| Date: 8 December 1966 |
| Aircraft type: F-105D Thunderchief |
| Serial Number: 59-1725 |
| Military Unit: 354 TFS, 355 TFW |
| Service: USAF |
| Home Base: Takhli |
| Name(s): |
| Lt Col Donald Henry Asire (KIA) |
| A major strike was attempted on the railway and POL store at Phuc Yen on the 8th. Weather precluded a successful attack and the strike was diverted to the secondary target. The leading flight of four F-105s was about 15 miles northwest of Thai Nguyen when it was attacked by several MiG-21s. Lt Col Asire’s aircraft (call sign Kingpin 3) was seen to dive into a cloud with a MiG in hot pursuit. It was presumed that the MiG shot down the F-105 although Ken Bell in 100 Missions North claims that Asire was forced down to low-level by the MiGs and lost control of his aircraft and crashed when only one of his wing fuel tanks jettisoned successfully. Don Asire’s status was changed from missing to killed in action on 19 September 1973. Lt Col Asire was the CO of the 354th at the time of his loss. Sixteen years later, on 21 June 1989, his remains were returned to the USA. |
You may return to your search results, go to the Search Form, or go back to the Home Page.