| To Family, Friends, Acquaintances, and the folks that were near or there this fateful day, 18 April, 1972. |
| 36 years ago approximately 1226 P.M. local time at An Loc RVN. Acft 63-7775 took a 37mm round from NVA AAA gunners
on the run in to a drop zone located at the Military Compound at the south end of the city of An Loc, RVN which resulted in the
eventual crash landing near Lai Khe, RVN (Approx. 30 miles North of Saigon [now Ho Chi Minh City at approx. 1240 P.M.]. The entire
crew of 63-7775; Capt Doc Jensen AC, Maj. Leigh Pratt CP, me Maj. Robert Kirkpatrick NAV, FE Sgt Ralph Kent, Sr Loadmaster Sgt Ralph
Bemis, assisting Loadmaster AMN Charlie Armstead and an ARVN Sgt Kiem survived the crash landing. Due to the assistance and efforts
of an Army Helicopter mission from "F" Troop 1/9 Air Cav commanded by then Capt Robert Frank, CW Robert Monette HUEY Pilot,
Capt Don Gooch (SABRE RED)Cobra Cover plus the door gunners on the HUEY I was picked up in; SP John DesLauries, and SP Bruce Shearer
For the entire group see www.anloc.org and the Little Rock AFB reunion. The Battle of An Loc was one of the last major battles the US Forces were engaged in and was not the failure projected by the NVA and anti war demonstrators with the help of the media, but rather a very unique win that has never been fully realized by but the few who were there. A continuing Thanks to "F" Troop 1/9 for your help in picking us out of the rice paddy and getting back in touch with us through these past 36 years. 18 April is and always will be a very special day in my mind and it is one I cherish more as time passes. Robert W. Kirkpatrick Master Navigator Major USAF Retired |
| Air Force Sergeants MIA from Vietnam War Identified |
| The Department of Defense POW/ Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) announced today that the remains of two
servicemen, missing in action from the Vietnam War, have been identified. They are Tech. Sgt. Donald R. Hoskins, Madison, Ind. and Staff Sgt. Calvin C. Cooke, Washington, D.C. A third person from the crew, Maj. Harry A. Amesbury, has been previously identified. The funeral for Cooke will be at Arlington National Cemetery, near Washington D.C. on June 20, with full military honors.(more) |
| Silver Star Medal Awarded to James W. Beaubien, III |
| James W. Beaubien, III, a resident of Dallas, Texas, is awarded the Silver Star Medal for a mission flown in June 1972 during the Battle of An Loc, Republic of Vietnam, as a United States Air Force Forward Air Controller (FAC). Dallas, Texas - January 24, 2006 - Approval was announced on January 20, 2006, by the Department of the Air Force of the award of the Silver Star Medal, the nation's third highest award for valor, to James W. Beaubien, III.. Mr. Beaubien, a native of Ponca City, Oklahoma, and a graduate of Oklahoma State University in 1970, has been a resident of Dallas, Texas, for over 24 years while serving as a pilot for Delta Airlines from which he is now retired. (more) |
