CARPENTER, RAMEY LEO
REMAINS RETURNED AND ID'd 06/24/98
Name: Ramey Leo Carpenter
Branch/Rank: United States Navy/O3
Unit:
Date of Birth: 21 October 1942
Home City of Record: NORMAN OK
Date of Loss: 31 March 1969
Country of Loss: LAOS
Loss Coordinates: 173958 North 1050957 East
Status (in 1973): Killed in Action/Body not Recovered
Category: 2
Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground: FA5C #150842
Missions:
Other Personnel in Incident:
Refno: 1420
Source: Compiled by P.O.W. NETWORK from one or more of the following: raw
data from U.S. Government agency sources, correspondence with POW/MIA
families, published sources, interviews and CACCF = Combined Action
Combat Casualty File. 2020
REMARKS: KHAMMOUANE - 5 miles NW of NHOMMARATH
CACCF CRASH/AIRCREW 4 YRS USN
No further information available at this time.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
06/24/98
The Armed Forces Identification Review Board (AFIRB) has very recently
finalized approval of five identifications recommend by the Central
identification Laboratory (CILHI). Those announced as accounted for include
Commander Danforth E. White, USN, and Lt. Commander Captain Ramey L.
Carpenter, USN, missing since March 31, 1969, in Laos and Major William H.
Condit, Jr., and Lt. Terry M. Reed, both USAF, missing since June 23, 1969, in
South Vietnam. The remains of Commander White Lt. Commander Carpenter were
jointly recovered in Laos on March 3, 1997. The remains of Major Condit and
Lt. Reed were jointly recovered in south Vietnam on November 29, 1994. The
remains of one additional American, jointly recovered in South Vietnam on May
6, 1988, were also identified, but his family requested that his name not be
released.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
01/2020
On July 9, 1998, the Joint Task Force–Full Accounting (JTF-FA,
now DPAA) identified the remains of Lieutenant Ramey Leo
Carpenter, missing from the Vietnam War.
Lieutenant Carpenter entered the U.S. Navy from Oklahoma and was
a member of Reconnaissance Heavy Attack Squadron 6, Carrier Air
Wing 9. On March 31, 1969, he was a crew member aboard an RA-5C
Vigilante (bureau number 150842, call sign "Field Goal 604")
that launched from the USS Enterprise (CVAN-65) on a combat
reconnaissance mission over Laos. While the Vigilante's pilot
positioned the aircraft for a run at the target, "Field Goal
604" exploded in midair for unknown reasons. The aircraft
crashed and burned at the base of a ridge and LT Carpenter was
killed in the incident. His remains could not be recovered at
the time. In 1997, a joint U.S./Laotian team investigated the
crash site and recovered human remains, and modern forensics
techniques identified LT Carpenter among the remains recovered.
Lieutenant Carpenter is memorialized on the Courts of the
Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
If you are a family member of this serviceman, you may contact your casualty office representative to learn more about your service member.