Harley, Lee Dufford
Air Force Major

Lee Dufford Harley, age 26, from Danville County Danville, Virginia .

Service era: Vietnam
Military history: Silver Star

Date of death: Wednesday, May 18, 1966
Death details: On May 18, 1966, an 0-1F Bird Dog (tail number 57-2877, call sign “Gombey 19”) departed Nakhon Phanom Royal Thai Air Force Base on a two-plane visual reconnaissance mission over Laos. Once airborne, “Gombey 19” was called in for a forward air control mission and directed air strikes for approximately two hours. “Gombey19 ” was radioing back assessments of air strike damage when its transmission abruptly stopped. The other aircraft on the mission flew to its last known position and saw burning wreckage below. The enemy fire prevented further observation, and the second aircraft returned to base. A search and rescue effort hampered by intense enemy ground fire. Captain Lee Dufford Harley, who joined the U.S. Air Force from Virginia, served with the 505th Tactical Reconnaissance Group. He was the pilot of “Gombey 19” when the aircraft was shot down on May 18, 1966, and his remains were not recovered. While carried in the status of missing in action, the U.S. Air Force promoted Capt Harley to the rank of Major (Maj). Today, Major Harley 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