Col ROBERT FREDERICK WILKE - Service Member Profile

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Lieutenant Colonel (Lt Col) Robert Frederick Wilke entered the U.S. Air Force from Wisconsin and served as a member of the 602nd Special Operations Squadron, 56th Air Commando Wing. On January 17, 1968, he was the pilot of an A-1H Skyraider (tail number: 53-134518) that took off from Udorn Royal Thai Air Force Base, Thailand, on a search and rescue mission for two downed fliers northeast of Don Hai Dinh, Quang Binh Province, North Vietnam. Upon entering the search area, Lt Col Wilke radioed his wingman to hold back due to a solid overcast, and stated that he alone would try to get below the clouds to locate the downed pilots. The final radio contact with Lt Col Wilke was after he had descended below the cloud layer. His aircraft was then shot down by ground fire from enemy forces in the valley below. The aircraft and his remains could not be recovered, and he remains unaccounted for. Subsequent to the incident, and while carried in the status of missing in action (MIA), the U.S. Air Force promoted Lt Col Wilke to the rank of Colonel (Col). Today, Colonel Wilke is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific. His name is also inscribed along with all his fallen comrades on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington, DC.

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

If you are a family member of this serviceman, you may contact your casualty office representative to learn more about your service member.

DPAA has not yet updated the geographic location information for this individual.

Service Members Associated with Col. ROBERT WILKE's Loss

- Limited to 10,000 Individuals

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