Nellans, William Lee
Air Force Major

William Lee Nellans from Warsaw, Indiana.

Service era: Vietnam

Date of death: September 17, 1967
Death details: On September 17, 1967, an RF-4C Phantom II (tail number 64-1037) carrying two crew members departed Tan Son Nhut airbase on a night photo reconnaissance mission over North Vietnam. During the mission, the aircraft disappeared from friendly radar tracking. This did not cause alarm, as radar contact was often lost on low-level flights in the target area. When the aircraft failed to return to base, a search of its flight path was initiated; however, no sign of the aircraft or its crew could be located.

Captain William Lee Nellans, who joined the U.S. Air Force from Indiana, was a member of the 12th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron, 460th Tactical Reconnaissance Wing. He was the aircraft commander of this Phantom when it went missing, and he was lost with the aircraft. He remains unaccounted for. After the incident, the Air Force promoted Capt Nellans to the rank of Major (Maj). Today, Major Nellans is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency