Robert Franklin Coady attended Louisiana State University where he was the Wing Sergeant Major in the Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps, Detachment 310.
In 1964, Bob, aka 'Wild Bill', was a First Lieutenant assigned to 3575th Pilot Training Wing, 3576th Pilot Training Squadron, Flight 4, 'Warlock' where he instructed in the T-37B 'Tweet' at Vance Air Force Base, Enid, Oklahoma. He instructed many of my fellow classmates in Class 65-F.
Harry Brown recalls Bob's "P to the Fifth" rule; Prior Planning Prevents Piss Poor Performance.
Bob founded the "Vance Para-Aces" skydiving team. On March 14, 1965, a big meet was held in Eastern Oklahoma by the Oklahoma Sport Parachute Association. On the final team jump Bob was close behind and slightly above Harry Brown coming into the target circle. His leg got caught in Harry's suspension lines pulling his leg up under him. He was a hefty boy, and when he landed he broke his ankle. They won 1st place in the team event. Bob could later be seen hobbling about the O'Club on crutches, with his custom made drink holder on the handle of his crutch.
Bob volunteered to crank up the new T-41A 'Mescalero' light aircraft training program at Vance and then moved on to do the same at the Air Force Academy.
He then attended A-1 training at Hurlburt Field, Florida (Eglin, Air Force Auxiliary #9). He was assigned to the 4407th Combat Crew Training Squadron, in Class 69-02.
He then went to Nakhon Phanom (NKP), Thailand where he flew the A-1H 'Skyraider', aka 'Spad', with the 602nd Special Operations Squadron, 56th Special Operations Wing. The nickname 'Spad' stood for "Single Place Attack, Douglas". The 602nd SOS flew strike missions with the call sign of 'Firefly' and Search and Rescue (SAR) missions using the call sign 'Sandy'. The motto of the SAR forces in South East Asia was "That Others May Live".
At 0523 hours on 18 January 1969, then Captain Robert Franklin Coady was the pilot of an A-1H Skyraider, #52-13488, call sign "Sandy 10," that departed Nakhon Phanom Airfield as the #2 aircraft in a flight of four conducting a morning SAR mission. Captain Coady was operating in the low element in a high/low flight formation to find and recover the crew of "Stormy 02," an F-4D that was shot down the afternoon before. Captain Victor A. Smith, pilot and First Lieutenant Fegan, WSO comprised the crew of Stormy 02 conducting a Forward Air Control mission against an active 37mm anti-aircraft artillery site near Tchepone when it was struck by 37mm AAA fire.
At 0625 hours, Lieutenant Fegan (Stormy 02 Bravo) made radio contact with Sandy flight. Because of clouds and fog over the survivor's position, the rescue operation was delayed until 0900 hours. By that time the weather cleared with only a few scattered clouds left and visibility of 7 miles. After Sandy 09 and Sandy 10 made their first pass over his location, Lieutenant Fegan advised the Sandy pilots that there was automatic weapons fire coming from the east and southeast of his position. Repeated weapons fire was noted on each subsequent pass over the survivor's position. Sandy 09 received 7 hits from small arms fire. Captain Coady was working the same area and at the same altitude as his flight leader, and was probably hit at the same time by the same AAA gunners.
According to Sandy 09 (Don Dunaway), at 0932 hours, he heard an unidentified radio transmission stating, "What in the world is that?" Looking around while pulling off the target, Sandy 09 observed a dust cloud followed by a white phosphorous cloud and smoke from burning gasoline. The entire length from dust to smoke was approximately 125 yards. It was approximately 2½ miles north of Captain Smith and Lieutenant Fegan's location, 38 miles west northwest of Khe Sanh, South Vietnam and 2 miles north of Tchepone in Savannakhet Province, Laos.
Sandy 09 saw no parachute in the confusion of battle, dust and smoke. He tried to raise Captain Coady on his survival radio, but was not able to establish contact. SAR efforts continued throughout the day, but when no trace of Robert Coady was found, the search effort was terminated. During the search operation, Lieutenant Fegan was successfully rescued.
The report of the complete SAR can be seen here.
Initially Bob was placed in Missing in Action status and while MIA he was promoted to Major. On July 26, 1974 his status was changed to Killed in Action and a memorial stone was placed in Arlington National Cemetery.
The remains of Major Coady were repatriated on February 10, 1994. Positive identification was announced by the government on November 28, 2001.
Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. - John 15:13
In 1964, Bob, aka 'Wild Bill', was a First Lieutenant assigned to 3575th Pilot Training Wing, 3576th Pilot Training Squadron, Flight 4, 'Warlock' where he instructed in the T-37B 'Tweet' at Vance Air Force Base, Enid, Oklahoma. He instructed many of my fellow classmates in Class 65-F.
Harry Brown recalls Bob's "P to the Fifth" rule; Prior Planning Prevents Piss Poor Performance.
Bob founded the "Vance Para-Aces" skydiving team. On March 14, 1965, a big meet was held in Eastern Oklahoma by the Oklahoma Sport Parachute Association. On the final team jump Bob was close behind and slightly above Harry Brown coming into the target circle. His leg got caught in Harry's suspension lines pulling his leg up under him. He was a hefty boy, and when he landed he broke his ankle. They won 1st place in the team event. Bob could later be seen hobbling about the O'Club on crutches, with his custom made drink holder on the handle of his crutch.
Bob volunteered to crank up the new T-41A 'Mescalero' light aircraft training program at Vance and then moved on to do the same at the Air Force Academy.
He then attended A-1 training at Hurlburt Field, Florida (Eglin, Air Force Auxiliary #9). He was assigned to the 4407th Combat Crew Training Squadron, in Class 69-02.
He then went to Nakhon Phanom (NKP), Thailand where he flew the A-1H 'Skyraider', aka 'Spad', with the 602nd Special Operations Squadron, 56th Special Operations Wing. The nickname 'Spad' stood for "Single Place Attack, Douglas". The 602nd SOS flew strike missions with the call sign of 'Firefly' and Search and Rescue (SAR) missions using the call sign 'Sandy'. The motto of the SAR forces in South East Asia was "That Others May Live".
At 0523 hours on 18 January 1969, then Captain Robert Franklin Coady was the pilot of an A-1H Skyraider, #52-13488, call sign "Sandy 10," that departed Nakhon Phanom Airfield as the #2 aircraft in a flight of four conducting a morning SAR mission. Captain Coady was operating in the low element in a high/low flight formation to find and recover the crew of "Stormy 02," an F-4D that was shot down the afternoon before. Captain Victor A. Smith, pilot and First Lieutenant Fegan, WSO comprised the crew of Stormy 02 conducting a Forward Air Control mission against an active 37mm anti-aircraft artillery site near Tchepone when it was struck by 37mm AAA fire.
At 0625 hours, Lieutenant Fegan (Stormy 02 Bravo) made radio contact with Sandy flight. Because of clouds and fog over the survivor's position, the rescue operation was delayed until 0900 hours. By that time the weather cleared with only a few scattered clouds left and visibility of 7 miles. After Sandy 09 and Sandy 10 made their first pass over his location, Lieutenant Fegan advised the Sandy pilots that there was automatic weapons fire coming from the east and southeast of his position. Repeated weapons fire was noted on each subsequent pass over the survivor's position. Sandy 09 received 7 hits from small arms fire. Captain Coady was working the same area and at the same altitude as his flight leader, and was probably hit at the same time by the same AAA gunners.
According to Sandy 09 (Don Dunaway), at 0932 hours, he heard an unidentified radio transmission stating, "What in the world is that?" Looking around while pulling off the target, Sandy 09 observed a dust cloud followed by a white phosphorous cloud and smoke from burning gasoline. The entire length from dust to smoke was approximately 125 yards. It was approximately 2½ miles north of Captain Smith and Lieutenant Fegan's location, 38 miles west northwest of Khe Sanh, South Vietnam and 2 miles north of Tchepone in Savannakhet Province, Laos.
Sandy 09 saw no parachute in the confusion of battle, dust and smoke. He tried to raise Captain Coady on his survival radio, but was not able to establish contact. SAR efforts continued throughout the day, but when no trace of Robert Coady was found, the search effort was terminated. During the search operation, Lieutenant Fegan was successfully rescued.
The report of the complete SAR can be seen here.
Initially Bob was placed in Missing in Action status and while MIA he was promoted to Major. On July 26, 1974 his status was changed to Killed in Action and a memorial stone was placed in Arlington National Cemetery.
The remains of Major Coady were repatriated on February 10, 1994. Positive identification was announced by the government on November 28, 2001.
Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. - John 15:13
Robert Franklin Coady attended Louisiana State University where he was the Wing Sergeant Major in the Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps, Detachment 310.
In 1964, Bob, aka 'Wild Bill', was a First Lieutenant assigned to 3575th Pilot Training Wing, 3576th Pilot Training Squadron, Flight 4, 'Warlock' where he instructed in the T-37B 'Tweet' at Vance Air Force Base, Enid, Oklahoma. He instructed many of my fellow classmates in Class 65-F.
Harry Brown recalls Bob's "P to the Fifth" rule; Prior Planning Prevents Piss Poor Performance.
Bob founded the "Vance Para-Aces" skydiving team. On March 14, 1965, a big meet was held in Eastern Oklahoma by the Oklahoma Sport Parachute Association. On the final team jump Bob was close behind and slightly above Harry Brown coming into the target circle. His leg got caught in Harry's suspension lines pulling his leg up under him. He was a hefty boy, and when he landed he broke his ankle. They won 1st place in the team event. Bob could later be seen hobbling about the O'Club on crutches, with his custom made drink holder on the handle of his crutch.
Bob volunteered to crank up the new T-41A 'Mescalero' light aircraft training program at Vance and then moved on to do the same at the Air Force Academy.
He then attended A-1 training at Hurlburt Field, Florida (Eglin, Air Force Auxiliary #9). He was assigned to the 4407th Combat Crew Training Squadron, in Class 69-02.
He then went to Nakhon Phanom (NKP), Thailand where he flew the A-1H 'Skyraider', aka 'Spad', with the 602nd Special Operations Squadron, 56th Special Operations Wing. The nickname 'Spad' stood for "Single Place Attack, Douglas". The 602nd SOS flew strike missions with the call sign of 'Firefly' and Search and Rescue (SAR) missions using the call sign 'Sandy'. The motto of the SAR forces in South East Asia was "That Others May Live".
At 0523 hours on 18 January 1969, then Captain Robert Franklin Coady was the pilot of an A-1H Skyraider, #52-13488, call sign "Sandy 10," that departed Nakhon Phanom Airfield as the #2 aircraft in a flight of four conducting a morning SAR mission. Captain Coady was operating in the low element in a high/low flight formation to find and recover the crew of "Stormy 02," an F-4D that was shot down the afternoon before. Captain Victor A. Smith, pilot and First Lieutenant Fegan, WSO comprised the crew of Stormy 02 conducting a Forward Air Control mission against an active 37mm anti-aircraft artillery site near Tchepone when it was struck by 37mm AAA fire.
At 0625 hours, Lieutenant Fegan (Stormy 02 Bravo) made radio contact with Sandy flight. Because of clouds and fog over the survivor's position, the rescue operation was delayed until 0900 hours. By that time the weather cleared with only a few scattered clouds left and visibility of 7 miles. After Sandy 09 and Sandy 10 made their first pass over his location, Lieutenant Fegan advised the Sandy pilots that there was automatic weapons fire coming from the east and southeast of his position. Repeated weapons fire was noted on each subsequent pass over the survivor's position. Sandy 09 received 7 hits from small arms fire. Captain Coady was working the same area and at the same altitude as his flight leader, and was probably hit at the same time by the same AAA gunners.
According to Sandy 09 (Don Dunaway), at 0932 hours, he heard an unidentified radio transmission stating, "What in the world is that?" Looking around while pulling off the target, Sandy 09 observed a dust cloud followed by a white phosphorous cloud and smoke from burning gasoline. The entire length from dust to smoke was approximately 125 yards. It was approximately 2½ miles north of Captain Smith and Lieutenant Fegan's location, 38 miles west northwest of Khe Sanh, South Vietnam and 2 miles north of Tchepone in Savannakhet Province, Laos.
Sandy 09 saw no parachute in the confusion of battle, dust and smoke. He tried to raise Captain Coady on his survival radio, but was not able to establish contact. SAR efforts continued throughout the day, but when no trace of Robert Coady was found, the search effort was terminated. During the search operation, Lieutenant Fegan was successfully rescued.
The report of the complete SAR can be seen here.
Initially Bob was placed in Missing in Action status and while MIA he was promoted to Major. On July 26, 1974 his status was changed to Killed in Action and a memorial stone was placed in Arlington National Cemetery.
The remains of Major Coady were repatriated on February 10, 1994. Positive identification was announced by the government on November 28, 2001.
Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. - John 15:13
In 1964, Bob, aka 'Wild Bill', was a First Lieutenant assigned to 3575th Pilot Training Wing, 3576th Pilot Training Squadron, Flight 4, 'Warlock' where he instructed in the T-37B 'Tweet' at Vance Air Force Base, Enid, Oklahoma. He instructed many of my fellow classmates in Class 65-F.
Harry Brown recalls Bob's "P to the Fifth" rule; Prior Planning Prevents Piss Poor Performance.
Bob founded the "Vance Para-Aces" skydiving team. On March 14, 1965, a big meet was held in Eastern Oklahoma by the Oklahoma Sport Parachute Association. On the final team jump Bob was close behind and slightly above Harry Brown coming into the target circle. His leg got caught in Harry's suspension lines pulling his leg up under him. He was a hefty boy, and when he landed he broke his ankle. They won 1st place in the team event. Bob could later be seen hobbling about the O'Club on crutches, with his custom made drink holder on the handle of his crutch.
Bob volunteered to crank up the new T-41A 'Mescalero' light aircraft training program at Vance and then moved on to do the same at the Air Force Academy.
He then attended A-1 training at Hurlburt Field, Florida (Eglin, Air Force Auxiliary #9). He was assigned to the 4407th Combat Crew Training Squadron, in Class 69-02.
He then went to Nakhon Phanom (NKP), Thailand where he flew the A-1H 'Skyraider', aka 'Spad', with the 602nd Special Operations Squadron, 56th Special Operations Wing. The nickname 'Spad' stood for "Single Place Attack, Douglas". The 602nd SOS flew strike missions with the call sign of 'Firefly' and Search and Rescue (SAR) missions using the call sign 'Sandy'. The motto of the SAR forces in South East Asia was "That Others May Live".
At 0523 hours on 18 January 1969, then Captain Robert Franklin Coady was the pilot of an A-1H Skyraider, #52-13488, call sign "Sandy 10," that departed Nakhon Phanom Airfield as the #2 aircraft in a flight of four conducting a morning SAR mission. Captain Coady was operating in the low element in a high/low flight formation to find and recover the crew of "Stormy 02," an F-4D that was shot down the afternoon before. Captain Victor A. Smith, pilot and First Lieutenant Fegan, WSO comprised the crew of Stormy 02 conducting a Forward Air Control mission against an active 37mm anti-aircraft artillery site near Tchepone when it was struck by 37mm AAA fire.
At 0625 hours, Lieutenant Fegan (Stormy 02 Bravo) made radio contact with Sandy flight. Because of clouds and fog over the survivor's position, the rescue operation was delayed until 0900 hours. By that time the weather cleared with only a few scattered clouds left and visibility of 7 miles. After Sandy 09 and Sandy 10 made their first pass over his location, Lieutenant Fegan advised the Sandy pilots that there was automatic weapons fire coming from the east and southeast of his position. Repeated weapons fire was noted on each subsequent pass over the survivor's position. Sandy 09 received 7 hits from small arms fire. Captain Coady was working the same area and at the same altitude as his flight leader, and was probably hit at the same time by the same AAA gunners.
According to Sandy 09 (Don Dunaway), at 0932 hours, he heard an unidentified radio transmission stating, "What in the world is that?" Looking around while pulling off the target, Sandy 09 observed a dust cloud followed by a white phosphorous cloud and smoke from burning gasoline. The entire length from dust to smoke was approximately 125 yards. It was approximately 2½ miles north of Captain Smith and Lieutenant Fegan's location, 38 miles west northwest of Khe Sanh, South Vietnam and 2 miles north of Tchepone in Savannakhet Province, Laos.
Sandy 09 saw no parachute in the confusion of battle, dust and smoke. He tried to raise Captain Coady on his survival radio, but was not able to establish contact. SAR efforts continued throughout the day, but when no trace of Robert Coady was found, the search effort was terminated. During the search operation, Lieutenant Fegan was successfully rescued.
The report of the complete SAR can be seen here.
Initially Bob was placed in Missing in Action status and while MIA he was promoted to Major. On July 26, 1974 his status was changed to Killed in Action and a memorial stone was placed in Arlington National Cemetery.
The remains of Major Coady were repatriated on February 10, 1994. Positive identification was announced by the government on November 28, 2001.
Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. - John 15:13
Inscription
In memory of / Robert F / Coady / Major / US Air Force / Vietnam / Sep 11 1939 / Jul 26 1974
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