Prudhomme, John Douglas
Navy Lieutenant

John Douglas Prudhomme, age 28, from Miami County Tipp City, Ohio .

Service era: Vietnam

Date of death: Wednesday, December 22, 1965
Death details: Lieutenant (LT) John Douglas Prudhomme entered the U.S. Navy from Virginia and served with Attack Squadron 76, embarked aboard the USS Enterprise (CVA 65). On December 22, 1965, he was piloting an A-4C Skyhawk (bureau number: 149521) as the number two aircraft in a four-plane flight on a mission against enemy targets in North Vietnam. As he was approaching a target for a low-level ordnance pass, LT Prudhomme’s aircraft was seen to crash into the ground near (GC) 48Q XJ 850 204. The other pilots on the flight did not see any sign that LT Prudhomme ejected from his aircraft before the crash, and search and rescue efforts were difficult due to the crash site being in enemy territory. Further attempts to locate or identify LT Prudhomme’s remains were unsuccessful. Today, Lieutenant Prudhomme is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific. His name is also inscribed along with all his fallen comrades on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington, DC.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency