30 November 1957 – Capt Benny Lacombe is killed when he unsuccessfully attempts to bail out of Lockheed U-2A, 56-6704, Article 371, 13 miles SE of Laughlin AFB. Ejection seats had not yet been fitted to U-2s at this point. The history of the U-2 program is fraught with fatalities and crashes. “CIA pilots Wilburn S.
John Richard Bottesch enlisted in the USAF through the Reserve Military.
On July 19, 1966, Captain John R. Bottesch and combat cameraman Airman Darryl G. Winters were flying in F-100F (tail number 58-1217) when they were shot down near Tan An, about 17 miles southwest of Tan Son Nhut Air Base, Saigon.
Although Captain Bottesch’s remains were recovered and identified, Airman Winters’s remains were not. John is honored on the Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial in Washington DC. Name inscribed at VVM Wall, Panel 09e, Line 36.
Source: TogetherWeServed
