GORTON, THOMAS FREDERICK

Name: Thomas Frederick Gorton
Rank/Branch: O3/US Air Force
Unit:
Date of Birth: 06 December 1929
Home City of Record: Toledo OH
Date of Loss: 06 December 1963
Country of Loss: South Vietnam
Loss Coordinates: 101411N 1064617E (XS940320)
Status (in 1973): Killed/Body Not Recovered
Category: 5
Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground: B26B
Refno: 0025

Other Personnel in Incident: Richard D. Hill (missing)

Source: Compiled by Homecoming II Project 01 September 1990 from one or more
of the following: raw data from U.S. Government agency sources,
correspondence with POW/MIA families, published sources, interviews. Updated
by the P.O.W. NETWORK 2020.

REMARKS:

SYNOPSIS: The Douglas B26 was a twin-engine attack bomber with World War II
service. In Vietnam, it served the French in the 1950's and also the U.S. in
the early years of American involvement in Southeast Asia. As the legend
goes, the B26 was renamed "A26" in the early years of because the U.S. did
not want to admit using bombers in Southeast Asia.

Capt. Thomas F. Gorton and Airman 2nd Class Richard D. Hill were crewmembers
onboard a B26B which went down in South Vietnam in the early years. The
aircraft had been on a photo reconnaissance mission near the coast of Kien
Hoa Province. Hill was an aerial photographer while Gorton was part of the
flight crew.

The aircraft crash site was located about 40 miles south-southeast of Saigon
near the mouth of the Mekong River in about five feet of water. No personnel
were aboard. The remains of the pilot and navigator were subsequently
located which indicated that these men had tried to swim away after the
crash. Hill and Gorton could not be found. The two were first classified
Missing in Action but their status was later changed to Killed in
Action/Body Not Recovered.

Gorton and Hill are listed among the missing because their remains were
never found to send home to the country he served. For other who are
missing, however, the evidence leads not to death, but to survival. Since
the war ended, nearly 10,000 reports received relating to Americans still
held captive in Indochina have convinced experts that hundreds of men are
still alive, waiting for their country to rescue them. The notion that
Americans are dying without hope in the hands of a long-ago enemy belies the
idea that we left Vietnam with honor. It also signals that tens of thousands
of lost lives were a frivolous waste of our best men.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

01/2020

 https://dpaa.secure.force.com/dpaaProfile?id=a0Jt00000001UDREA2

CAPT THOMAS FREDERICK GORTON

Return to Service Member Profiles

On December 6, 1963, a B-26B Marauder (tail number 44-35782) with a crew of four conducted a reconnaissance mission over South Vietnam. The aircraft crashed for unknown reasons near the mouth of the Mekong River, in the vicinity of (GC) 48P XS 940 320. Searchers found the aircraft in five feet of water with no one aboard. The remains of the pilot and navigator were found in subsequent searches, but the other two crew members were never recovered.

Captain Thomas Frederick Gorton, who joined the U.S. Air Force from Ohio, served with the 1st Air Commando Squadron. He was the instructor navigator aboard the Marauder when it crashed, and his remains were not recovered. Today, Captain Gorton 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 Non-recoverable.

If you are a family member of this serviceman, DPAA can provide you with additional information and analysis of your case. Please contact your casualty office representative.

Service member profile discrepancy? Please help us ensure the accuracy of each profile by submitting documentation about a service member profile.