This Military Service Page was created/owned by
A3C Michael Bell (Unit Historian)
to remember
Utley, Russel Keith (Russell), Col.
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"On the night of 25/26 Jan 1969, Major Russel K. Utley, pilot, and 1st Lt Daniel E. Singleton, weapons systems operator, departed Korat RTAFB in F-4E tail number 67-0286 on a night interdiction mission along the Ho Chi Minh Trail. Their aircraft went down while attacking a target near Ban Kate. Although no parachutes were seen and search and rescue efforts failed to gain contact with either crewman, it was possible that one or both escaped the aircraft and were captured. They were classed as Missing in Action."
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Russ and Dan were members of the 469th TFS out of Korat RTAB, Thailand. On the night in question, they rolled in on a target in Laos and never pulled out. While enemy fire hitting the aircraft was a possibility, it was never confirmed.No chutes were seen, but it was a night mission so even if they had bailed out, it is unlikely that they would have been seen.I served as Dan Singleton's Summary Courts Officer, knew both Dan and Russ very well. CWMagsig Colonel, USAF, Ret
Other Comments:
Another headstone located at Willows Cemetery, Willows, Glenn County, California
--------------------------------------- This Veteran has an (IMO) In Memory Of Headstone in Golden Gate National Cemetery, San Bruno, California.
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"The 469th TFS was transferred from the 355th Tactical Fighter Wing at McConnell AFB, Kansas, to the 6234th TFW at Korat RTAFB on 8 November 1965, and a few days later all of its pilots had arrived. The squadron started flying combat missions on 15 November 1965. Already on the second day of flying combat missions, the 469th lost its first pilot, Captain Donald G. Green (KIA). Sadly, the Fighting Bulls would suffer heavy losses throughout Rolling Thunder. Of all the Thunderchief squadrons that fought the Vietnam Air War, only the 354th TFS out of Takhli had a higher loss rate.
Besides destroying numerous ground targets in north Vietnam, the 469th also killed two MiG-17's in aerial combat. The following are two narratives copied without permission from the book "Aces and Aerial Victories":