Bombing mission 21 December 1972

Graustein, Robert Stewart
Navy Lieutenant Commander

Robert Stewart Graustein, age 33, from Fryeburg, Maine, Oxford county.

Service era: Vietnam

Date of death: December 21, 1972
Death details: On March 7, 1986, the Central Identification Laboratory-Hawaii (CILH, now DPAA) identified the remains of Lieutenant Commander Robert Stewart Graustein, missing from the Vietnam War.

Lieutenant Commander Graustein joined the U.S. Navy from Maine and was a member of Attack Squadron 75. On December 21, 1972, he piloted an A-6A Intruder (bureau number 152946) on a bombing mission against enemy targets near Kien An Airfield. Lieutenant Commander Graustein’s Intruder went down during the mission, and he was killed in the incident. His remains could not be recovered at the time. In 1985, a set of unknown remains were turned over to a group of U.S. investigators performing an excavation in Vietnam. Forensic analysis identified LCDR Graustein from among the returned remains.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency

Wade, Barton Scott
Navy Lieutenant commander

Barton Scott Wade, age 33, from Jasper, Indiana.

Service era: Vietnam

Date of death: December 21, 1972
Death details: On March 7, 1986, the Central Identification Laboratory-Hawaii (CILH, now DPAA) identified the remains of Commander Barton Scott Wade, missing from the Vietnam War.
Commander Wade joined the U.S. Navy from Indiana and was a member of Attack Squadron 75. On December 21, 1972, he was the bombardier and navigator aboard an A-6A Intruder (bureau number 152946) on a bombing mission against enemy targets near Kien An Airfield, North Vietnam. Commander Wade’s Intruder went down during the mission, and he died at some point following the incident. His remains could not be recovered at the time. In December 1985, a set of unknown remains were turned over to a group of U.S. investigators performing an excavation in Vietnam. Forensic analysis identified CDR Wade from these returned remains.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency

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