Intruder crash 12 December 1965

Cartwright, Billie Jack
Navy Captain

Billie Jack Cartwright, age 38, from Bexar County San Antonio, Texas .

Service era: Vietnam

Date of death: Wednesday, December 22, 1965
Death details: On November 28, 1994, the Central Identification Laboratory-Hawaii (CILHI, now DPAA) identified the remains of Captain Billie Jack Cartwright, missing from the Vietnam War. Captain Cartwright entered the U.S. Navy from Texas and served in Attack Squadron 85. On December 22, 1965, he was the pilot of an A-6A Intruder (bureau number 151781) on a strike mission against enemy targets in Haiphong, North Vietnam. His aircraft went down during the mission and he was killed; his remains could not be recovered at the time. In 1994, a joint U.S./Vietnamese search team excavated a burial site and recovered a set of remains that were eventually identified as those of CAPT Cartwright. Captain Cartwright is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific. His name is also inscribed along with all his fallen comrades on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington, DC.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency

Gold, Edward Frank
Navy Commander

Edward Frank Gold, age 28, from Seminole County Sanford, Florida .

Service era: Vietnam

Date of death: Wednesday, December 22, 1965
Death details: On November 28, 1994, the Central Identification Laboratory-Hawaii (CILHI, now DPAA) identified the remains of Commander Edward Frank Gold, missing from the Vietnam War. Commander Gold entered the U.S. Navy from California and served in Attack Squadron 85. On December 22, 1965, he was the navigator/bombardier on an A-6A Intruder (bureau number 151781) on a strike mission against enemy targets in Haiphong, North Vietnam. His aircraft went down during the mission and both CDR Gold and the pilot were killed, but their remains were not recovered at the time. In 1994, a joint U.S./Vietnamese search team excavated a burial site and recovered a set of remains that were identified as those of CDR Gold. Commander Gold is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific. His name is also inscribed along with all his fallen comrades on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington, DC.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency

Back To Top