Minnich, Richard Willis Jr.
Navy Lieutenant Commander

Richard Willis Jr. Minnich, age 25, from Collegeville, Pennsylvania, Montgomery county.

Service era: Vietnam

Date of death: January 4, 1968

Parents: Anna Marie (Costa) Minnich (1919-2014) and Richard Willis Minnich Sr. (1915-2001)

Spouse: Gail Cassel Minnich

Death details: On March 7, 1986, the Central Identification Laboratory-Hawaii (CILHI, now DPAA) identified the remains of Lieutenant Commander Richard Willis Minnich Jr., missing from the Vietnam War.

Lieutenant Commander Minnich entered the U.S. Navy from Pennsylvania and was a member of Fighter Squadron 162, Carrier Air Wing 16. On January 4, 1968, he piloted an F-8E Crusader (bureau number 15-0865, call sign “Superheat 206”) on a strike mission against the Hai Duong Ferry Complex in Quang Ninh Province, North Vietnam. While orbiting just outside the strike area, this aircraft was shot down by an enemy surface to air missile, killing LCDR Minnich. His remains were not recovered at the time. In 1985, the Vietnamese government repatriated human remains associated with this loss, and in 1986, U.S. analysts were able to identify LCDR Minnich from these remains.

Cemetery: Arlington National

Source: National Archives., Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, findagrave.com, Philadelphia Inquirer (1970), Press Enterprise (2014), Pottstown Mercury (1972)