Branch, James Alvin
Air Force Lieutenant colonel

James Alvin Branch from Park Forest, Illinois, Cook county.

Service era: Vietnam

Date of death: Thursday, September 4  1965
Death details: On June 9, 1993, Joint Task Force–Full Accounting (JTF-FA, now DPAA) identified the remains of Lieutenant Colonel James Alvin Branch missing from the Vietnam War.

Lieutenant Colonel Branch entered the U.S. Air Force from Illinois and was a member of the 47th Tactical Fighter Squadron. On September 4, 1965, he piloted an F-4C Phantom II (tail number 63-7700, call sign “Rhino 02”) on a strafing mission over Nghe An Province, North Vietnam. During a low-level run at the target, this aircraft was shot down and Lt Col Branch was killed in the crash. Heavy enemy activity in the loss area prevented the recovery of his remains at the time of his loss. In 1992, a joint U.S./Vietnamese team visited the crash site and recovered remains that U.S. analysts eventually identified as those of Lt Col Branch.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency