Quinn, Michael Edward
Navy Lieutenant commander

Michael Edward Quinn from Madelia, Minnesota, Watonwan county.

Service era: Vietnam

Date of death: Monday, May 15, 1978
Death details: 

On November 22, 1969, an A-6A Intruder (bureau number 155607, call sign Milestone 507) took off from the USS Ranger (CVA-61) carrying two crew members on a nighttime armed reconnaissance mission with one other aircraft, seeking targets of opportunity on the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Savannakhet Province, Laos. The Intruder was flying in the lead position, ahead of its wingman aircraft. On approach to the target area, the wingman observed smoke from an explosion, and unsuccessfully attempted to make radio contact with the lead Intruder. Since the lead Intruder should have been well ahead and out of radio range by this time, the wingman decided the smoke was possibly from a secondary explosion in the target area. The lead Intruder was discovered to be missing only when the wingman aircraft returned to the ship. Aerial and electronic searches of the area failed to locate a crash site or the two missing crew members.

Lieutenant Michael Edward Quinn entered the U.S. Navy from Minnesota and was a member of Attack Squadron 196, Carrier Air Wing 2, embarked aboard the Ranger. He was the co-pilot of this Intruder and was lost with the aircraft. His remains were not recovered.

Cemetery: Honolulu Memorial, Courts of the Missing

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