| Date: 22 June 1966 |
| Aircraft type: O-1F Bird Dog |
| Serial Number: 55-4653 |
| Military Unit: 23 TASS, 505 TACG |
| Service: USAF |
| Home Base: Nakhon Phanom |
| Name(s): |
| Capt Warren Parker Smith (KIA) |
| A Nail FAC and its pilot, known as ‘Willie Pete’ Smith, were lost when it was shot down by automatic weapons fire near Ban Muong Sen in Savannakhet Province in southern Laos. Capt Smith (call sign Gombie 12) radioed that his aircraft was on fire and another pilot in the vicinity saw the O-1 make what appeared to be a controlled landing near Route 911 but saw that the pilot was slumped over in the cockpit. He did not answer any of the radio calls made to him and when a HH-3E SAR helicopter arrived about an hour later, the cockpit was found to be empty. A more intensive search had to be abandoned due to intense ground fire in the vicinity of the wreck. |
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