| Date: 24 April 1970 |
| Aircraft type: U-17B Skywagon |
| Serial Number: unknown |
| Military Unit: Detachment 1, 56 SOW |
| Service: Ravens (USAF) |
| Home Base: Udorn |
| Name(s): |
| Capt James Emory Cross (KIA) |
| Capt Gomer David Reese (KIA) |
| A month after the loss of two Raven FACs on 26 March two more pilots were lost when a U-17B was shot down in the Ban Ban valley near the Plain of Jars in Laos during an orientation flight for the newly-arrived Raven Capt Reese. Other pilots flew over the crash site and saw no sign of any survivors. Between 2004 and 2008 the crash site was examined and excavated and human remains were recovered. In September 2008 the remains of Capt Cross and Capt Reese were confirmed as having been found and identified by forensic analysis. The remains were interred in a joint grave in Arlington National Cemetery. Capt Cross had served a tour flying the AC-47 gunship in Vietnam before volunteering for the Raven FAC programme. |
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