THE WALL OF FACES

Thank you for your service to our country so long ago sir. It remains my fervent hope you will be returned home after the passage of so many years.

Never Forget.

Semper Fortis

Dear CPO Bennie Lambton, Thank you for your service as a Chief Photographic Intelligenceman. You are still MIA. Please come home. Saying thank you isn't enough, but it is from the heart. For many of us, we have begun Lent. The time passes quickly. Please watch over America, it stills needs your strength, courage, guidance and faithfulness. Rest in peace with the angels.

On June 13, 1966, a U.S. Navy Douglas RA-3B Skywarrior (#144842) from Photographic Squadron 61 (VAP-61), Task Force 77, 7th Fleet, launched from the aircraft carrier USS Hancock (CVA-19) on a night low-level photo reconnaissance mission over Ha Tinh Province in North Vietnam. During the mission, the Skywarrior was shot down by anti-aircraft fire near the mouth of Gia Hoi River in Ka Tinh Province, North Vietnam. No communication or distress signals were received from the crew. The escort aircraft observed a bright orange flash and thereafter radio contact with the Skywarrior was lost. An extensive search was conducted in the immediate area, as well as over the adjacent waters by various aircraft, but the results were negative. The lost Skywarrior crew included pilot LCDR John T. Glanville Jr. and crewmen LTJG George G. Gierak and PTC Bennie R. Lambton. Two days later, Radio Peking stated that a photo reconnaissance jet was shot down and the crew was killed in the crash. The escape system of the RA-3B Skywarrior did not provide ejection seats and made high-speed bailout extremely difficult. Low-altitude bailout was virtually impossible. All information taken into consideration, the Commanding Officer of the Photographic Squadron changed the crew's initial classification from Missing in Action to Killed in Action/Body Not Recovered on June 17, 1966. [Taken from coffeltdatabase.org, pownetwork.org, and aviation-safety.net]

Chief Petty Officer Bennie Richard Lambton, Served with Heavy Photographic Squadron 61 (VAP-61), USS Hancock, Task Force 77 (TF-77), 7th Fleet.