PEMBERTON, GENE THOMAS
03/06/74 REMAINS RETURNED
Name: Gene Thomas Pemberton
Branch/Rank: United States Air Force/O4
Unit: 354th
Tactical Fighter Squadron
Date of Birth: 04 June 1926
Home City of Record: CAMERON, MO
Date of Loss: 23 July 1966
Country of Loss: North Vietnam
Loss Coordinates: 210200 North 1052800 East
Status (in 1973): Missing in Action
Category: 1
Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground: F105D
Missions:
Other Personnel in Incident: Benjamin Byrd Newsom, remains returned 1974
Refno:
Source: Compiled by P.O.W. NETWORK from one or more of the following: raw
data from U.S. Government agency sources, correspondence with POW/MIA
families, published sources, interviews and CACCF = Combined Action
Combat Casualty File. 2020
REMARKS: 03/06/74 REMAINS RETURNED
CACCF/CRASH/PILOT DIC
EGRESS-POWS SHOWN PEMBERTON ID CARD AT QUIZ
No further information available at this time.
| Subject: | Submission |
|---|---|
| Date: | Sun, 18 Nov 2018 18:33:48 +0000 |
| From: | William M. Killian |
|
On July 23, 1966, a U.S. Air Force F-105 Thunderchief (#63-8338) from the 354th Tactical Fighter Squadron based at Takhli Royal Thai Air Base in Thailand was the flight leader of a four-ship F-105 aircraft team assigned to patrol the heavily defended Red River Delta in North Vietnam in search of hostile surface-to-air missile sites. The crew of the lead ship was pilot MAJ Gene T. Pemberton and Electronic Warfare Officer MAJ Benjamin B. Newsom. Near Phuc Yen the flight encountered extremely adverse weather and heavy anti-aircraft defenses. MAJ Pemberton’s Thunderchief was shot down and he and Newsom were captured by the North Vietnamese. Pemberton was reported to have died in captivity on July 24, 1966, and Newsom was also reported to have died in captivity on July 26, 1966. Both Pemberton and Newsom were promoted to Colonel during the time they were missing. The two airmen’s remains were repatriated March 6, 1974, and positively identified April 22, 1974. Pemberton was posthumously awarded the Silver Star medal Newsom posthumously was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. [Taken from coffeltdatabase.org, valor.militarytimes.com, and MAJ Pemberton’s Silver Star citation]
Submitted by William M. Killian |
|
02/2020
On April 8, 1974, the Central Identification Lab-Thailand (CILT, now
DPAA) identified the remains of Colonel Gene Thomas
Pemberton, missing from the Vietnam War.
Colonel Pemberton, who joined the U.S. Air Force from
Missouri, served with the 354th Tactical Fighter Squadron.
On July 23, 1966, he piloted an F-105F Thunderchief (serial
number 63-8338) that took off from Takhli Royal Air Base in
Thailand on an armed reconnaissance mission over Phuc Yen,
North Vietnam. During the mission, the Thunderchief was shot
down. Colonel Thomas survived the crash and was taken
prisoner by the North Vietnamese. He died in a North
Vietnamese prisoner of war camp in Hanoi. In 1974, the North
Vietnamese government repatriated remains which were later
identified as those of Col Pemberton.
If you are a family member of this serviceman, you may contact your casualty office representative to learn more about your service member.