| Date: 3 January 1971 |
| Aircraft type: F-4E Phantom |
| Serial Number: 66-0380 |
| Military Unit: 34 TFS, 388 TFW |
| Service: USAF |
| Home Base: Korat |
| Name(s): |
| Maj James Henry Ayres (KIA) |
| Capt Charles Wayne Stratton (KIA) |
| A pair of Phantoms was sent on a night-time strike mission on enemy positions in Savannakhet Province in southern Laos. As the leading aircraft (call sign Rancho) made its first pass it was apparently hit by AAA and crashed near the village of Ban Namalou, five miles southeast of Ban Muangsen. There was no indication that either of the crew had been able to escape. Between 2001 and 2005 several excavations of the crash site were made by joint US/Laotian teams which recovered human remains and personal equipment. The remains were later confirmed by DNA testing to be those of the Phantom crew. In 2007 the remains of Maj Ayres were buried in Arlington National Cemetery and those of Capt Stratton were buried in Dallas-Fort Worth National Cemetery on what would have been his 67th birthday. |
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