02 Sep 2004 REMEMBERED Denis denis1146@aol.com

 

26 Jan 2007 I have kept Colonel King's POW/MIA bracelet since the late 1960's. His ultimate sacrifice to our freedom in the USA is one that can only be called heroic. I cannot begin to imagine his family's loss, and can only offer the words "God bless you and Donald for the ultimate sacrifice to the the USA." Our words can never, ever relieve the pain, but yuou must know that we share the pain of your loss, and we are forever indebted to you and every American family that has lost or will lose a family member in our struggle against those cowards without any tolerence for democracy. You must know that your pain though great and burdensome is ultimately shared amongst every American. May God bless Colonel Donald King and his family, for his loss was not in vain. Steven Shields rbcsaver@excite.com

 

A Note from The Virtual Wall Early on the morning of 14 May 1966 a section of F-4C Phantoms from the 433rd Tac Fighter Sqdn took off from Ubon RTAFB for an armed reconnaissance mission near Dong Hoi, just north of the Demilitarized Zone. The two aircraft hit the tanker and headed for their target area. Before actually locating or prosecuting any targets, the wing aircraft (F-4C 64-0760, flown by Capt D. L. King and 1stLt Frank D. Ralston) went down under rather mysterious circumstances. The flight leader saw a "streak of light", suggesting a surface-to-air missile, and heard a garbled call from his wingman - but nothing more. Search and rescue efforts failed to locate either aircraft or crew, and the two men were classed as missing in action. Time passed, the two men were promoted in absentia, the POWs came home - and still nothing was known regarding what had happened to King and Ralston. Eventually the Secretary of the Air Force approved Presumptive Findings of Death for MAJ Frank D. Ralston, Denver, CO, on 09 Jan 1978 and COL Donald L. King, Muskegon, MI, on 25 Jan 1979. Their remains have not been repatriated. Colonel King was a former test pilot and Russian language graduate from the Navy's language school at Monterey, California. Major Ralston was a 1963 graduate of the Air Force Academy.

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