Major Wendell Richard Keller and First Lieutanant Virgil Kersh 'Mike' Meroney III were members of the 433rd Tactical Fighter Squadron at Ubon Royal Thai Air Force Base, Thailand where they flew Phantom II fighters.
On the night of March 1, 1969, Major Keller, Aircraft Commander, and Lieutanant Meroney, Weapons System Operator, comprised the crew of the lead F4D, call sign "Sherman 01", SN 66-8814, in a flight of two to conduct a night strike mission. Sherman flight was working with the on-site Forward Air Controller (FAC), call sign "Candlestick 43", a C-123 that was flying from Nakhon Phanom Air Base, Thailand. Their target was a suspected storage area and vehicles moving through the rugged jungle covered mountains southwest of the Ban Karai Pass, Khammoune Province, Laos. This area of eastern Laos was considered a major gateway into the infamous Ho Chi Minh Trail. Candlestick 43 located the suspected storage area. The FAC directed Sherman flight to make passes on the suspected storage area and all movers they observed in and around it. During these attack runs, both aircraft received moderate to light ZPU and 37mm anti-aircraft artillery (AAA) fire from enemy gun emplacements. As Sherman 02 held high after making a CBU drop, Sherman 01 went down to make their final rocket pass on a target. A few seconds later, Sherman 02 observed a large explosion a few hundred feet from the intended target. Sherman 02 immediately attempted to make radio contact with Major Keller and 1st Lt. Meroney, but no contact was established. Candlestick 43 immediately initiated electronic and visual search and rescue (SAR) procedures. As Sherman 02 crisscross the area of loss, no parachutes were seen in the darkness and no emergency beepers heard emanating from the jungle below. Because the area was under total enemy control, no ground search was possible. At the time the initial search effort was terminated, Wendell Keller and Virgil Meroney were listed Missing in Action
Vietnam Memorial Wall Panel 30W, Line 5
DPMO: Col. Wendell R. Keller, U.S. Air Force, was lost on March 1, 1969, when his F-4D Phantom II aircraft was shot down in Khammouan Province, Laos. He was accounted for on Sept. 6, 2012.
The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office announced today that the remains of two servicemen, missing in action from the Vietnam War, have been identified and will be buried, as a group, with full military honors.
Air Force Col. Wendell Keller of Fargo, N.D., and Capt. Virgil K. Meroney III of Fayetteville, Ark., will be buried as a group, in a single casket representing the crew, on Oct. 19, in Arlington National Cemetery. Meroney was interred individually on June 9, in his hometown.
On March 1, 1969, Keller and Meroney were the crew of an F-4D Phantom II aircraft that crashed while carrying out a nighttime strike mission in Khammouan Province, Laos. Nearby U.S. aircrews reported seeing the aircraft hit by enemy fire. No parachutes were seen after the aircraft was hit. Heavy enemy presence in the area prevented
recovery efforts.
From 1994 to 2011, joint U.S.-Lao People's Democratic Republic (L.P.D.R.) teams, led by Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC), conducted several investigations and excavations of the crash site in Khammouan Province,
Laos. The teams located human remains, militar equipment, a military identification card, and aircraft wreckage of an F-4, including an engine data plate and radio call-sign plate. During the 17 years of investigations, analysts evaluated the material evidence and the accounts of more than 40 eyewitnesses to confirm the information correlated with the crew's loss location.
ons.
On the night of March 1, 1969, Major Keller, Aircraft Commander, and Lieutanant Meroney, Weapons System Operator, comprised the crew of the lead F4D, call sign "Sherman 01", SN 66-8814, in a flight of two to conduct a night strike mission. Sherman flight was working with the on-site Forward Air Controller (FAC), call sign "Candlestick 43", a C-123 that was flying from Nakhon Phanom Air Base, Thailand. Their target was a suspected storage area and vehicles moving through the rugged jungle covered mountains southwest of the Ban Karai Pass, Khammoune Province, Laos. This area of eastern Laos was considered a major gateway into the infamous Ho Chi Minh Trail. Candlestick 43 located the suspected storage area. The FAC directed Sherman flight to make passes on the suspected storage area and all movers they observed in and around it. During these attack runs, both aircraft received moderate to light ZPU and 37mm anti-aircraft artillery (AAA) fire from enemy gun emplacements. As Sherman 02 held high after making a CBU drop, Sherman 01 went down to make their final rocket pass on a target. A few seconds later, Sherman 02 observed a large explosion a few hundred feet from the intended target. Sherman 02 immediately attempted to make radio contact with Major Keller and 1st Lt. Meroney, but no contact was established. Candlestick 43 immediately initiated electronic and visual search and rescue (SAR) procedures. As Sherman 02 crisscross the area of loss, no parachutes were seen in the darkness and no emergency beepers heard emanating from the jungle below. Because the area was under total enemy control, no ground search was possible. At the time the initial search effort was terminated, Wendell Keller and Virgil Meroney were listed Missing in Action
Vietnam Memorial Wall Panel 30W, Line 5
DPMO: Col. Wendell R. Keller, U.S. Air Force, was lost on March 1, 1969, when his F-4D Phantom II aircraft was shot down in Khammouan Province, Laos. He was accounted for on Sept. 6, 2012.
