| Date: 25 December 1967 |
| Aircraft type: O-2A Skymaster |
| Serial Number: 67-21390 |
| Military Unit: 20 TASS, 504 TASG |
| Service: USAF |
| Home Base: Da Nang |
| Name(s): |
| Maj Jerry Alan Sellers (KIA) |
| Capt Richard Walter Budka (KIA) |
| The second O-2 to be lost on Christmas Day went down within the DMZ buffer zone. The aircraft (call sign Covey 15) was flying a visual reconnaissance mission and was struck by automatic weapons fire. It crashed three miles south of the village of Thon Cam Son killing both the crew. Maj Sellers was awarded a posthumous Air Force Cross for deliberately provoking enemy ground fire in an attempt to locate enemy positions for the strike aircraft. It is noteworthy that from the four O-2s that had been shot down during the year, not one crewmember had managed to escape, whereas 15 of the 36 occupants of O-1s had survived being shot down during the year. Maj Sellers is buried in the Fort Logan National Cemetery, Denver, Colorado. |
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