This Military Service Page was created/owned by
A3C Michael S. Bell (Unit Historian)
to remember
Stonebraker, Kenneth Arnold, Lt Col.
If you knew or served with this Airman and have additional information or photos to support this Page, please leave a message for the Page Administrator(s) HERE.
In the pre-dawn hours of 28 October, Capt. William H. Stroven, pilot; and then Capt. Kenneth A. Stronebraker, navigator, comprised the crew of an RF4C, call sign "Diode," that departed Udorn Airfield on a single aircraft photo reconnaissance flight. Their target was the Quang Khe Ferry near the major communist port city of Dong Hoi, Quang Binh Province, North Vietnam. The weather conditions in the target area consisted of overcast cloud cover with a 2,000 feet ceiling with 6,000 foot tops and rain showers.
The flight proceeded to its assigned weather check point, then turned north toward their destination. Once on station, Capt. Stroven checked in with the on sight Forward Air Controller (FAC), "Alleycat," requesting clearance to initiate their photo run from 0505 hours to 0515 hours on the Quang Khe Ferry. Once Diode commenced its photo run, Alleycat turned his attention to another aircraft for weather reconnaissance information.
Once Capt. Stroven and Capt. Stonebraker completed their mission, they contacted "Waterboy," the airborne command and control aircraft, to receive instructions for their new flight path into the existing traffic pattern and current weather advisories. Waterboy passed along those directions which, in turn, were acknowledged by Capt. Stroven. At 0519 hours Waterboy lost both radar and voice contact with Diode. The location of loss placed Diode over jungle covered mountains approximately 13 miles west-southwest of Dong Hoi as he egressed in that direction.
When all attempts to re-establish contact failed, search and rescue (SAR) efforts were initiated. Further, the commander of 7th Air Force instructed all units to conduct an electronic search for the missing aircraft and crew. When no trace of the William Stroven and Kenneth Stonebraker could be found, both men were listed Missing in Action.
Other Comments:
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.
On 18 September 1966, the 432d Tactical Reconnaissance Wing (TRW) was activated at Udon RTAFB, Thailand as an McDonnell Douglas RF-4C Phantom II wing. At Udon, it became one of the most diversified units of its size in the Air Force.
The mission of the wing was to provide intelligence information about hostile forces through tactical reconnaissance and use its fighter elements to destroy the targets earmarked by the intelligence data provided. The wing had numerous missions in the support area. The 432d TRW accounted for more than 80 percent of all reconnaissance activity over North Vietnam.
In addition to the reconnaissance mission, the 432d also had a tactical fighter squadron component, with two (13th Tactical Fighter Squadron, 555th Tactical Fighter Squadron) F-4C/D squadrons assigned. The squadrons flew strike missions over North Vietnam and the pilots and weapon systems officers of the 13 TFS and 555 TFS were credited with MiG kills.
In the fall of 1970 the wing was phased down as part of the overall American withdrawal from the Vietnam War; however, in 1972 tactical fighter strength was augmented by deployed Tactical Air Command CONUS-based tactical fighter squadrons being attached to the 432d in response to the North Vietnamese invasion of South Vietnam. In addition, the 421st TFS was reassigned trom Takhli RTAFB. During Operation Linebacker, between May and October 1972, the 432d TRW had seven F-4 tactical fighter squadrons assigned or attached, (13th, 56th, 308th, 414th, 421st, 523d and 555th) making it the largest wing in the USAF. The three Vietnam era Airforce Aces all came from the 432d – two from the 555th and one from the 13th. The CONUS-based squadrons returned to the United States in the fall of 1972.
As a result of the Paris Peace Accords of 1973, the numbers of USAF personnel and aircraft at Udon were reduced. The 421st TFS was inactivated in August and the 555th was reassigned to Luke AFB in 1974. By the spring of 1975, two operational squadrons remained, the 14th TRS (RF-4C) and the 13th TFS (F-4D/E).
Forces from the 432d participated in the SS Mayaguez action in May 1975, sinking two Cambodian Khmer Rouge ships. By 1975, the political climate between Washington and Bangkok had become sour and the Royal Thai Government wanted the USAF out of Thailand by the end of the year. Palace Lightning was the plan under which the USAF would withdraw its aircraft and personnel from Thailand.[14]
The 423nd TFW was inactivated on 23 December 1975. The 13th TFSs F-4E aircraft and some support personnel were reassigned to the 3d TFW at Clark AB, Philippines and the F-4D aircraft and support personnel to the 18th TFW at Kadena Air Base, Okinawa. The 14th TRS was inactivated and the RF-4Cs were sent to Shaw AFB, South Carolina. The last USAF personnel departed Udon RTAFB on 8 January 1976.[9]