The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office announced today that the remains of two servicemen, missing in action from the Vietnam War, have been identified and will be buried, as a group, with full military honors.
Air Force Col. Wendell Keller of Fargo, N.D., and Capt. Virgil K. Meroney III of Fayetteville, Ark., will be buried as a group, in a single casket representing the crew, on Oct. 19, in Arlington National Cemetery. Meroney was interred individually on June 9, in his hometown.
On March 1, 1969, Keller and Meroney were the crew of an F-4D Phantom II aircraft that crashed while carrying out a nighttime strike mission in Khammouan Province, Laos. Nearby U.S. aircrews reported seeing the aircraft hit by enemy fire. No parachutes were seen after the aircraft was hit. Heavy enemy presence in the area prevented
recovery efforts.
From 1994 to 2011, joint U.S.-Lao People's Democratic Republic (L.P.D.R.) teams, led by Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC), conducted several investigations and excavations of the crash site in Khammouan Province,
Laos. The teams located human remains, militar equipment, a military identification card, and aircraft wreckage of an F-4, including an engine data plate and radio call-sign plate. During the 17 years of investigations, analysts evaluated the material evidence and the accounts of more than 40 eyewitnesses to confirm the information correlated with the crew's loss location.
ons.
Major Wendell Richard Keller and First Lieutanant Virgil Kersh 'Mike' Meroney III were members of the 433rd Tactical Fighter Squadron at Ubon Royal Thai Air Force Base, Thailand where they flew Phantom II fighters.
On the night of March 1, 1969, Major Keller, Aircraft Commander, and Lieutanant Meroney, Weapons System Operator, comprised the crew of the lead F4D, call sign "Sherman 01", SN 66-8814, in a flight of two to conduct a night strike mission. Sherman flight was working with the on-site Forward Air Controller (FAC), call sign "Candlestick 43", a C-123 that was flying from Nakhon Phanom Air Base, Thailand. Their target was a suspected storage area and vehicles moving through the rugged jungle covered mountains southwest of the Ban Karai Pass, Khammoune Province, Laos. This area of eastern Laos was considered a major gateway into the infamous Ho Chi Minh Trail. Candlestick 43 located the suspected storage area. The FAC directed Sherman flight to make passes on the suspected storage area and all movers they observed in and around it. During these attack runs, both aircraft received moderate to light ZPU and 37mm anti-aircraft artillery (AAA) fire from enemy gun emplacements. As Sherman 02 held high after making a CBU drop, Sherman 01 went down to make their final rocket pass on a target. A few seconds later, Sherman 02 observed a large explosion a few hundred feet from the intended target. Sherman 02 immediately attempted to make radio contact with Major Keller and 1st Lt. Meroney, but no contact was established. Candlestick 43 immediately initiated electronic and visual search and rescue (SAR) procedures. As Sherman 02 crisscross the area of loss, no parachutes were seen in the darkness and no emergency beepers heard emanating from the jungle below. Because the area was under total enemy control, no ground search was possible. At the time the initial search effort was terminated, Wendell Keller and Virgil Meroney were listed Missing in Action
Vietnam Memorial Wall Panel 30W, Line 5
DPMO: Col. Wendell R. Keller, U.S. Air Force, was lost on March 1, 1969, when his F-4D Phantom II aircraft was shot down in Khammouan Province, Laos. He was accounted for on Sept. 6, 2012.
