Air Force Deaths in or near Korea After the Cease Fire

Table of Contents:

• List of Casualties
• Further Details

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List of Casualties:

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Further Details (by date of casualty):

Sterling R. Peterson - died 1954

Born October 03, 1930, he was the son of Edwin N. Peterson (1888-1959) and Hazel F. Martin Peterson (1891-1971).  He died January 4, 1954 in a training accident and is buried in Garden of Memories, El Campo, Texas.

Eugene "Gene" Merkett - died 1954

He graduated from Nitro High School, Nitro, West Virginia in 1949. He attended the Cincinnati College of Music and Carnegie Tech. He was a skilled musician and played with the Charleston (WV) Symphony Orchestra at the age of 14. He enlisted in the USAF in December 1951 and was commissioned in August 1953. The only known relatives still living are his aunt, Devonna Moore and her daughter Anna and children. They all reside in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Sigfredo Angulo - died 1954

Born October 13, 1931, in Puerto Rico, 2nd Lieutenant Angulo was the first crew member of a B-29 to bail out after it was shot down on November 7, 1954 by Russian MiGs.  It was reported that he hit a coastal cliff during the bailout and died.  He was from Los Angeles, California.  Sigfredo was the son of Buenaventura and Felicidad Vasquez Angulo.  His siblings were Edilberto David Angulo, William Angulo, Elia Angulo, Nelly Angulo, and Nancy Angulo.

Argyl Wilbur Hood Jr. - died 1956

Born May 5, 1937 in Martins Ferry, Ohio, he was serving with the 6170th Air Base Squadron when he died in Korea.  Airman Hood was the son of Argyl Wilbur Hood Sr. (died 2011) and Elizabeth Besenyodi Hood (Levinson).  His siblings were Vicki Rae Scott (1945-2013), Terry Neil Hood Sr., and Donna Elizabeth Ackerman-Reed. Airman Hood is buried in Copley Cemetery, Copley, Ohio.

Palmer D. Arrowood - MIA 1956

TSgt. Arrowood was one of 16 men who went missing over the Sea of Japan on September 10, 1956.  RB-50G (47133) had just arrived at Yokota Air Base, Japan from Greenville, Texas.  On its first operational COMINT (communications intel) mission, the plane disappeared.  There is speculation as to the cause of the loss of the 16 souls.  One theory is that the plane was on the fringes of Typhoon Emma and was lost due to weather conditions.  Another theory is mechanical failure.  A third theory is that it was shot down by the Russians.  The exact cause of the disappearance remains a mystery.  The following 15 men were also in the plane at the time it was lost: John E. Beisty, Bobby R. Davis, Loren C. Disbrow, William H. Ellis, Wayne J. Fair, Rodger Alan Fees, Raymond D. Johnson, Richard T. Kobayashi, Harry S. Maxwell Jr., William J. McLaughlin, Peter J. Rahaniotes, Leo J. Sloan, Paul Winston Swinehart, Pat P. Taylor, and Theodorus J. Trias.

Patrick Alexander Rooney - died 1957

SSgt. Rooney was born on January 23, 1929, the son of Alexander M. Rooney (died 1948) and Ruth E. Rooney (1906-1991).  A World War II and Korean War veteran, he died on August 17, 1957 and is buried in Long Island National Cemetery, East Farmingdale, New York.

Delynn Edward Anderson - died  1961

Born September 29, 1917 in Stearns, Kentucky, he was a member of 6146th Air Advisory Group (ROKAF), 5th Air Force in Korea. On April 20, 1961, he was flying an unarmed F-86 fighter on a training mission, when he strayed over the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) and was attacked by two MiGs near Onjin, North Korea. As he tried to land his damaged jet at Yiumann Air Base, it crashed, killing him.  He is buried in the Golden Gate National Cemetery, San Bruno, California.

For his leadership and valor, Lieutenant Colonel Anderson was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Air Medal, the Purple Heart, the Citation Ribbon, the Europe and the Pacific Campaign Medals, the National Defense Service Medal, the Korean Defense Medal and the World War II Victory Medal. 

Lieutenant Colonel Anderson was the son of Mr. and Mrs. Owen Anderson of Stearns (McCreary County), Kentucky.  He graduated from Air Corps Advanced Flying School in 1941.  He was a veteran of World War II.  He became commander of the 77th Fighter Squadron on April 28, 1948.  From April 8, 1951 to July 1952 he was commander of the 123rd Fighter-Inceptor Group, USAF.  He was survived by his wife of Apple Valley, California, two children, and his mother in Louisville, KY.

Crew of VQ-1 EC-121M - What Happened on This Mission

"Although no VQ-1 aircraft were shot down in the hostilities in Southeast Asia [Vietnam War] there were instances of damage to squadron aircraft on the ground during enemy rocket attacks at DaNang. Outside the war zone however, in April 1969, a VQ-1 EC-121M and crew of 30 were lost to hostile fire from North Korean MiG fighters. On 14 April the Super Connie, with LCDR James Howard Overstreet as mission commander, took off from Atsugi and headed northeast for a routine electronic reconnaissance mission off the North Korean coast. The flight plan called for the crew to proceed to a point off Musu Peninsula where they were to fly elliptical orbits, each about l20 miles long.

At 1350, a little less than seven hours after takeoff, a U.S. Air Force tracking station monitoring the flight detected two new blips as a pair of North Korean MiGs rapidly closed on the unarmed VQ-1 aircraft. Although a prearranged message was sent to Overstreet ordering him to abort his mission, as the lumbering EC-121M turned away it was shot down southeast of Chongjin, North Korea, with a loss of all thirty crewmen. Only two bodies were subsequently recovered, those of LTJG Joseph R. Ribar and AT1 Richard E. Sweeney. In addition to Overstreet, Ribar and Sweeney, those lost in the shoot down were: LTs John Dzema, Dennis B. Gleason, Peter P. Perrottet, John H. Singer and Robert F. Taylor; LTJGs Robert J. Sykora and Norman E. Wilkerson; CPOs Laverne A. Greiner, Marshall H. McNamara and Richard E. Smith; PO1s Steven C. Chartier, Bernie J. Colgin, Bailard F. Connors Jr., James L. Roach and John H. Potts; PO2s Louis F. Balderman, Dennis J. Horrigan, Richard H. Kincaid, Frederick A. Randall and Stephen J. Tesmer; PO3s Gene K. Graham, David M. Willis, Gary R. Ducharme, John A. Miller Jr. and Philip D, Sundby; AN Richard T. Prindle and SSGT Hugh M. Lynch. Immediately after the incident President Nixon ordered a halt to reconnaissance missions in the Sea of Japan. The frequency of these missions had been averaging more than 60 per month until this time. President Nixon ordered the electronic reconnaissance resumed three days later, however, but this time with the protection of Task Force 71."

[Source: http://www.vq1.navy.mil/History%20Pages/17_new_home.html]

A1C Darrick Jones - died 2017

An airman stationed at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Alaska died on November 6, 2017, while training in the Republic of Korea, according to a JBER news release. Airman 1st Class Darrick Jones was on temporary assignment in Korea to train allies when he collapsed and died. Other airmen performed first aid on Jones but were unable to revive him, the release said. The 23-year-old joined the Air Force in 2015 and was assigned to JBER in August 2016. He was a water and fuels systems apprentice with the 773rd Civil Engineering Squadron.

[Source: Air Force Times]

Senior Airman Anthony Carlo Rusconi - died 2018

OSAN AIR BASE, Republic of Korea -- Senior Airman Anthony Carlo Rusconi, 23, was found dead in Songtan, Republic of Korea, Tuesday, February 6. Rusconi arrived in Korea May 10, 2017, and was assigned to the 607th Support Squadron at Osan Air Base, Republic of Korea. He is originally from Salinas, California, and enlisted in the U.S. Air Force April 2, 2013.  "We are devastated by Senior Airman Rusconi's death," said Lt Col Steven Schearer, 607th Support Squadron commander. "His passing is a tragedy, and weighs heavily on us all. Our deepest sympathies go out to his family, friends and coworkers during this terrible time."  The cause of death is under investigation.
 

[Source: 7th Air Force website]