| Date: 30 July 1972 |
| Aircraft type: F-4D Phantom |
| Serial Number: 66-7576 |
| Military Unit: 435 TFS, 8 TFW |
| Service: USAF |
| Home Base: Ubon |
| Name(s): |
| Lt Col William J Breckner (POW) |
| 1Lt Larry D Price (POW) |
| Three USAF Phantoms were lost over North Vietnam on the 30th. One aircraft was shot down during a raid on a major bridge near Hanoi. As Lt Col Breckner approached the target his aircraft (call sign Cedar) was hit by a SAM and the crew ejected about five miles east of Hanoi. Both men were captured immediately and imprisoned in Hanoi until their release on 29 March 1973. William Breckner had joined the USAF in 1955 and had flown the F-86H, F-100D, F-101B and the F-106 in addition to the F-4. He flew Skyhawks with the Navy on an exchange tour and was on the ill-fated cruise of the Forrestal when it caught fire in July 1967 and returned to combat on board the Intrepid in 1968. He eventually retired from the Air Force with the rank of Major General. |
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