The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office announced today that the remains of two servicemen, missing in action from the Vietnam War, have been identified and will be buried, as a group, with full military honors.
Air Force Col. Wendell Keller of Fargo, N.D., and Capt. Virgil K. Meroney III of Fayetteville, Ark., will be buried as a group, in a single casket representing the crew, on Oct. 19, in Arlington National Cemetery. Meroney was interred individually on June 9, in his hometown.
On March 1, 1969, Keller and Meroney were the crew of an F-4D Phantom II aircraft that crashed while carrying out a nighttime strike mission in Khammouan Province, Laos. Nearby U.S. aircrews reported seeing the aircraft hit by enemy fire. No parachutes were seen after the aircraft was hit. Heavy enemy presence in the area prevented
recovery efforts.
From 1994 to 2011, joint U.S.-Lao People's Democratic Republic (L.P.D.R.) teams, led by Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC), conducted several investigations and excavations of the crash site in Khammouan Province,
Laos. The teams located human remains, militar equipment, a military identification card, and aircraft wreckage of an F-4, including an engine data plate and radio call-sign plate. During the 17 years of investigations, analysts evaluated the material evidence and the accounts of more than 40 eyewitnesses to confirm the information correlated with the crew's loss location.
ons.
On the night of March 1, 1969, Major Keller, Aircraft Commander, and Lieutanant Meroney, Weapons System Operator, comprised the crew of the lead F4D, call sign "Sherman 01", SN 66-8814, in a flight of two to conduct a night strike mission. Sherman flight was working with the on-site Forward Air Controller (FAC), call sign "Candlestick 43", a C-123 that was flying from Nakhon Phanom Air Base, Thailand. Their target was a suspected storage area and vehicles moving through the rugged jungle covered mountains southwest of the Ban Karai Pass, Khammoune Province, Laos. This area of eastern Laos was considered a major gateway into the infamous Ho Chi Minh Trail. Candlestick 43 located the suspected storage area. The FAC directed Sherman flight to make passes on the suspected storage area and all movers they observed in and around it. During these attack runs, both aircraft received moderate to light ZPU and 37mm anti-aircraft artillery (AAA) fire from enemy gun emplacements. As Sherman 02 held high after making a CBU drop, Sherman 01 went down to make their final rocket pass on a target. A few seconds later, Sherman 02 observed a large explosion a few hundred feet from the intended target. Sherman 02 immediately attempted to make radio contact with Major Keller and 1st Lt. Meroney, but no contact was established. Candlestick 43 immediately initiated electronic and visual search and rescue (SAR) procedures. As Sherman 02 crisscross the area of loss, no parachutes were seen in the darkness and no emergency beepers heard emanating from the jungle below. Because the area was under total enemy control, no ground search was possible. At the time the initial search effort was terminated, Wendell Keller and Virgil Meroney were listed Missing in Action
Vietnam Memorial Wall Panel 30W, Line 5
DPMO: Col. Wendell R. Keller, U.S. Air Force, was lost on March 1, 1969, when his F-4D Phantom II aircraft was shot down in Khammouan Province, Laos. He was accounted for on Sept. 6, 2012.
The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office announced today that the remains of two servicemen, missing in action from the Vietnam War, have been identified and will be buried, as a group, with full military honors.
Air Force Col. Wendell Keller of Fargo, N.D., and Capt. Virgil K. Meroney III of Fayetteville, Ark., will be buried as a group, in a single casket representing the crew, on Oct. 19, in Arlington National Cemetery. Meroney was interred individually on June 9, in his hometown.
On March 1, 1969, Keller and Meroney were the crew of an F-4D Phantom II aircraft that crashed while carrying out a nighttime strike mission in Khammouan Province, Laos. Nearby U.S. aircrews reported seeing the aircraft hit by enemy fire. No parachutes were seen after the aircraft was hit. Heavy enemy presence in the area prevented
recovery efforts.
From 1994 to 2011, joint U.S.-Lao People's Democratic Republic (L.P.D.R.) teams, led by Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC), conducted several investigations and excavations of the crash site in Khammouan Province,
Laos. The teams located human remains, militar equipment, a military identification card, and aircraft wreckage of an F-4, including an engine data plate and radio call-sign plate. During the 17 years of investigations, analysts evaluated the material evidence and the accounts of more than 40 eyewitnesses to confirm the information correlated with the crew's loss location.
ons.
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