Keiper, John Charles
Marines Staff Sergeant
John Charles Keiper from Renovo, Pennsylvania, Clinton county.
Service era: Vietnam
Date of death: November 15, 1966
Death details: On November 15, 1966, A U-6A Beaver (tail number 541723, call sign “Lonely Ringer 723”) was on a routine flight carrying one crew member and one passenger from Dong Ha to Da Nang, South Vietnam. En route, the flight ran into inclement weather and soon thereafter radio contact with the aircraft was lost. The aircraft was not seen again, and aerial searches over the next 30 days found no sign of the aircraft or the crew. Both men aboard the aircraft went missing along with the aircraft.
Corporal John Charles Keiper entered the U.S. Marine Corps from Pennsylvania and was a member of Headquarters and Maintenance Squadron 16, Marine Air Group 16, 1st Marine Air Wing. He was the passenger aboard this U-6A and was lost with the aircraft. His remains were not recovered. After the incident, the U.S. Marine Corps promoted Corporal Keiper to the rank of Gunnery Sergeant (GySgt). Today, Gunnery Sergeant Keiper is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency