Lewis, Merrill Raymond Jr.
Air Force Colonel

Merrill Raymond Lewis Jr. from Indianola, Iowa, Warren county.

Service era: Vietnam

Date of death: July 20, 1966
Death details: On August 25, 1989, the Central Identification Lab-Hawaii (CILHI, now DPAA) identified the remains of Colonel Merrill Raymond Lewis Jr., missing from the Vietnam War.

Colonel Lewis, who joined the U.S. Air Force from Iowa, served with the 34th Tactical Fighter Squadron. On July 20, 1966, he piloted an F-105D Thunderchief on a combat mission over North Vietnam. During the mission, his aircraft was shot down and Col Lewis was killed. Hostile presence in the area precluded search efforts following the crash. In 1989, the Vietnamese government repatriated remains which were later identified as those of Col Lewis.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency