Catawba County North Carolina

Robin Frederic Jr. Gatwood, age 26, from Hickory, North Carolina, Catawba county.

Service era: Vietnam

Date of death: Sunday, April 2, 1972
Death details: On April 2, 1972, an EB-66 Destroyer (tail number 54-0466, call sign “Bat 21”) with six crew members took off from Korat Royal Thai Air Force Base for an electronic countermeasures mission over South Vietnam. While over the target area, an escort aircraft saw a surface-to-air missile (SAM) explode near “Bat 21,” after which the aircraft began trailing flames from both wings. “Bat 21” then broke into pieces and crashed. No parachutes were witnessed, although one rescue beeper was heard resulting in one crew member being rescued following the crash. The survivor reported the SAM had exploded below and behind the aircraft. The other five crew members are believed to have died in the incident and their remains were not recovered. First Lieutenant Robin Frederick Gatwood Jr. entered the U.S. Air Force from North Carolina and served in the 42nd Tactical Electronic Warfare Squadron, 388th Tactical Fighter Wing. He was an electronic warfare officer aboard “Bat 21” when it was shot down and attempts to locate and recover his remains were unsuccessful. Following the incident, the Air Force promoted 1st Lt Gatwood to the rank of Captain (Capt). Today, Captain Gatwood is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

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