This Military Service Page was created/owned by
Col William Rudd
to remember
Ralston, Frank Delzell, III, Maj.
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On 14 May 1966, then Captain Donald L. King, pilot; and 1st Lieutenant Frank D. "Brank" Ralston III, co-pilot; comprised the crew of the #2 F4C (serial #64-0760) in a flight of two conducting a night armed reconnaissance mission in Route Package (RP) 1, Quang Binh Province, North Vietnam. Radar contact was maintained with Capt. King's and 1st Lt. Ralston's aircraft until it was over the eastern edge of rugged mountain range roughly 20 miles west of the coastal city of Dong Hoi, North Vietnam. The crew of the lead aircraft spotted an intense white flash shooting 20 degrees above the horizon in the direction of the number two aircraft. In the pre-dawn night, the lead flight crew observed no crash, fire or enemy automatic weapons or anti-aircraft artillery (AAA) fire directed at his wingman. Lead immediately tried to established radio contact with Donald King and Brank Ralston, but was unsuccessful in doing so. He then notified the airborne battlefield command and control center (ABCCC) directing all air operations in this region. At the same time, Lead initiated a visual search operation for the missing aircraft and crew. During the search, no parachutes were seen and no emergency beepers heard. Because of the loss location being deep within enemy held territory, it was impossible to conduct a search and rescue (SAR) operation for the downed crew. At the time the search effort was terminated, Donald King and Brank Ralston were reported as Missing in Action.
This Veteran has an (IMO) In Memory Of Headstone in Courts of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial, Hawaii, with another memorial in Fort McPherson National Cemetery (VA) - Maxwell, Nebraska, with another at the United States Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, CO.
Other Comments:
REMEMBERED, by Roger Knopf. rogerknopf@verizon.net. 03 Aug 2006. I have a POW/MIA bracelet with the name of Major Frank D. Ralston III, USAF - 14 May 66 - NVN. If any of his family would like to have it, please contact me. I was in the Air Force from 1967 to 1971. I don't remember how I came across this bracelet but I have had it for over 30 years in a shadow box with other military items of mine and my grandfather's from WWI. gregw4@sbcglobal.net
