“On October 27, 1994, the Air Force announced that they had identified the remains of thirteen servicemen killed during the Vietnam War, including twelve who were on an AC-130A shot down over the A-Shau Valley on June 18, 1972. According to a news report from Travis Air Force Base, California, three of the twelve members of the crew (Major Gerald F. Ayers, Captain Mark Danielson and Senior Master Sergeant Jacob Mercer) had ben individually identified and the nine other crew members (Tech Sergeant Richard Cole,Captain Paul Gilbert, Major Robert Harrison, Sergeant Leon Hunt, Sergeant Donald Klinke, Sergeant Stanley Lehrke, Sergeant Larry Newman, Sergeant Richard Nyhof and Captain Robert Wilson) had been ‘identified' as a group.
“On November 17, 1994, a group burial of the co-mingled remains of the AC-130 crew was held at Arlington National Cemetery.
AYRES, GERALD F
- Major, United States Air Force
- DATE OF BIRTH: 02/23/1939
- DATE OF DEATH: 06/18/1972
- BURIED AT: SECTION 34 SITE 4591
COLE, RICHARD M
- Sergeant, United States Air Force
- DATE OF BIRTH:
- DATE OF DEATH: 06/18/1972
- BURIED AT: SECTION 34 SITE 4591
DANIELSON, MARK G
- Captain, United States Air Force
- DATE OF BIRTH:
- DATE OF DEATH: 06/18/1972
- BURIED AT: SECTION 34 SITE 4591
GILBERT, PAUL F
- Captain, United States Air Force
- DATE OF BIRTH:
- DATE OF DEATH: 06/18/1972
- BURIED AT: SECTION 34 SITE 4591
HARRISON, ROBERT H
- Major, United States Air Force
- DATE OF BIRTH:
- DATE OF DEATH: 06/18/1972
- BURIED AT: SECTION 34 SITE 4591
HUNT, LEON A
- Sergant, United States Air Force
- DATE OF BIRTH:
- DATE OF DEATH: 06/18/1972
- BURIED AT: SECTION 34 SITE 4591
KLINKE, DONALD H
- Sergeant, United States Air Force
- DATE OF BIRTH:
- DATE OF DEATH: 06/18/1972
- BURIED AT: SECTION 34 SITE 4591
LEHRKE, STANLEY L
- Sergeant, United States Air Force
- DATE OF BIRTH:
- DATE OF DEATH: 06/18/1972
- BURIED AT: SECTION 34 SITE 4591
MERCER, JACOB E
- Semior M/Sergeant United States Air Force
- DATE OF BIRTH:
- DATE OF DEATH: 06/18/1972
- BURIED AT: SECTION 34 SITE 4591
NEWMAN, LARRY J
- Sergeant, United States Air Force
- DATE OF BIRTH:
- DATE OF DEATH: 06/18/1972
- BURIED AT: SECTION 34 SITE 4591
NYHOF, RICHARD E
- Sergeant, United States Air Force
- DATE OF BIRTH:
- DATE OF DEATH: 06/18/1972
- BURIED AT: SECTION 34 SITE 4591
WILSON, ROBERT A
- Captain, United States Air Force
- DATE OF BIRTH:
- DATE OF DEATH: 06/18/1972
- BURIED AT: SECTION 34 SITE 4591
Michael Robert Patterson was born in Arlington and is the son of a former officer of the US Army. So it was no wonder that sooner or later his interests drew him to American history and especially to American military history. Many of his articles can be found on renowned portals like the New York Times, Washingtonpost or Wikipedia.
Reviewed by: Michael Howard