Wayne Benjamin Wolfkeil, age 36, from Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, Luzerne county.
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Friday, August 9, 1968
Death details: Major Wayne Benjamin Wolfkeil, who joined the U.S. Air Force from Pennsylvania, was a member of the 6th Special Operations Squadron, 633rd Special Operations Wing. On August 9, 1968, he piloted an A-1H Skyraider (tail number 52-135326, call sign Spad 36) as part of a four-plane combat mission over western Laos. Witnesses in other aircraft reported that while making his pass over the target, Maj Wolfkeil’s Skyraider made a sharp turn and then crashed, and he was not seen to bail out before it went down. The other aircraft on the mission flew over the crash site but saw no evidence that Maj Wolfkeil survived the incident. Enemy presence in the area prevented ground teams from inspecting the crash site until a few weeks later, but no remains were found. While carried in the status of missing in action (MIA), the Air Force promoted Maj Wolfkeil to the rank of Colonel (Col). Today, Col Wolfkeil is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Source: National Archives.