, which continued until sundown. Search and rescue (SAR) efforts were initiated the next morning at first light, but again failed to find any trace of the Super Sabre or its crew. At the time the formal search effort was terminated, Lee Gourley and Jefferson Dotson were listed Missing in Action.

On Sep 02, 2013, Wilkinson, Spencer, Col USAF(Ret) wrote: 
>Scott attended Virginia Military Institute from 1962 to 1966 and majored in Electrical Engineering. He was a good friend and classmate of mine. We roomed together during our Rat (freshman) year and we were both electrical engineers. He was one of 11 members of our class who died in Vietnam. > >Spence Wilkinson