Hesford, Peter Dean
Air Force Major

Peter Dean Hesford, age 25, from Mystic, Connecticut.

Service era: Vietnam

Date of death: Thursday, March 21, 1968
Death details: On March 21, 1968, an F-4D Phantom II (serial number 66-8767) with the call sign “Gunfighter Four” departed Da Nang Airbase with one other aircraft for a strike mission over enemy targets in Laos. During the mission, the forward air control (FAC) plane set off flares and illuminated a convoy of trucks on a road below the aircraft. The FAC plane then made two passes at the trucks amid heavy enemy anti-aircraft fire. By this point, the FAC plane had run out of flares, but “Gunfighter Four” was still cleared to make a pass at the target. “Gunfighter Four” then declared it was “rolling in” over the radio but was not seen again. The FAC reported witnessing a large explosion over the target shortly after “Gunfighter Four” moved in, and no parachutes were observed exiting the aircraft. Neither of the two men aboard “Gunfighter Four” were seen again.

First Lieutenant Peter Dean Hesford entered the U.S. Air Force from Connecticut and served in the 390th Tactical Fighter Squadron. He was the aircraft commander aboard “Gunfighter Four” at the time of its loss on March 21, 1968, and attempts to locate him or his remains following the incident were unsuccessful. Following his loss, the Air Force promoted 1st Lt Hesford to the rank of Major (Maj). He remains unaccounted-for. Today, Major Hesford is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

Cemetery: Memorialized in Saint Patrick in Mystic

Source: National Archives, Air Force, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, findagrave.com