Lester, Roderick Barnum
Navy Lieutenant commander

Roderick Barnum Lester, age 26, from Morton, Washington, Lewis county.

Service era: Vietnam

Date of death: Sunday, August 20, 1972
Death details:  On August 20, 1972, an A-6A Intruder (bureau number: 157018, call sign: “Vice Roy 502”) carrying two crew members launched from the aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk (CVA 63) on a nighttime armed reconnaissance mission along Route 183 near Cam Pha, Quang Ninh Province, North Vietnam. During the mission, the aircraft was intermittently tracked along its flight path by friendly radar. After the last radar contact, a radio transmission from the Intruder’s crew stated, “Let’s get the hell out of here.” Other pilots on the mission felt the transmission indicated the aircraft was aborting from its planned flight path because of enemy fire in the area. At the same time, another flight crew observed a flash of light coming from the Intruder’s direction; however, inclement weather made it difficult to determine the light source. Enemy fire was also noticed in the vicinity of (GC) 48Q YJ 859 242, which is considered the aircraft’s loss location. Searches were conducted and discovered an oil slick in the vicinity of (GC) 48Q YJ 975 335, but were unable to locate the aircraft and its two crew members.

Lieutenant (LT) Roderick Barnum Lester entered the U.S. Navy from Washington and was a member of Attack Squadron 52, embarked aboard the Kitty Hawk. He was the pilot of this Intruder when it went missing and was lost with the aircraft. He remains unaccounted for. Subsequent to the incident, and while carried in the status of missing in action (MIA), the U.S. Navy promoted Lt Lester to the rank Lieutenant Commander (LCDR). Today, LCDR Lester is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

Based on all information available, DPAA assessed the individual’s case to be in the analytical category of Non-recoverable.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency