| Date: 2 July 1967 |
| Aircraft type: F-4B Phantom |
| Serial Number: 151421 |
| Military Unit: VMFA-542, MAG-13 |
| Service: USMC |
| Home Base: Chu Lai |
| Name(s): |
| Maj Ray Daniel Pendergraft (KIA) |
| Capt David Glenn Spearman (KIA) |
| The Marine Aviation Wing in South Vietnam had not lost a fixed-wing aircraft for over a month but its run of good luck came to a halt on the 2nd. Two companies of Marines were caught by a larger NVA force close to the forward Marine Corps base at Con Thien just south of the DMZ and were taking very heavy casualties. A flight of Phantoms was called in to attack the North Vietnamese troops near Kinh Mon, actually within the DMZ buffer zone. One of the aircraft (call sign Castor Oil) was hit by ground fire on its fourth pass over the target. Maj Pendergraft flew out to sea and then tried to reach Da Nang but the aircraft crashed just off the coast, about 15 miles north of Hué, and both crew were killed. |
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