Logan Ohio

Lawrence Neal Helber from Logan, Ohio, Hocking county. Their last known residence was in Logan.

Service era: Vietnam

Date of death: January 24, 1966
Death details: On January 24, 1966, an F-4B Phantom II (bureau number 152265) with two crew members took off from Da Nang Air Base, Vietnam, on a strike mission against targets in Thua Thien Province, South Vietnam. Flying as one of four aircraft on the mission, this Phantom was assigned a target seven miles southwest of Hue-Phu Bai. After ordnance was released over the target area, the aircraft’s pilot radioed that he was returning to Da Nang, and this was the last known contact with the aircraft. The aircraft failed to return to base and searches were unsuccessful in locating the missing plane and its two crew members.

Second Lieutenant Lawrence Neal Helber entered the U.S. Marine Corps from Ohio and was a member of the Marine Attack Fighter Squadron 314, Marine Air Group 11, 1st Marine Air Wing. He was the navigator of this Phantom II when it went missing on January 24, 1966, and was lost with the aircraft. His remains were not recovered. Following the incident, the Marine Corps promoted 2nd Lt Helber to the rank of Major (Maj). Today, Major Helber is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency