| Date: 16 October 1967 |
| Aircraft type: RF-4C Phantom |
| Serial Number: 65-0855 |
| Military Unit: 12 TRS, 460 TRW |
| Service: USAF |
| Home Base: Tan Son Nhut |
| Name(s): |
| Capt Richard Duane Appelhans (KIA) |
| Capt George William Clarke (POW (died)) |
| As night fell a reconnaissance Phantom from Tan Son Nhut flew north to perform a mission over the South Vietnamese border with Laos to the west of Khe Sanh. Not only was the area a major component of the Ho Chi Minh Trail but it was also becoming apparent that North Vietnamese forces were using the region to threaten the Marine Corps bases in Military Region I. Radio and radar contact was lost with the RF-4C (call sign Kodak 6) when the aircraft was flying over Saravane Province in Laos, about 12 miles west of Khe Sanh. A SAR mission was instigated but the results were negative. However, the three American prisoners who were released early in 1968 reported that they had seen George Clarke alive in a POW camp, although this was later refuted. Neither Clarke nor Appelhans emerged when the North Vietnamese released their prisoners in 1973 and they were both later presumed dead. |
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