HETRICK, RAYMOND HARRY
REMAINS RETURNED: 2001/07/10
REMAINS ID DATE: 2004/03/26
Name: Raymond Harry Hetrick
Rank/Branch: O3/US Air Force
Unit: 1st Air Commando Squadron
Date of Birth: 11 September 1936
Home City of Record: Brookville PA
Date of Loss: 24 February 1966
Country of Loss: Laos
Loss Coordinates: 164058N 1061958E (XD431448)
Status (in 1973): Killed/Body Not Recovered
Category: 2
Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground: A1E
Refno: 0256
Other Personnel in Incident: (none missing)
Source: Compiled by Homecoming II Project 01 September 1990 from one or more
of the following: raw data from U.S. Government agency sources,
correspondence with POW/MIA families, published sources, interviews. Updated
April 2020.
REMARKS:
SYNOPSIS: The Douglas A1 Skyraider ("Spad") is a highly maneuverable,
propeller driven aircraft designed as a multipurpose attack bomber or
utility aircraft. The A1 was first used by the Air Force in its Tactical Air
Command to equip the first Air Commando Group engaged in counterinsurgency
operations in South Vietnam.
Capt. Raymond H. Hetrick was the pilot of an A1E aircraft and assigned to
the 1st Air Commando Squadron. On February 24, 1966, he was assigned a
bombing mission which took him over Savannakhet Province, Laos.
During the mission, Hetrick's aircraft was struck by enemy fire, crashed and
exploded on impact. Other pilots in the flight reported that Hetrick was
killed in action. His aircraft went down about five miles south of the city
of Sepone.
The Air Force believes Raymond Hetrick did not survive. He is listed among
the missing because his remains were never found. He is among nearly 600
Americans who were lost in Laos. Since the U.S. did not recognize the
communist government faction which captured and held Americans in Laos, no
negotiations were conducted to secure their freedom. Consequently, not a
single American held by the Lao was ever released.
Tragically, many authorities believe there are hundreds of Americans still
alive in captivity in Southeast Asia today. What must they be thinking of
us? What will our next generation say if called to fight if we are unable to
bring these men home from Southeast Asia?
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01/2020
https://dpaa.secure.force.com/dpaaProfile?id=a0Jt000000uaqxhEAA
On December 15, 2003, the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC, now DPAA) identified the remains of Captain Raymond Harry Hetrick, missing from the Vietnam War.
Captain Hetrick entered the U.S. Air Force from Pennsylvania and served in the 1st Air Commando Squadron. On February 24, 1966, he piloted an A-1E Skyraider (serial number 52-132908) on an attack mission over Savannakhet Province, Laos. His Skyraider was shot down by enemy fire during the mission, and he was killed in the crash. His remains could not be recovered at the time. In 2001, U.S. investigators located the crash site and recovered a set of remains that were later identified as those of Capt Hetrick.
Captain Hetrick 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.