CPT Wayne Gordon Brown
On July 17, 1972, an F-4D Phantom II (tail number 66-8772) with two crew members was the Fast Forward Air Controller (FAC) for three Navy aircraft on a strike mission north of the Ashau Valley in South Vietnam. During the strike, the F-4D assumed the lead position for a bomb attack. It made multiple passes over the target area, and was apparently hit or damaged on its third pass, setting it on fire. The pilot lost control of the aircraft and both crew members reportedly ejected before it crashed.
Captain (Capt) Wayne Gordon Brown II, who entered the U.S. Air Force from Washington, served with the 497th Tactical Fighter Squadron and was the navigator/bombardier aboard the F-4D at the time of its loss. Although he was initially alive and in contact with the pilot and with rescue forces, he did not survive the incident. Rescue forces were unable to locate or recover his remains, and he is still unaccounted for. After the incident, the Air Force promoted Capt Brown to the rank of Major. Today, Major Brown is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
