| Date: 13 December 1968 |
| Aircraft type: B-57E Canberra |
| Serial Number: 55-4284 |
| Military Unit: 8 TBS, 35 TFW |
| Service: USAF |
| Home Base: Phan Rang |
| Name(s): |
| Maj Thomas Wayne Dugan (KIA) |
| Maj Francis Jay McGouldrick (KIA) |
| Aircraft type: C-123K Provider |
| Serial Number: 54-0600 |
| Military Unit: 606 SOS, 56 SOW |
| Service: USAF |
| Home Base: Nakhon Phanom |
| Name(s): |
| 1Lt Thomas M Turner (Survived) |
| 1Lt Joseph Peter Fanning (KIA) |
| 1Lt John Scott Albright (KIA) |
| 1Lt Douglas Vincent Dailey (KIA) |
| 1Lt Morgan Jefferson Donahue (KIA) |
| SSgt Samuel Franklin Walker (KIA) |
| TSgt Frederick Lee Clarke (KIA) |
| The tactical fighter-bombers that worked over the Ho Chi Minh Trail at night often relied on the light of flares provided by Candlestick C-123s from the 606th SOSs. These aircraft would patrol the trail all night often working in conjunction with the B-57s from Phan Rang as well as A-1s, A-26s, F-4s and T-28s from Thailand. The Candlestick C-123 was both a FAC and a flareship combined. Using Starlight Scopes the C-123s did much to find and mark targets in the northern sector of the Steel Tiger area, while the Blind Bat C-130s concentrated on the southern sector. However, the mission had its dangers, not just from the enemy but from the operational hazards of flying at night with few precision navigational aids over mountainous terrain. At 3:30 in the morning of the 13th a C-123K (call sign Candlestick 44) spotted a target near Ban Nampakhon, 20 miles southwest of the Ban Karai Pass in southern Laos. A pair of B-57s was called in to hit the target but during the bomb run one of the Canberras collided with the C-123. The Canberra (call sign Yellow Bird 7) crashed immediately, killing both the crew, and the Provider started a slow spin towards the ground. The Provider’s pilot, Lt Turner, was temporarily knocked unconscious, and when he came to he saw that the other flight deck crew had already gone. Lt Turner bailed out and landed in a tree where he stayed until he was rescued at dawn by a HH-3E flown by Capt Harwood and his crew of the 40th ARRS from Nakhon Phanom. As Lt Turner floated down he saw at least one other parachute below him, but no more men were rescued from the aircraft. Information received since the war lends credence to claims that the navigator, 1Lt Donahue, may have survived the crash and been captured. As late as 1987 1Lt Donahue’s family received seemingly credible information that indicated he was still being held captive in Laos. However, there have been no new developments since then and, officially at least, he remains listed as killed in action.
It was not until 2007 that a joint US/Laotian team discovered the crash site of the B-57 near Keng Keuk village. Excavations in 2011 and 2012 recovered human remains which were later identified through DNA analysis as being those of Maj McGouldrick. The DPAA also associated the remains with Maj Dugan based upon circumstantial evidence and the remains were interred as a group burial in Arlington National Cemetery in December 2013. |
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