Rescue mission 14 March 1966

Hilton, Robert Larie
Air Force Airman 1st class

Robert Larie Hilton, age 30, from Baltimore County Baltimore, Maryland .

Spouse: Shirley A. Rogers Hilton
Children: Cheryl Hilton, Robert Hilton, Mark A. Hilton

Service era: Vietnam
Schools: Southern High graduate

Date of death: Monday, March 14, 1966
Death details: On March 14, 1966, an HU-16B Albatross (tail number 51-0071, call sign “Bravo”) carrying eight crew members took off on a rescue mission in the Gulf of Tonkin. When the aircraft made its water landing to begin rescue operations, it was hit by enemy gunfire and caught fire. The crew abandoned the aircraft and the plane sank shortly thereafter. U.S. Navy helicopters rescued six survivors of the incident, but two crew members were not recovered. Airman First Class Robert Larie Hilton entered the U.S. Air Force from Maryland and served in the 33rd Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Squadron. He was the radio operator aboard the Albatross when it was lost and his remains could not be recovered following the incident. Today, Airman First Class Hilton 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, Baltimore Sun (1966), Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency

Pleiman, James Edward
Air Force Airman 1st class

James Edward Pleiman, age 22, from Shelby County Russia, Ohio .

Parents: August Pleiman

Service era: Vietnam
Schools: Russia High (1962)
Military history: Silver Star

Date of death: Monday, March 14, 1966
Death details: On March 13, 1989, the Central Identification Laboratory-Hawaii(CILH, now DPAA) identified the remains of Airman First Class James Edward Pleiman, missing from the Vietnam War. Airman First Class Pleiman joined the U.S. Air Force from Ohio and was a member of the 33rd Air Rescue and Recovery Squadron. On March 14, 1966, he was a crew member aboard an HU-16B Albatross (tail number 51-0071) on a rescue mission over the Gulf of Tonkin. As the Albatross landed on the water to pick up survivors from an earlier incident, it was downed by hostile gunfire. Airman First Class Pleiman was killed in the crash, and his remains sank with the aircraft. He was not recovered when Navy helicopters arrived to pick up survivors. Immediate search efforts for A1C Pleiman’s remains were unsuccessful. In December 1988, the Vietnamese government repatriated a set of unidentified remains to U.S. custody. Forensic analysis identified A1C Pleiman from among the returned remains. Airman First Class Pleiman 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, Dayton Daily News (1966)

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