Rich, Richard
Navy Captain

Richard Rich from Stamford, Connecticut.

Service era: Vietnam

Date of death: May 17, 1967
Death details: On September 18, 2000, Joint Task Force-Full Accounting (JTF-FA, now DPAA) identified the remains of Captain Richard Rich, missing from the Vietnam War.

Captain Rich, who joined the U.S. Navy from Connecticut, served with Fighter Squadron 96, Carrier Air Wing 9, embarked aboard the USS Enterprise (CVN-65). On May 17, 1967, he piloted an F-4B Phantom (bureau number 152264) on a combat air patrol mission over North Vietnam. During the mission, the Phantom was shot down and CAPT Rich was killed. Hostile presence in the area inhibited search efforts during the war. In 2000, a joint U.S./Vietnamese investigative team located the crash site of the Phantom and recovered remains which were later identified as those of CAPT Rich.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency