Thomas Thawson Wright
Lieutenant Colonel, U.S. Air Force
14th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron
Entered the Service From: Gary, Indiana
Date of Birth: October 02, 1934
Date of Death: February 27, 1968
Wars or Conflicts: Vietnam War
Memorialized: Courts of the Missing: Court A
Honolulu Memorial
National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific
Lieutenant Colonel Wright was a member of the 14th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron, Udorn Airfield, Thailand. On February 27, 1968, he was the weapons systems officer of a McDonnell Phantom II Reconnaissance Fighter (RF-4C) on an unarmed photographic reconnaissance about 20 miles northeast of Khe Son, Quang Binh Province, North Vietnam. Conatct with his aircraft was lost when it was over Ban Karai Pass, Savannakhet Province, Laos. His remains were not recovered. His name is inscribed on the Courts of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial.
===================
Palmer's aircraft was hit by enemy fire and crashed. The location is not clear. According to a sheet distributed by the Arizona POW/MIA families (Palmer's family was at that time residing in Arizona), Palmer and Wright were lost in Laos. According to Defense Department and State Department
records, the two went down in Laos. However, coordinates listed by these agencies are located near the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), some five miles southwest of the city of Vinh Linh in Quang Binh Province, North Vietnam.
The records of Joint Casualty Resolution Center indicate that the loss occurred in Quang Binh Province, North Vietnam. Palmer and Wright were declared Missing in Action. From the non-specific coordinates given, it is clear that the Air Force does not know the precise loss location. Thus, they are not sure what the Vietnamese know about their
fates.
On February 27, 1968, a RF-4C Phantom II (tail number 66-0431) with a crew of two took off from Udorn Air Base, Thailand, on a photo-reconnaissance mission to targets northeast of Khe Sanh, South Vietnam. The aircraft failed to return to base, and a search effort was conducted over its flight path, but neither the aircraft nor its crew could be located. Following the end of hostilities, the remains of the aircraft's pilot were returned to U.S. custody and identified; however, the other crew member is still unaccounted for.
Captain Thomas Thawson Wright, who joined the U.S. Air Force from Indiana, was a member of the 14th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron, and was the pilot aboard the Phantom when it went missing. He was not seen or heard from again following the aircraft's disappearance and he has not been identified among any remains returned to U.S. custody after the war. After his disappearance he was promoted to Colonel. Today, Colonel Wright is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific. His name is also inscribed along with all his fallen comrades on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington, DC.
Lieutenant Colonel, U.S. Air Force
14th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron
Entered the Service From: Gary, Indiana
Date of Birth: October 02, 1934
Date of Death: February 27, 1968
Wars or Conflicts: Vietnam War
Memorialized: Courts of the Missing: Court A
Honolulu Memorial
National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific
Lieutenant Colonel Wright was a member of the 14th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron, Udorn Airfield, Thailand. On February 27, 1968, he was the weapons systems officer of a McDonnell Phantom II Reconnaissance Fighter (RF-4C) on an unarmed photographic reconnaissance about 20 miles northeast of Khe Son, Quang Binh Province, North Vietnam. Conatct with his aircraft was lost when it was over Ban Karai Pass, Savannakhet Province, Laos. His remains were not recovered. His name is inscribed on the Courts of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial.
===================
Palmer's aircraft was hit by enemy fire and crashed. The location is not clear. According to a sheet distributed by the Arizona POW/MIA families (Palmer's family was at that time residing in Arizona), Palmer and Wright were lost in Laos. According to Defense Department and State Department
records, the two went down in Laos. However, coordinates listed by these agencies are located near the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), some five miles southwest of the city of Vinh Linh in Quang Binh Province, North Vietnam.
The records of Joint Casualty Resolution Center indicate that the loss occurred in Quang Binh Province, North Vietnam. Palmer and Wright were declared Missing in Action. From the non-specific coordinates given, it is clear that the Air Force does not know the precise loss location. Thus, they are not sure what the Vietnamese know about their
fates.
On February 27, 1968, a RF-4C Phantom II (tail number 66-0431) with a crew of two took off from Udorn Air Base, Thailand, on a photo-reconnaissance mission to targets northeast of Khe Sanh, South Vietnam. The aircraft failed to return to base, and a search effort was conducted over its flight path, but neither the aircraft nor its crew could be located. Following the end of hostilities, the remains of the aircraft's pilot were returned to U.S. custody and identified; however, the other crew member is still unaccounted for.
Captain Thomas Thawson Wright, who joined the U.S. Air Force from Indiana, was a member of the 14th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron, and was the pilot aboard the Phantom when it went missing. He was not seen or heard from again following the aircraft's disappearance and he has not been identified among any remains returned to U.S. custody after the war. After his disappearance he was promoted to Colonel. Today, Colonel Wright is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific. His name is also inscribed along with all his fallen comrades on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington, DC.
Thomas Thawson Wright
Lieutenant Colonel, U.S. Air Force
14th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron
Entered the Service From: Gary, Indiana
Date of Birth: October 02, 1934
Date of Death: February 27, 1968
Wars or Conflicts: Vietnam War
Memorialized: Courts of the Missing: Court A
Honolulu Memorial
National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific
Lieutenant Colonel Wright was a member of the 14th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron, Udorn Airfield, Thailand. On February 27, 1968, he was the weapons systems officer of a McDonnell Phantom II Reconnaissance Fighter (RF-4C) on an unarmed photographic reconnaissance about 20 miles northeast of Khe Son, Quang Binh Province, North Vietnam. Conatct with his aircraft was lost when it was over Ban Karai Pass, Savannakhet Province, Laos. His remains were not recovered. His name is inscribed on the Courts of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial.
===================
Palmer's aircraft was hit by enemy fire and crashed. The location is not clear. According to a sheet distributed by the Arizona POW/MIA families (Palmer's family was at that time residing in Arizona), Palmer and Wright were lost in Laos. According to Defense Department and State Department
records, the two went down in Laos. However, coordinates listed by these agencies are located near the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), some five miles southwest of the city of Vinh Linh in Quang Binh Province, North Vietnam.
The records of Joint Casualty Resolution Center indicate that the loss occurred in Quang Binh Province, North Vietnam. Palmer and Wright were declared Missing in Action. From the non-specific coordinates given, it is clear that the Air Force does not know the precise loss location. Thus, they are not sure what the Vietnamese know about their
fates.
On February 27, 1968, a RF-4C Phantom II (tail number 66-0431) with a crew of two took off from Udorn Air Base, Thailand, on a photo-reconnaissance mission to targets northeast of Khe Sanh, South Vietnam. The aircraft failed to return to base, and a search effort was conducted over its flight path, but neither the aircraft nor its crew could be located. Following the end of hostilities, the remains of the aircraft's pilot were returned to U.S. custody and identified; however, the other crew member is still unaccounted for.
Captain Thomas Thawson Wright, who joined the U.S. Air Force from Indiana, was a member of the 14th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron, and was the pilot aboard the Phantom when it went missing. He was not seen or heard from again following the aircraft's disappearance and he has not been identified among any remains returned to U.S. custody after the war. After his disappearance he was promoted to Colonel. Today, Colonel Wright is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific. His name is also inscribed along with all his fallen comrades on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington, DC.
Lieutenant Colonel, U.S. Air Force
14th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron
Entered the Service From: Gary, Indiana
Date of Birth: October 02, 1934
Date of Death: February 27, 1968
Wars or Conflicts: Vietnam War
Memorialized: Courts of the Missing: Court A
Honolulu Memorial
National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific
Lieutenant Colonel Wright was a member of the 14th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron, Udorn Airfield, Thailand. On February 27, 1968, he was the weapons systems officer of a McDonnell Phantom II Reconnaissance Fighter (RF-4C) on an unarmed photographic reconnaissance about 20 miles northeast of Khe Son, Quang Binh Province, North Vietnam. Conatct with his aircraft was lost when it was over Ban Karai Pass, Savannakhet Province, Laos. His remains were not recovered. His name is inscribed on the Courts of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial.
===================
Palmer's aircraft was hit by enemy fire and crashed. The location is not clear. According to a sheet distributed by the Arizona POW/MIA families (Palmer's family was at that time residing in Arizona), Palmer and Wright were lost in Laos. According to Defense Department and State Department
records, the two went down in Laos. However, coordinates listed by these agencies are located near the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), some five miles southwest of the city of Vinh Linh in Quang Binh Province, North Vietnam.
The records of Joint Casualty Resolution Center indicate that the loss occurred in Quang Binh Province, North Vietnam. Palmer and Wright were declared Missing in Action. From the non-specific coordinates given, it is clear that the Air Force does not know the precise loss location. Thus, they are not sure what the Vietnamese know about their
fates.
On February 27, 1968, a RF-4C Phantom II (tail number 66-0431) with a crew of two took off from Udorn Air Base, Thailand, on a photo-reconnaissance mission to targets northeast of Khe Sanh, South Vietnam. The aircraft failed to return to base, and a search effort was conducted over its flight path, but neither the aircraft nor its crew could be located. Following the end of hostilities, the remains of the aircraft's pilot were returned to U.S. custody and identified; however, the other crew member is still unaccounted for.
Captain Thomas Thawson Wright, who joined the U.S. Air Force from Indiana, was a member of the 14th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron, and was the pilot aboard the Phantom when it went missing. He was not seen or heard from again following the aircraft's disappearance and he has not been identified among any remains returned to U.S. custody after the war. After his disappearance he was promoted to Colonel. Today, Colonel Wright is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific. His name is also inscribed along with all his fallen comrades on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington, DC.
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