| Date: 30 July 1968 |
| Aircraft type: O-2A Skymaster |
| Serial Number: 68-6891 |
| Military Unit: 20 TASS, 504 TASG |
| Service: USAF |
| Home Base: Da Nang detached to Chu Lai |
| Name(s): |
| Capt Thomas John Beyer (KIA) |
| An O-2 (call sign Helix 1) from the 20th TASS’s detachment at Chu Lai was lost along with its pilot during a FAC mission in South Vietnam. Capt Beyer radioed that his mission was progressing normally and that he was heading for Kham Duc. When he did not return to Chu Lai at the expected time the SAR forces were alerted. The search continued for six days and focussed on his last known position about 10 miles east of Kham Duc where he had been seen as he overflew ground troops. However, there was no sign of Capt Beyer or his aircraft. It was not until 2009 that a Vietnamese recovery team heard that human remains and military equipment, including Capt Beyer’s ID tag, had been found in the 1980s and buried near a district police station. The grave was located and excavated and the remains and equipment were handed over to US authorities. The remains were later proved to be those of Capt Beyer through DNA matching with those of his sister. |
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