William Raymond Gendebien
FINAL MISSION OF 1LT WILLIAM R. GENDEBIEN
On October 26, 1965, a pair of U.S. Marine F-4B Phantom II aircraft from Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 115 (VMFA-115), Marine Aircraft Group 11 (MAG-11), 1st Marine Aircraft Wing (1st MAW), were returning to Da Nang Air Base from a night combat mission with one jet reporting engine trouble. At 2148 hours, the two aircraft flew into the side of Monkey Mountain in Quang Nam Province, RVN, possibly distracted by the engine problem and low visibility. Both pilots and Radar Interceptor Officers (RIO’s) were killed instantly, and both aircraft were totally destroyed. The lost crewmen were pilots CPT William J. Tebow and 1LT John B. McHale, and RIO’s 1LT William R. Gendebien and CWO2 John R. Petty Jr. All remains were recovered. [Taken from coffeltdatabase.org]
