A-1J Skyraider Pilot To Be Interred At Arlington National Cemetery

The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office announced Tuesday that the remains of a U.S. serviceman, missing in action from the Vietnam War, have been identified and will be returned to his family for burial with full military honors.

Air Force Capt. Clyde W. Campbell, 24, of Longview, Texas, will be buried June 21, at Arlington National Cemetery near Washington, D.C. On March 1, 1969, Campbell was a pilot aboard an A-1J Skyraider aircraft that crashed while carrying out a close air-support mission in Houaphan Province, Laos. American forward air controllers, directing the mission nearby, reported hearing an explosion—they believed to be Campbell’s bombs—later learned Campbell’s aircraft had crashed. No parachutes were seen in the area.

In 1997, a joint U.S./Lao People’s Democratic Republic (L.P.D.R.) team investigated a crash site in Houaphan Province, Laos, within 100 meters of the last known location of Campbell. In addition to human remains, the team located aircraft wreckage and military equipment, which correlated with Campbell’s aircraft.
From 2009 to 2010, additional joint U.S./L.P.D.R. recovery teams investigated and excavated the crash site three times. Teams recovered additional human remains, military equipment—including an aircraft data plate—and a .38-caliber pistol matching the serial number issued to Campbell.

Scientists from the JPAC used circumstantial evidence and forensic identification tools in the identification of Campbell. (A-1J Skyraider photo from file)

FMI: www.dtic.mil/dpmo