Incident
An aircraft departed U-Tapao Naval Air Station in Thailand with six crew members aboard to participate in the Linebacker II mission over Vietnam. While flying over Hanoi, the airplane was struck by enemy fire from an SA-2 surface-to-air missile. The plane lost control and crashed in Bạch Mai, a district of Hanoi.
Crew
The crew consisted of six members. Pilot Captain Peter James Giroux, co-pilot Captain Thomas Waring Bennett, navigator First Lieutenant Joseph Bernard Copack Jr., electronic warfare officer Captain Peter Paul Camerota, Lieutenant Colonel Gerald William Alley, and air gunner Master Sergeant Louis Edward LeBlanc Jr. Three crew members were killed: First Lieutenant Joseph Bernard Copack Jr., Captain Peter Paul Camerota, and Master Sergeant Louis Edward LeBlanc Jr. The other three—Captain Peter James Giroux, Captain Thomas Waring Bennett, and Lieutenant Colonel Gerald William Alley—were taken as prisoners of war.