| Date: 23 November 1968 |
| Aircraft type: RF-4C Phantom |
| Serial Number: 66-0445 |
| Military Unit: 14 TRS, 432 TRW |
| Service: USAF |
| Home Base: Udorn |
| Name(s): |
| Capt Bradley Gene Cuthbert (KIA) |
| Capt Mark John Ruhling (POW) |
| The 14th TRS lost its second aircraft within three days on the 23rd, but this time it also lost a crew. Capt Cuthbert and Capt Ruhling were photographing a SAM site and sections of a road near Van Loc, 10 miles northwest of Dong Hoi, when their aircraft (call sign Triton) was hit by ground fire. The port wing started to burn and the crew ejected close to Dong Hoi itself. Capt Ruhling was captured soon after he landed but Capt Cuthbert did not survive to reach a POW camp and was probably killed by his captors. Mark Ruhling was on his 84th mission when he was shot down and was released from captivity on 14 March 1973. Bradley Cuthbert was shot down on his 28th birthday. His remains were returned in 1990 and positively identified on 20 December 1991. This was the first US aircraft lost over North Vietnam since the end of the Rolling Thunder campaign. |
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