Backus, Kenneth Frank
Air Force Captain

Kenneth Frank Backus from Pyrites, New York, St. Lawrence county.

Service era: Vietnam

Date of death: May 22, 1967
Death details:  On May 22, 1967, an F-4C Phantom II (tail number 64-0708, call sign “Whizzer 02”) with two crew members departed Ubon Royal Thai Air Force Base as the lead aircraft in a flight of two on a strike mission against enemy targets in North Vietnam. During the mission, the wingman observed “Whizzer 02” execute a normal bomb run on the target despite intense enemy anti-aircraft fire. The bombs hit the target, but seconds later the wingman saw a large explosion approximately three miles from the target in the vicinity of (GC) 48Q XJ 460 516 in Lang Son Province. No parachutes were seen to exit the aircraft before the explosion and no rescue beepers were heard following the crash. Enemy presence in the area prevented immediate ground searches of the crash site to locate either crew member.  However, a joint U.S. and Vietnamese effort later recovered and identified the remains of the aircraft commander.

First Lieutenant Kenneth Frank Backus, who joined the U.S. Air Force from New York, served with the 497th Tactical Fighter Squadron. He was the pilot of the Phantom when it crashed, and his remains were not recovered.

Source: National Archives, Department of Defense