| Date: 7 May 1972 |
| Aircraft type: RA-5C Vigilante |
| Serial Number: 151618 |
| Military Unit: RVAH-7 |
| Service: USN |
| Home Base: USS Kitty Hawk |
| Name(s): |
| Cdr Clarence Ronald Polfer (POW) |
| Lt(jg) Joseph Eugene Kernan (POW) |
| A Vigilante was sent to take BDA photographs of a truck park near Thanh Hoa that had just been attacked. As the aircraft (call sign Flare 604) was on its photo run at 4,500 feet and 600 knots it was hit by AAA near the Dragon’s Jaw Bridge. The rear of the aircraft caught fire and Cdr Polfer and Lt Kernan ejected and were captured. Both men were released from North Vietnam on 28 March 1973. Clarence Polfer had flown over 200 missions during three tours in Southeast Asia, the first two as a Phantom pilot with VF-154 operating from the Coral Sea and the Ranger. He was serving as the executive officer with RVAH-7 when he was shot down. After retiring from the Navy Joseph Kernan became involved in State politics and became the Mayor of South Bend, Indiana, and the Lieutenant Governor of Indiana. |
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