| Date: 28 June 1970 |
| Aircraft type: A-7A Corsair |
| Serial Number: 153176 |
| Military Unit: VA-153 |
| Service: USN |
| Home Base: USS Oriskany |
| Name(s): |
| Cdr Donald Deane Aldern (KIA) |
| The Oriskany’s first and, as it happened only, combat loss of its fifth cruise occurred during a night Steel Tiger mission. The pilot was Cdr Aldern, the commander of Air Wing 19, who was leading his wingman on a FAC-controlled strike 10 miles south of Muang Fangdeng in the southern tip of Laos. His Corsair (call sign Power House 304) was seen by the FAC and his wingman to start its bomb run, drop its bombs and then fly into the ground near the target and explode. Although no flak was seen at the time it was possible that ground fire or target fixation or disorientation were possible causes. An attempt to examine the crash site had to be abandoned when the ground party encountered heavy enemy resistance. |
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