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Amos, Thomas Hugh
Air Force Major

Thomas Hugh Amos, age 31, from Republic, Missouri, Greene county.

Service era: Vietnam

Date of death: April 20, 1972

Spouse: Virginia A. (Johnson) – married June 23, 1962 (1939-1998)

Children: Julie Ann Amos and James William Amos

Parents: Marie Amos (died 2003) and Dr. James Roy Amos

School: Hellas High in Jefferson City, graduated from Parkview High in Springfield, Missouri (1958); Drury College in Springfield (1963)

Death details: On October 1, 1999, Joint Task Force-Full Accounting (JTF-FA, now DPAA) identified the remains of Major Thomas Hugh Amos, missing from the Vietnam War.

Major Amos joined the U.S. Air Force from Missouri and was a member of the 35th Tactical Fighter Squadron. On April 20, 1972, he piloted an F-4D Phantom II (serial number 65-0602) on a night escort mission over the southern border between Vietnam and Laos. Major Amos’s aircraft went down while attacking a target during the mission, and he was killed in the crash. Search and rescue efforts failed to locate his remains. In 1994, a joint U.S. and Vietnamese investigative team recovered remains from the Phantom’s wreckage that were later identified as those of Maj Amos.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Springfield News-Leader (1999, 2003)

Burnham, Mason Irwin
Air Force Captain

Mason Irwin Burnham, age 28, from Portland, Oregon, Multnomah county.

Service era: Vietnam

Date of death: Thursday, April 20, 1972
Death details: On October 1, 1999, Joint Task Force-Full Accounting (JTF-FA, now DPAA) identified the remains of Captain Mason Irwin Burnham, missing from the Vietnam War.

Captain Burnham joined the U.S. Air Force from Oregon and was a member of the 421st Tactical Fighter Squadron. On April 20, 1972, he was the navigator aboard an F-4D Phantom II (serial number 65-0602) on a night escort mission over the southern border of Vietnam and Laos. Captain Burnham’s aircraft went down while attacking a target during the mission, and he was killed in the crash. Search and rescue efforts failed to locate his remains at the time. In 1994, a joint U.S./Vietnamese investigative team recovered remains from the Phantom’s wreckage that were later identified as those of Capt Burnham.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency

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