| Date: 22 December 1972 |
| Aircraft type: AC-130A Gunship II |
| Serial Number: 56-0490 |
| Military Unit: 16 SOS, 56 SOW |
| Service: USAF |
| Home Base: Ubon |
| Name(s): |
| Capt Harry Roy Lagerwall (KIA) |
| Capt Stanley Neal Kroboth (KIA) |
| Maj Paul Oswald Meder (KIA) |
| Maj Francis Anthony Walsh (KIA) |
| Capt Joel Ray Birch (KIA) |
| Capt Thomas Trammell Hart (KIA) |
| Capt Robert Leonel Liles (KIA) |
| 2Lt George Duncan MacDonald (KIA) |
| 1Lt Delmar Ernest Dickens (KIA) |
| A1C Charles Frederick Fenter (KIA) |
| TSgt Robert Thomas Elliott (KIA) |
| TSgt James Ray Fuller (KIA) |
| TSgt John Quitman Winningham (KIA) |
| Sgt Richard Williams (Survived) |
| Sgt Carl E Stevens (Survived) |
| A1C Rollie Keith Reaid (KIA) |
| The war over the Ho Chi Minh Trail continued throughout the Linebacker II offensive but on the night of the 21st an AC-130 Spectre gunship (call sign Spectre 17) was lost along with most of its crew. The aircraft, piloted by Capt Lagerwall, had found three trucks near Ban Laongam, 25 miles west of Saravan in southern Laos. It was firing at the target from an altitude of 7,800 feet when it was hit by 37mm AAA. The aircraft may have been hit in a fuel tank as it exploded and crashed in flames and 14 of the 16 men on board were killed. Two of the crew managed to bail out and were rescued by a 40th ARRS HH-53C some hours later, located by the night vision devices on board another AC-130 and the LNRS equipment on board the helicopter. Maj Walsh is listed as being a member of the 497th TFS and may have been along just for the ride. This aircraft was nicknamed ‘Thor’ and was painted with appropriate gunship nose art.
In February 1985 a joint excavation by US and Laotian investigators discovered numerous small bone fragments at the crash site and it was later announced that these had been positively identified as being the remains of the crew. The family of Capt Hart was dissatisfied with the investigation and sued the US Government. The US Army’s Central Identification Laboratory came under scrutiny and its identification procedures were challenged. The family won the lawsuit and the identification of two of the crew was rescinded, however, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals later overturned the verdict. |
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