| Date: 5 March 1966 |
| Aircraft type: A-1H Skyraider |
| Serial Number: 137589 |
| Military Unit: VA-215 |
| Service: USN |
| Home Base: USS Hancock |
| Name(s): |
| Cdr Robert Charles Hessom (KIA) |
| The squadron commander of VA-215 led a section of Skyraiders on a Rolling Thunder strike about 35 miles south of Vinh. Cdr Hesson’s aircraft (call sign Barn Owl) was hit by AAA but he managed to fly some 15 miles to the south before crashing in hilly terrain. Cdr Hessom did not escape from his aircraft and it was thought that he may have been wounded. Hessom had taken command of the Squadron almost exactly a year previous. In 1994 the remains of Cdr Hessom were discovered during a joint US/Vietnamese excavation of a crash site near Ha Tinh. |
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