Zook, Harold Jacob
Air Force Lieutenant Colonel

Harold Jacob Zook, age 25, from Lancaster County New Holland, Pennsylvania .

Service era: Vietnam

Date of death: Tuesday, May 31, 1966
Death details: On October 22, 1986, the Central Identification Lab-Hawaii (CILHI, now DPAA) identified the remains of Lieutenant Colonel Harold Jacob Zook, missing from the Vietnam War. Lieutenant Colonel Zook, who joined the U.S. Air Force from South Dakota, served with the 61st Troop Carrier Squadron. On May 31, 1966, Lt Col Zook served as the copilot on board a C-130 Hercules (tail number 64-0511). The Hercules departed from Da Nang Air Base, South Vietnam on a classified bombing mission using special weapons against the Thanh Hoa Bridge in North Vietnam. During the bombing run, the Hercules was shot down and Lt Col Zook was killed. Hostile presence in the area prevented immediate recovery efforts. In 1986, the Vietnamese government repatriated remains which were later identified as those of Lt Col Zook.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency