Hilbrich, Barry Wayne
Army Captain

Barry Wayne Hilbrich, age 22, from Corpus Christi, Texas, Nueces county.

Parents: Alfred (1922-95) and Ottie Hilbrich

Service era: Vietnam
Schools: Carroll High (1964)

Date of death: Tuesday, June 9, 1970
Death details: On June 9, 1970, an O-1F Bird Dog (tail number 57-2890, call sign “Mike 81”) with two crew members departed Pleiku Air Base on a visual reconnaissance mission over Kontum Province, South Vietnam. West of Pleiku, the pilot contacted the tactical air control center on a routine communication check and did not report any problems. The pilot missed the next scheduled radio communication and was not heard from again, and the aircraft never returned to base. Bad weather prevented search and rescue efforts from beginning until the following day, and searches then continued for nine days without success. Neither crew member could be located following the incident. Captain Barry Wayne Hilbrich, who joined the U.S. Army from Texas, served in Company B, 5th Special Forces Group. He was the observer in the Bird Dog when it disappeared, and his remains were not recovered. Today, Captain Hilbrich is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Corpus Christi Times