The current guardian of this Remembrance Page is A3C Michael S. Bell (Unit Historian).
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This Remembrance Profile was originally created by Sgt Stephen Willcox - Deceased
Casualty Info
Home Town Oakland
Last Address Oakland
Casualty Date Apr 26, 1968
Cause KIA-Killed in Action
Reason Air Loss, Crash - Land
Location Thua Thien (Vietnam)
Conflict Vietnam War
Location of Interment San Francisco National Cemetery (VA) - San Francisco, California
To read a detailed story of the events leading up to the crash of Capt. McKinstry's aircraft, see http://12thcav.us. The following is an excerpt from an article authored by Sam McGowan, USAF at the website which relates specifically to the the crash:
"At about three in the afternoon a crew from the 29th TAS at Clark, commanded by Major Lilburn, a popular pilot in the 463rd wing, approached the drop zone. They broke out a little further down the valley than most of the airplanes had, and were exposed to enemy fire for a much longer period. No fighter had made an appearance in the valley. The men on the ground at A Luoi watched as the C-130 began taking hits from 37-MM and 50-caliber fire. All radio transmissions were silenced as the enemy shells knocked out the radios. As the airplane came over the drop zone, the combat control team could see holes in both wings while one engine was streaming either smoke or fuel and smoke flowed from the open cargo doors. Apparently, the load of ammunition had been set fire. Major Stow attempted to make an emergency landing, but as the airplane made a descending turn toward the runway it struck trees and exploded. All six crewmembers and two USAF combat photographers who were aboard to record the mission were killed..."
