Donald Alan Brown, age 31, from Arizona, Maricopa county.
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Thursday, July 30, 1970
Death details: On July 30, 1970, an RF-4C Phantom II (tail number 66-0436) took off from Udorn Royal Thai Air Force Base, Thailand, on a night reconnaissance mission over southern Laos. After takeoff, the Phantom II reported in with the on-site Airborne Battlefield Command and Control Center (ABCCC) controlling all air operations in the region. After providing the Phantom II with mission information, the ABCCC handed the flight over to the Forward Air Controller (FAC) to direct the rest of the mission. Shortly thereafter the FAC cleared the Phantom II to begin photographing the target area, which was mostly uncharted and included terrain that was rugged and covered in jungle. Radio contact with the aircraft was lost when it was roughly 25 miles north of Muang Fangdeng, Attopeu, Laos. No further transmissions were received from the crew. Search and rescue efforts were conducted from July 30 to August 1, but were unsuccessful and were suspended August 2. No trace of the aircraft or its crew were found.
Captain Donald Alan Brown entered the U.S. Air Force and was a member of the 14th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron, 432nd Tactical Reconnaissance Wing. He was the pilot of this Phantom II when it was lost on July 30, 1970, and he went missing with the aircraft. While carried in the status of missing in action (MIA), the U.S. Air Force promoted Capt Brown to the rank of Major (Maj). Today, Major Brown is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency