Visconti, Francis Edward
Marines Major

Francis Edward Visconti from Syracuse, New York, Onondaga county.

Service era: Vietnam

Date of death: November 22, 1965
Death details: On November 22, 1965, a UH-34D Choctaw (bureau number 147180) carrying four crew members participated in a troop lift of Marines into Trach Tru, a South Vietnamese outpost south of Quang Ngai. On the return trip, heavy enemy fire and declining weather caused hazardous flying conditions. The helicopter flew over water along the shore to avoid enemy ground fire, and the flight was eventually diverted to Chu Lai. The Choctaw made routine radio contact when it was nearing Chu Lai, in the vicinity of (GC) 49P BT 720 060, but was not heard from again after that check-in. Intensive searches failed to find a crash site or any crew members.

First Lieutenant Francis Edward Visconti, who joined the U.S. Marine Corps from New York, served with Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron 362, Marine Air Group 36, 1st Marine Air Wing. He was the pilot of the Choctaw when it disappeared on November 22, 1965, and his remains have not been recovered. After the incident, the Marine Corps promoted 1stLt Visconti to the rank of Major (Maj). Today, Major Visconti is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency