The WallVietnam Veterans Memorial · The Lake Norman Brief
F-105D Thunderchiefs refuel from a KC-135 on the way to North Vietnam, about 1966.
F-105D Thunderchiefs refuel from a KC-135 on the way to North Vietnam, about 1966. Photo: U.S. Air Force, public domain. Shown for the time and place, not a photograph of Richard M Milikin III.

The Wall › Panel 10E › Florida › Richard M Milikin III

RICHARD M MILIKIN III

Major · U.S. Air Force

January 28, 1941 – August 20, 1966

Service record

Richard M Milikin III, of Miami, Florida, served as a Major in the U.S. Air Force. He was lost on August 20, 1966, in North Vietnam, and was later declared dead. His name is inscribed on Panel 10E, Line 23 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

On the Wall

Panel 10E · Line 23

Position of Panel 10E on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial

Names are inscribed in the order of loss, starting at Panel 1E at the apex and ending at Panel 1W. At the Memorial, find the panel number at the base and count down from the top line.

Remember

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Service

Branch
U.S. Air Force
Rank
Major (MAJ)
Service
Reserve / National Guard
Occupation
Pilot (1325R)
Unit (as recorded)
16 TRS
Born
January 28, 1941
Home of record
Miami, Florida (Dade County)

Casualty

Date of loss
August 20, 1966
Country
North Vietnam
Casualty type
Hostile
Category
Declared Dead
Circumstance
Aircraft Crash — crew
First reported
Missing in action
Remains
Not recovered as of the 2008 DoD record

Context · from the records

What was happening

17 names on the Wall carry the date August 20, 1966. In August 1966, 501 Americans whose names are on the Wall died in the war.

He died in North Vietnam while Operation Rolling Thunder was under way. Operation Rolling Thunder (March 1965–November 1968) was the sustained U.S. bombing campaign against North Vietnam, flown by Air Force fighter-bombers from Thailand and Navy aircraft from carriers in the Gulf of Tonkin against some of the densest air defenses in the world.

His remains had not been recovered when the 2008 record was compiled. The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency continues to search for Americans still missing from the war; families can find case information through dpaa.mil.

Also on Panel 10E, Line 23

From Miami

All 179 names from Miami →

Source. U.S. Department of Defense, Defense Casualty Analysis System, Vietnam Conflict Extract Data File (as of April 29, 2008), Records of the Office of the Secretary of Defense, Record Group 330, National Archives (NAID 2240992). Panel and line as recorded in that file. This page presents the official record and its historical context; no biography has been written for him yet. See something wrong? Report a correction.