THE WALL OF FACES

On October 12, 1967, CAPT Thomas G. Derrickson II and 1LT John K. Hardy Jr. comprised the crew of a USAF F-4C Phantom II (#64-0710) from the 557th Tactical Fighter Squadron at Cam Rahn Bay Air Base. They were assigned an armed reconnaissance mission over North Vietnam in Route Pack 1, the southernmost extremes of the country on the border with South Vietnam. Derrickson and Hardy were in the lead aircraft in a flight of two. Over Quang Binh Province, they sighted a light on highway Route 101 and assumed it to be a truck heading south. They radioed to their wingman that they were "rolling in." Shortly thereafter, the wingman saw a flash of yellow light followed by a fire and a cloud of black smoke. Attempts to contact Derrickson and Hardy were unsuccessful. The number two aircraft orbited the area three or four times, and no beepers were heard and no parachutes were sighted. Their last known location was about 15 miles south of the city of Dong Hoi, some 25 miles north of the Demilitarized Zone in North Vietnam. The wingman reported no ground fire was observed, however, they received indications that they were being tracked by ground radar anti-aircraft. Both crewmen were declared Missing in Action. Derrickson was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel and Hardy was promoted to Captain during their MIA status. [Taken from pownetwork.org, 12tfw.org, and “Review of Missing Status, Captain Thomas G. Derrickson II, FR55454” from the Library of Congress]

Years ago my husband bought me a band with his name on it. I wore it for years. Somehow as the years went by I somehow misplaced it. Although I never forgot his name. Last week my husband and I were cleaning our garage and I saw this band on the floor and it was his. Now I would like to locate any living family he might have and send it to them so even though I misplace it I never forgot his name. thank you. Today whenever I see a vet wearing his ball cap I go up to him and thank him and also tell him I was not one of those protestors.

I purchased a bracelet with the Rank Major name Thomas Derrickson 10/12/1967. I see that several other people also have bracelets with the same name. I had posted on a different site called I believe it is called Military Love Letters about him many years ago. A friend of his contacted me by email & said he had lost track of him after high school.I prayed for his safe return everyday back then & no answers!! From what I have been told he was a great man. These men were all great as they served & sacrificed for our country. I keep this bracelet with his name on it in a glass case on my wall in honor of him.I kept his memory forever in my heart!

I was maid of honor in Tom and Dot's wedding. Wonderful friends .
Tom taught me how to dive during a visit to Florida.

Thank you for caring for him.

I wore his MIA bracelet for many years, until it broke in two. I hope he knows how much I appreciate his service to our country. He is a hero that I will never forget.