Herold, Richard Walter
Air Force Captain
Richard Walter Herold from Plattsburgh, New York, Clinton county.
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: Saturday, September 2, 1972
Death details: Captain Richard Walter Herold, who joined the U.S. Air Force from New York, served with Detachment 1, 56th Special Operations Wing. On September 2, 1972, he departed Vientiane, Laos, piloting an O-1F Bird Dog (tail number 57-2799, call sign “Raven 23”) on a visual reconnaissance and forward air control (FAC) mission. During the mission, he was directing two F-4 Phantom II aircraft to a suspected enemy artillery location in the vicinity of grid (GC) UG 005 487 when his aircraft collided mid-air with one of the F-4s he was directing. The other F-4, the lead, lost contact with both aircraft at the same time and reported he saw two fireballs impact the ground, and a single parachute; but could not establish contact with Captain Herold or the crew of the other F-4. The lead Phantom then conducted an aerial search of the area but saw no signs of survival. A search and rescue (SAR) effort could not be conducted at the time due to enemy activity in the area, further attempts to locate Captain Herold were unsuccessful. Today, Captain Herold is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency