Hill, Richard Dale, A2C

Capt. Thomas F. Gorton and Airman 2nd Class Richard D. Hill were crewmembers onboard a B-26B which went down in South Vietnam in the early years. The aircraft had been on a photo reconnaissance mission near the coast of Kien Hoa Province. Hill was an aerial photographer while Gorton was part of the flight crew.  The aircraft crash site was located about 40 miles south-southeast of Saigon near the mouth of the Mekong River  in about five feet of water. No personnel were aboard. The remains of the pilot and navigator were subsequently located which indicated that these men had tried to swim away after the crash.  Hill and Gorton could not be found. The two were first classified Missing in Action but their status was later changed to Killed in Action/Body Not recovered.  Gorton and Hill are listed among the missing because their remains were never found to send home to the country he served.


Richard Hill was an aerial photographer from the 21st Armamnent and Electronics Maintenance Squadron, 1st Air Commandos. He was operating the on-board cameras on RB-26L, serial number 44-35782, flying out of Bien Hoa Air Base, RVN when it crashed in shallow water near Binh Dai in the mouth of the Mekong River 40 miles south of Saigon.

44-35782 converted to B-26B.
Participated in Bay of Pigs invasion
Returned to USAF at Hill AFB in 1962.
Converted to RB-26L.  Sent to Vietnam
in Mar 1963 under *Farm Gate*.
Terminated at Tainan

This Veteran has an (IMO) In Memory Of Headstone in Courts of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial, Hawaii with another memorial in Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA.