First Lieutenant Richard McAuliffe Bloom, who joined the U.S. Marine Corps from California, was a member of Marine Attack Squadron 224, Marine Air Group 12, 1st Marine Air Wing. On September 20, 1966, he piloted a single-seated A-4E Skyhawk (bureau number 150054, call sign "Oxwood 53") as the lead of two planes on a direct air support mission. The flight spotted a possible target, and Oxwood 53 made a bombing pass over it. The pilot of the wingman aircraft saw "Oxwood 53" catch fire after dropping its ordnance on the target, and radioed to 1stLt Bloom to eject but soon after, "Oxwood 53" crashed in Quang Nam Province, South Vietnam, in the vicinity of (GC) ZC 194 637. No parachute was seen to emerge from the aircraft before it crashed. Aerial search and rescue teams searched the crash area but found no signs of 1stLt Bloom, and further attempts to locate him were unsuccessful. He remains unaccounted-for. Today, First Lieutenant Bloom is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

Based on all information available, DPAA assessed the individual's case to be in the analytical category of Active Pursuit.

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