Skymaster 9 March 1969

Rex, Robert F.
Air Force Captain

Robert F. Rex, age 21, from Odebolt, Iowa, Sac county.

Service era: Vietnam

Date of death: Sunday, March 9, 1969
Death details: On March 9, 1969, an O-2A Skymaster (serial number 67-21425, call sign “Nail 40”) with a crew of two took off on a combat support mission over Laos. Another aircraft reported that the Skymaster crashed north east of Ban Biang, Laos, due to unknown circumstances. A ground team was able to reach the crash site, and confirmed that both occupants of the aircraft had died in the crash; however, heavy enemy presence in the area made recovery of the remains impossible. After the war, the remains of the observer aboard the aircraft were found and identified, but the remains of the aircraft’s pilot have not been located. Captain Robert F. Rex, who joined the U.S. Air Force from Iowa, was a member of the 23rd Tactical Air Support Squadron. He was the pilot aboard the Skymaster when it went down on March 9, 1969, and was killed in the crash. His remains have not been recovered. Today, Captain Rex is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, findagrave.com

Walters, Tim Leroy
Army Staff sergeant

Tim Leroy Walters, age 26, from South Bend, Indiana, Saint Joseph county.

Service era: Vietnam

Date of death: Sunday, March 9, 1969
Death details: On December 1, 1999, Joint Task Force–Full Accounting (JTF-FA, now DPAA) identified the remains of Staff Sergeant Tim Leroy Walters, missing from the Vietnam War. Staff Sergeant Walters entered the U.S. Army from Indiana and was a member of Headquarters, Military Assistance Command, Vietnam. On March 9, 1969, he was the observer aboard an O-2A Skymaster (tail number 67-21425, call sign “Nail 40”) on a combat support mission over Laos. While over Savannakhet Province, the aircraft was shot down by enemy fire, killing SSG Walters. A ground search team found the wreckage but the active enemy presence in the area prevented the recovery of SSG Walters’ body at the time. Investigators eventually returned to the crash site and recovered human remains there, and U.S. analysts identified SSG Walters from these remains.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, findagrave.com

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