The Missing Aircrew

Late in the afternoon of 28 February 1968, and while making final preparations for their training flight that night, 9th Bomb Squadron crew E-07 was joined at base operations by two evaluators from 20th Bomb Squadron crew S-63. The evaluators' purpose for flying that night was to conduct a no-notice test of crew E-07's Cold War combat readiness.

Later that night, all eight aircrew members disappeared over the Gulf of Mexico when the radar bomb-scoring site they had been working with lost both radar and radio contact with the low-flying bomber.

Today, the exact whereabouts of the missing B-52 aircrew remain a mystery. Their current status remains the same as established on 13 March 1968... "downed in an unknown location."

All eight of the missing aircrew members were stationed at the now-closed Carswell Air Force Base near Fort Worth, Texas. They were all members of the 7th Bomb Wing.

Each airman  was married with children. Two (Pantilla and Carroll) had newborns at home and one (Casey) had five children.

Five of the eight aircrew members had participated in Operation ARC LIGHT, the first use of the B-52 bomber during the Vietnam conflict. Three of those six (Salavarria, Roberts and Casey) had participated in the very first B-52 strike mission of that operation on 18 June 1965.

All five Operation ARC LIGHT participants had been awarded the Air Medal. One  (Pantilla) had received the US Air Force's highest formal recognition for heroism during aerial flight, the Distinguished Flying Cross.

For a brief biography of each missing aircrew member, visit their virtual cemetery memorial.