| The Incident
On 20 January 1968, then Capt.
Tilden Holley, pilot, and 1st Lt. James Ketterer, co-pilot,
comprised the crew of an F4C, call sign "Outlaw 01", that was the
lead aircraft in a flight of two conducting a night armed
reconnaissance mission. At 2202 hours, Outlaw flight departed
DaNang Airbase, South Vietnam to work the coastal region of North
Vietnam between the 17th and 18th parallels, Quang Binh Province,
North Vietnam. The mission area was also known as "Talley Ho" and
included the major port city of Dong Hoi.
Their Forward Air Controller
(FAC) in command of this operation was an OV1C Army Mohawk, call
sign "Spud 15," that had special capabilities to observe a moving
vehicle by electronic means regardless of weather.
When Spud 15 and Outlaw flight
were working the coastal region approximately 15 miles northwest
of Dong Hoi, they spotted a moving target through the 3,000-foot
cloud cover. The FAC confirmed the target and authorized Outlaw
flight to attack it. As Outlaw 02 was pulling off target, both
crewmen observed heavy automatic weapons tracers rising up on
their left and 37mm anti-aircraft artillery (AAA) tracers from
the right passing 100 feet below their aircraft. Outlaw 01 told
Outlaw 02 to enter a holding pattern over the water while he took
a look at the target before their flares burned out.
After roughly a minute, Outlaw
02 established radio contact with Outlaw 01 asking if they were
okay? Capt. Holley replied, "yes." While Outlaw 02 remained above
the clouds at 9,000 feet and approximately 5 miles
north-northeast of the target and heading in a generally
southerly direction, the pilot of Outlaw 2 saw a large orange
glow that formed in a very rapid streak through the undercast of
clouds. At first he thought the light could have been another
flare. He again radioed the flight leader to ask if they had put
out another flare? This time there was no response from either
crewman of the Lead aircraft. It became apparent to Outlaw 02
that it was not a flare he observed, but most probably Outlaw
01's aircraft striking the ground.
At the time of Outlaw O1's
disappearance, the Phantom's estimated position was 14.5 miles on
a bearing of 322 degrees of Dong Hoi. The hills to the north of
the road rise up to a height of approximately 700 feet. At 2237
hours, 35 minutes into the mission and within 30 seconds of
seeing the orange glow, Outlaw 02 heard a 2 to 3 seconds of tone
emanating from an emergency beeper. According to the crew of
Outlaw 02, the tones were clipped off so that only a small part
of the undulation was heard. In the darkness and cloud cover, no
parachutes were seen and no voice contact was established with
either Capt. Holley or 1st Lt. Ketterer.
The area of loss was in the
densely populated and heavily defended coastal plain located less
then 2 miles west of Highway 1A, 3 miles west of the coastline,
18 miles north-northwest of Dong Hoi and 31 miles northeast of
the Ban Karai Pass, which was one of the two primary ports of
entry onto the infamous Ho Chi Minh Trail. Three hills rose up
from the coastal plain with a maximum height of 200 feet just to
the north, northwest and northeast of the suspected crash site.
Small villages were located within a quarter-mile to the west and
south of it.
The entire sector was laced
with roads, footpaths, storage depots, repair facilities and a
railroad line all used for the collection of men and material in
preparation for their transportation down the Ho Chi Minh Trail
and into the acknowledged war zones in South Vietnam.
Crown, the Airborne Battlefield
Command and Control (ABCCC) aircraft, immediately assumed command
and overall responsibility to coordinate search and rescue (SAR)
operations for James Ketterer and Tilden Holley. Additional
fighter aircraft - first Alleycat flight, then Jason flight -
came in to assist in the search for the downed aircrew while the
recovery helicopter maintained a safe distance out to sea and
away from the enemy gunners.
Outlaw 02 finally departed the
area at 2310 hours due to being low on fuel. Spud 15 remained on
station monitoring the search operation for another hour after
Outlaw 02's departure. At that time the FAC's fuel supply was
nearly depleted. The formal aerial visual and electronic search
continued into the next day, but was terminated after no trace of
the downed aircrew could be found.
Even though the Air Force
states that no parachutes were seen, and no emergency radio
beepers were heard, subsequent information is included in the
Defense Department raw data which may reveal the fates of
Ketterer and Holley. The DIA notation on Holley's incident
indicates that he successfully ejected from the aircraft, but was
killed in a shootout with enemy troops in the area. Ketterer's
DIA remarks simply state he is dead, and list the report code
numbers.
Because these men were not
found presumptively dead until 1978, it must be concluded that
the DIA reports relating to the two were not confirmed. If they
had been confirmed reports, these two men would have had timely
status changes to Killed in Action, Body Not Recovered. The
possibility exists, therefore, that the two did not die at the
point they reached the ground. The possibility also exists that
the two were captured alive.
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