Marshall County Kansas

Michael Hugh Breeding, age 24, from Blue Rapids, Kansas, Marshall county.

Parents: Merle Breeding

Service era: Vietnam

Date of death: Thursday, February 12, 1970
Death details: On February 12, 1970, an F-4B Phantom II (bureau number 151454, call sign “Lovebug 225-2”) with two crew members took off as the second in a flight of two aircraft on a combat mission over South Vietnam. While awaiting permission to move inland and drop its ordnance, “Lovebug 225-2″ started to change positions relative to the flight leader when it was seen to roll away into overcast skies, in the vicinity of (GC) 48Q YD 850 560. Shortly afterward, “Lovebug 225-2” radioed the flight leader, “It is okay. We are alright,” and then was not heard from again. The flight leader attempted to re-establish contact but was unsuccessful, and the cloud coverage prevented him from conducting an immediate visual search for the missing aircraft. Further search efforts were unable to locate the aircraft or its crew. First Lieutenant Michael Hugh Breeding entered the U.S. Marine Corps from Kansas and was a member of the Marine Attack Squadron 122, Marine Air Group 13, 1st Marine Air Wing. He was the pilot of this Phantom when it went missing, and he was lost with the aircraft. He remains unaccounted for. Today, First Lieutenant Breeding is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

Source: National Archives, Frankfort Index (1970), Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Frankfort Indez (1970)