Phantom crash 15 March 1966

Scott, Martin Ronald
Air Force Colonel

Martin Ronald Scott, age 34, from Tulsa County Jenks, Oklahoma .

Service era: Vietnam

Date of death: Tuesday, March 15, 1966
Death details: Air Force Col. Martin R. Scott, 34, of, Jenks, Oklahoma, will be buried September 22 in Claremore, Oklahoma. On March 15, 1966, Scott was a member of Headquarters, 8th Tactical Fighter Wing, as the aircraft commander and wingman of a two-seater F-4C aircraft in a flight of two on an armed reconnaissance mission over northern Vietnam. The lead aircraft spotted two vehicles as the flight approached the target area and the pilot of Scott’s aircraft responded that he was going to strafe the trucks. The flight leader observed an explosion in the area of the target and immediately attempted to contact Scott’s aircraft. No parachutes or emergency signals were seen, and all attempts to contact Scott and his pilot were unsuccessful. An organized search was not possible due to hostilities in the area. Scott was subsequently declared missing in action. In November 2014, a joint U.S./Socialist Republic of Vietnam (S.R.V.) recovery team conducted recovery operations at a possible F-4C crash site in Dien Bien District, Dien Bien Province. Material evidence and possible osseous material was recovered and sent to the Central Identification Laboratory for analysis. Additional recovery operations were conducted in late 2015 and late 2016, and all recovered remains were sent to the laboratory for analysis.
Cemetery: Buried September 22, 2017 in Claremore, Oklahoma

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency

Stewart, Peter Joseph
Air Force Colonel

Peter Joseph Stewart, age 37, from Polk County Winter Haven, Florida .

Service era: Vietnam

Date of death: Tuesday, March 15, 1966
Death details: On February 28, 2018, the Defense POW/MIA Agency (DPAA) identified the remains of Colonel Peter Joseph Stewart, missing from the Vietnam War. Colonel Stewart, who joined the U.S. Army from Florida, served with Headquarters, 8th Tactical Fighter Wing. On March 15, 1966, he piloted a two-seat F-4C Phantom II (tail number 64-0732, call sign “Boron 02”) on an armed reconnaissance mission over Dien Bien Phu, North Vietnam. While making a strafing run on two vehicles located in the target area, Col Stewart’s aircraft crashed near the target, killing him. The active enemy presence prevented a ground search for his remains, and he was not recovered at the time. In 2014, a joint U.S./Vietnamese recovery team excavated the crash site, with several further excavations occurring between 2014 and 2017. Human remains were recovered from the site and were eventually identified as those of Col Stewart. Colonel Stewart 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

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