Angstadt, Ralph Harold, Lt Col

He was the pilot on an HU-16 Albatross, call sign "Crown Bravo" aircraft that was performing a rescue mission of a downed pilot in the Gulf of Tonkin off North Vietnam. He was promoted up while listed as missing. He is memorialized in Honolulu; the location of his remains is unknown. It appears that the HU-16 was on a routine SAR patrol offshore Route Package 1 in North Vietnam and that it went down due to weather conditions. What is uncontested is that seven Air Force aircrewmen were lost.

On 18 July 1973, the Secretary of the Air Force approved Presumptive Findings of Death for all seven men. Their remains have not been repatriated.

Personnel in incident:
Capt Inzar W Rackley, Navigator(promoted to LTC)

TSgt Robert L Hill, Flight Mechanic(promoted to CMSgt)

SSgt John R Shoneck, Flight Mechanic(promoted to SMSgt)

Maj Ralph H Angstadt, Rescue Commander and Pilot(promoted to LTC)

A2C Steven H Adams, Pararescue Jumper(promoted to MSgt)

1Lt John H S Long, Co-pilot(promoted to Capt)

SSgt Lawrence Clark, Radio Operator(promoted to CMSgt)

There is no information on the downed airman the crew went to rescue.

All personnel MIA 
Sources:
http://taskforceomegainc.org/a019.htm
http://www.pownetwork.org/bios/a/a019.htm
http://www2.readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=223800http://www.abmc.gov/node/511412#.WAUtGKOZMUM
http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=70463161
 

This Veteran has an (IMO) In Memory Of Headstone in Courts of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial, Hawaii.