This Military Service Page was created/owned by
A3C Michael S. Bell (Unit Historian)
to remember
Thompson, William James (Coach 1), 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.
Two men went missing when F-4D serial 66-8822 from the 389th Tactical Fighter Squadron was shot down in the vicinity of the Ban Karai Pass 15 miles southwest of Dong Hoi, North Vietnam:
Major William J. Thompson, Houston, TX
1stLt Joseph S. Ross, Fort Thomas, KY
Both men were carried as MIA, and promoted while in that status, until Presumptive Findings of Death were approved by the Secretary of the Air Force - Ross on 12 March 1975 and Thompson on 05 March 1979.
The Air Force casualty list says that Captain Ross was assigned to the 362nd TFS, but the 362nd did not deploy to Southeast Asia. Similarly, the POW Network puts Colonel Thompson in the 399th TFS, another squadron that did not serve in SEA. Body not recovered.
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.
