| Date: 5 October 1972 |
| Aircraft type: F-4E Phantom |
| Serial Number: 69-0287 |
| Military Unit: 435 TFS, 8 TFW |
| Service: USAF |
| Home Base: Ubon |
| Name(s): |
| Capt James D Latham (POW) |
| 1Lt Richard Lyman Bates (POW) |
| A FAC Phantom (call sign Wolf) was shot down by ground fire near Xom Quan, 12 miles north of the DMZ as it flew low to check out a convoy of apparently burned out trucks as a potential target. The starboard wing was blown off and both men ejected safely but were shot at as they came down by parachute. Unharmed, they were captured immediately and kept in separate bunkers for several weeks until they were taken by truck to Hanoi for imprisonment. Before they were moved to Hanoi Jim Latham broke out of his bunker and evaded to the coast where he was recaptured as he attempted to push a small fishing boat into the sea. Both men were released on 29 March 1973. James Latham had flown a total of 378 combat missions in Southeast Asia, including a tour as a Nail FAC OV-10 pilot, while Richard Bates had flown 136 missions, 98 of them over North Vietnam. Latham later commanded the 20th and 432nd TFWs before retiring from the USAF as a Brigadier General on 1 August 1997. Richard Bates retrained as an F-4 pilot following his release from Hanoi. |
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