On December 2, 1965, an F-4B Phantom II (bureau number 152220, call sign "Linfield 412") with two crew members took off from the USS Kitty Hawk (CVA 63) on a combat mission over North Vietnam. During the flight, the Phantom’s formation flew through a heavy overcast, and contact was lost with the aircraft after it entered a cloud formation. A search was initiated and on the next day, a large burned area in the aircraft's last known location was found in the vicinity of (GC) 48Q XE 595 835, but there was no sign of the missing crew.
Commander Carl Benjamin Austin, who joined the U.S. Navy from Oregon, was a member of Fighter Squadron 114. He was the pilot of the Phantom when it went missing on December 2, 1965, and he was lost with the aircraft. Attempts to locate or identify his remains have been unsuccessful. Today, Commander Austin is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.
Based on all information available, DPAA assessed the individual's case to be in the analytical category of Active Pursuit.
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