| Date: 1 July 1972 |
| Aircraft type: F-4E Phantom |
| Serial Number: 67-0277 |
| Military Unit: 34 TFS, 388 TFW |
| Service: USAF |
| Home Base: Korat |
| Name(s): |
| Maj Paul Kurtz Robinson (POW) |
| Capt Kevin Joseph Cheney (POW) |
| The Korat Wing flew a major strike on Kep airfield on the 1st of the month during which it lost one of its Phantoms from a CAP flight. The raid was met by the usual barrage of SAMs and all the CAP aircraft were jinking in an attempt to dodge the missiles. Maj Robinson was doing 520 knots at 19,000 feet when he was warned of a SAM launch. His aircraft (call sign Bull) was bracketed by two missiles that exploded and set his aircraft on fire. Both the crew ejected safely and came down about eight miles southeast of Kep but were soon captured after landing. Apparently, as they were floating down Maj Robinson was heard on his survival radio to jokingly tell Capt Cheney to meet him at base operations at Kep airfield when they landed! Both crew, who are listed as being members of the 469th TFS in some documents, were released on 28 March 1973. Maj Robinson had flown a tour in the F-100 in Vietnam during 1967/68 and had amassed an impressive total of 350 missions over South Vietnam (several as a Misty FAC) and 137 over the North by the time of his capture. After his release from Hanoi he resumed his Air Force career and flew A-10s from RAF Bentwaters and finally retired as the vice commander of the Tactical Fighter Weapons Centre at Nellis AFB. He later became a vice president of the Wells Fargo Bank. Capt Cheney had flown two consecutive tours at Korat and had flown 280 missions over Laos, 20 over Cambodia, 40 over South Vietnam and 62 over North Vietnam, many of these missions as a Tiger FAC. |
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