Spare 813

Cooke, Calvin Coolidge
Air Force Staff sergeant

Calvin Coolidge Cooke, age 26, from Washington D.C.

Spouse: Carol Anderson Wade
Children: Angela, Melissa, Laurel

Service era: Vietnam

Date of death: Wednesday, April 26, 1972
Death details: Air Force Staff Sgt. Calvin Cooke Jr. was aboard a C-130 Hercules on a night resupply mission over Vietnam April 26, 1972 when ground fire brought it down. His sister Darlene was bowling with their mother days later when three servicemen entered the building. “My mother knew what it was as soon as they were there,” Darlene said in 1984. “My mother died two years ago, still believing he was alive.” Seven years later, her father passed. In 2006, the military identified Calvin’s remains. His daughter traveled with the remains to Arlington National Cemetery, where they were buried next to her mom’s grave.
Cemetery: Arlington National

Source: Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Associated Press 2006, 1984), The Lexington Park Enterprise (2006)  

Dunn, Richard Edward
Air Force Technical sergeant

Richard Edward Dunn, age 38, from Terryville, Connecticut, Litchfield county.

Service era: Vietnam

Date of death: Wednesday, April 26, 1972
Death details: On April 26, 1972, a C-130 Hercules (tail number 64-0508, call sign “Spare 813”) carrying six crew members was on a night emergency re-supply mission over An Loc City, South Vietnam. While making a drop just southwest of the city, the aircraft was struck by hostile ground fire and crashed, burning upon impact with secondary explosions and prolonged fire. Enemy activity in the area prevented an immediate ground search; however, an aerial observation of the crash site at sunrise revealed little chance of survival. Electronic search results for survivors were negative. Following the war, a brief investigation of the loss area resulted in recovering the identifiable remains of one crew member; however, the other five crew members’ remains were not located at the time. Technical Sergeant Richard Edward Dunn, who joined the U.S. Air Force from Connecticut, served with the 374th Tactical Airlift Wing. He was the loadmaster aboard the C-130 when it crashed, and his remains were not recovered. Today, Technical Sergeant Dunn is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

Source: National Archives

Hoskins, Donald Russell
Air Force Technical sergeant

Donald Russell Hoskins, age 43, from Madison, Indiana, Jefferson county.

Service era: Vietnam

Date of death: Wednesday, April 26, 1972
Death details: On March 27, 2006, the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC, now DPAA) identified the remains of Technical Sergeant Donald Russell Hoskins, missing from the Vietnam War. Technical Sergeant Hoskins joined the U.S. Air Force from Indiana and was a member of the 345th Tactical Airlift Squadron. On April 26, 1972, he was the flight engineer aboard a C-130E Hercules (tail number 64-0508, call sign “Spare 813”) on a night resupply mission over An Loc City, Vietnam. The Hercules was downed by ground fire during the mission, and TSgt Hoskins was killed in the crash. Immediate search efforts for the aircraft’s crew were unsuccessful, and his remains were not recovered at the time. In the years following the war, U.S. and Vietnamese search teams recovered remains that forensic analysts eventually identified as those of TSgt Hoskins.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency

Weisman, Kurt Frederick
Air Force Captain

Kurt Frederick Weisman, age 25, from Jasper, Indiana, Dubois county.

Service era: Vietnam

Date of death: Wednesday, April 26, 1972
Death details: On July 28, 1975, the Central Identification Laboratory-Thailand (CILT, now DPAA) identified the remains of Captain Kurt Frederick Weisman, missing from the Vietnam War. Captain Weisman joined the U.S. Air Force from Indiana and was a member of the 345th Tactical Airlift Squadron. On April 26, 1972, he was the copilot of a C-130E Hercules (tail number 64-0508, call sign “Spare 813”) on a night resupply mission over An Loc City, Vietnam, when the Hercules was downed by ground fire during the mission. Capt Weisman was killed in the crash. Immediate search efforts for the C-130’s crew were unsuccessful, and enemy presence delayed ground investigations of the site. His remains were not recovered at the time. In 1975, a ground team was able to search the crash site, recovering remains that were later identified as those of Capt Weisman.

Source: National Archives, Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency

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