Marine On Saint Croix Minnesota

Melvin Thomas Krech, age 34, from Washington County Marine On Saint Croix, Minnesota .

Service era: Vietnam

Date of death: Friday, April 1, 1966
Death details: On April 1, 1966, an A-3B Skywarrior (bureau number 142665, call sign “Holly Green”) carrying three crew members took off from the USS Enterprise (CVN 65) in the South China Sea. During its catapult launch from the carrier, the aircraft experienced a mechanical difficulty and subsequently dropped off the ship’s bow and crashed into the water. A search recovered one crew member’s body, but the other two crew members were lost in the aircraft’s sinking. Aviation Machinist’s Mate (Jet Engines) First Class Melvin Thomas Krech entered the U.S. Navy from Minnesota and was a member of Heavy Attack Squadron 4, embarked aboard the Enterprise. He was a crew member aboard this Skywarrior when it crashed, and his remains were not recovered. Today, Aviation Machinist’s Mate (Jet Engines) First Class Krech 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. Based on all information available, DPAA assessed the individual’s case to be in the analytical category of Non-recoverable.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, UPI (1966)