THE WALL OF FACES

USAF COL Donald H. Asire's remains are buried in Section 65, site 979 of the Arlington National Cemetery.

Your sacrifice is not forgotten.

On December 8, 1966, U.S. Air Force pilot LTC Donald H. Asire was flying the number three F-105D Thunderchief aircraft (#59-1725), call sign Kingpin Three, in a flight of four on an armed reconnaissance mission over North Vietnam. While the flight was approaching the target area southwest of Thai Nguyen City, enemy aircraft were observed. The enemy aircraft broke up the flight, with LTC Asire and his wingman remaining together. While diving to avoid engagement, Asire’s wingman lost contact with him. The wingman did hear a beeper signal but was unable to locate it. When last seen, Asire’s Thunderchief appeared undamaged. No search and rescue effort was attempted, and he was listed as Missing in Action. In October 1967, a North Vietnamese Army prisoner of war (POW) stated that in early January 1967 he observed an F-105 and a MiG-21 engage in aerial combat. The F-105 was shot down. When the POW arrived in the vicinity of the crash site, he was told by villagers that the pilot had died in the crash and had been buried. This was correlated to Asire on the basis of the date of the incident, type of aircraft, and location. Asire was promoted to Colonel during the time he was missing. On June 21, 1989, the Socialist Republic of Vietnam repatriated the alleged remains of Asire. Two months later they were positively identified as his remains. [Taken from coffeltdatabase.org]

Colonel Donald Henry Asire, Served with the 354th Tactical Fighter Squadron, 355th Tactical Fighter Wing, 7th Air Force.

Then, Lt. Col. Donald Asire was the squadron commander for the 354th at Takhli RTAFB, Thailand. He was lost aboard his F-105D (#59-1725) over North Vietnam, likely shot down by a Soviet pilot. He was listed as MIA, until his remains were recovered in 1989, and interred in Arlington.

Colonel Asire: Service Years 1953 - 1966

INFO: https://airforce.togetherweserved.com/usaf/servlet/tws.webapp.WebApp?cmd=ShadowBoxProfile&type=Person&ID=79512

DEAR COLONEL ASIRE,
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE AS A TACTICAL FIGHTER - BOMBER PILOT - F-105 THUNDERCHIEF. I AM GLAD YOU WERE FOUND, WELCOME HOME AND REST IN PEACE.