| Date: 7 October 1967 |
| Aircraft type: F-105F Thunderchief |
| Serial Number: 63-8330 |
| Military Unit: 13 TFS, 388 TFW |
| Service: USAF |
| Home Base: Korat |
| Name(s): |
| Capt Joseph D Howard (Survived) |
| Capt George L Shamblee (Survived) |
| Aircraft type: F-105D Thunderchief |
| Serial Number: 60-0444 |
| Military Unit: 34 TFS, 388 TFW |
| Service: USAF |
| Home Base: Korat |
| Name(s): |
| Maj Wayne Eugene Fullam (KIA) |
| Just over two hours after Maj Appleby’s Phantom was lost the Korat Wing hit the railway marshalling yard at Kep. As usual, the bombers were preceded by an Iron Hand flight of F-105F Wild Weasels and associated F-105D bombers. The Iron Hand flight had battled its way to the target and was heading east away from Kep when it was intercepted by MiG-21s. Capt Howard’s aircraft (call sign Warhawk 1) was hit in the rear fuselage by an air-to-air missile but the F-105 escaped out to sea and headed south in an attempt to reach the safety of Da Nang. The aircraft crossed much of the Gulf of Tonkin but the crew was eventually forced to eject over the sea about 75 miles north of Da Nang. Capt Howard was rescued from the sea by a Marine Corps helicopter from the amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli and the Capt Shamblee, the EWO, was rescued by a HH-43B helicopter from Da Nang.
About 20 minutes after the Iron Hand flight had left the target, one of the F-105D bombers was shot down. Maj Fullam (call sign Pistol 1) rolled in on the target from 12,000 feet but the aircraft was struck in the starboard wing by 85mm flak. He radioed that he was ejecting and a parachute was seen and a strong SAR beeper signal was picked up, however, voice contact could not be made. Maj Fullam landed about 30 miles east of Kep and a Navy rescue helicopter attempted a rescue but could not get close due to intense ground fire. The helicopter crew saw Maj Fullam’s parachute being pulled down from a tree and noted that the beeper signals ceased at the same time. A subsequent intelligence report claimed that Fullam had been captured by a Chinese anti-aircraft unit operating in North Vietnam and that he was handed over to the North Vietnamese and driven away in a jeep. This report could not be verified even after Operation Homecoming but on 24 September 1987 remains were handed over by the Vietnamese that were later identified as being those of Maj Fullam. The cause of his death remains a mystery. |
You may return to your search results, go to the Search Form, or go back to the Home Page.