Strong, Henry Hooker Jr.
Navy Captain

Henry Hooker Strong Jr., age 39, from North Wales, Pennsylvania, Montgomery county.

Service era: Vietnam

Date of death: May 25, 1972
Death details: Captain Henry Hooker Strong Jr. entered the U.S. Navy from Pennsylvania and was a member of Attack Squadron 212, embarked aboard the USS Hancock (CVA 19). On May 25, 1972, he was the pilot of a single-seat A-4F Skyhawk (bureau number 155045) that departed the Hancock as the lead in a thirty plane flight on a strike mission against enemy targets in North Vietnam. En route, the aircraft were unable to proceed to the primary target because of adverse weather so CAPT Strong diverted the flight to their secondary target, which was a highway bridge and military storage complex located in the vicinity of (GC) 48Q WF 733 607. Once at the target, CAPT Strong called “Rolling in,” and proceeded to lead the attack on the bridge. His Skyhawk was then hit by intense anti-aircraft artillery fire. Radio contact with him was lost, and no parachutes were observed or rescue beepers detected. Search efforts were unsuccessful in locating CAPT Strong or his aircraft, and he remains unaccounted for. Today, Captain Strong is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

Source: National Archives., Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency