| Date: 22 December 1967 |
| Aircraft type: F-4B Phantom |
| Serial Number: 148388 |
| Military Unit: VMFA-122, MAG-11 |
| Service: USMC |
| Home Base: Da Nang |
| Name(s): |
| Capt Gary Henry Fors (KIA) |
| 1Lt Guy K Lashlee (Survived) |
| A Marine Corps F-4 (call sign Whale 4) was lost during a Steel Tiger strike just inside southern Laos, about 40 miles southwest of Hué. The target was a road (Route 922) that wound its way through the jungle and which, if cut, could prove an obstacle to trucks taking supplies to the south. Capt Fors and 1Lt Lashlee were on their second pass over the target when their Phantom was hit in the wing by 23mm anti-aircraft fire. The aircraft started to burn and the crew ejected almost immediately. One reports claims that as 1Lt Lashlee was descending in his parachute he saw that Capt Fors had landed near the crash site but was already surrounded by enemy troops. Lashlee drifted away and was rescued about 30 minutes later by a Marine Corps UH-1E from Khe Sanh. Despite tantalising but unsubstantiated reports that Gary Fors had been captured and was seen in captivity, he has never returned from the jungles of Laos. |
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