(Columbus) A Wisconsin pilot killed during the Vietnam War has been accounted for. The Defense Prisoner Of War/Missing In Action Account Agency says Columbus native Lt. Col. Donald Downing was accounted for last month, almost 50 years after he was reported killed in action.
Downing served in Vietnam with the 557th Tactical Fighter Squadron in September of 1967 and during a nighttime reconnaissance mission one of his fellow pilots witnessed a large fireball and Downing stopped responding to radio calls.
Search and rescue efforts were unsuccessful, and the Air Force reported Downing as Killed in Action in April of 1978. The DPAA says Downing’s family was recently briefed about his identification and a funeral will be held at Arlington National Cemetery at a later date.
–Courtesy of WRN
–Photo courtesy of the Defense POW/MIA Account Agency
