Remains of Vietnam War pilot identified more than half a century after his plane disappeared

The remains of a Vietnam War pilot have been identified, half a century after his plane disappeared, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) said in a statement Wednesday.

U.S. Marine Corps Capt. Ronald W. Forrester, 25, of Odessa, Texas, was piloting an A-6A Intruder with his copilot on a night combat mission in the winter of 1972 when the plane suddenly disappeared over northern Vietnam. Forrester, a civil engineer at Texas A&M and president of the university’s Marine Corps ROTC, began active duty three months after graduating, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported.

He lost radio communications on Dec. 27, the statement said, and the plane never returned to base. Forrester had completed 46 missions before he wrote a letter home on Christmas Day, two days before he disappeared, his parents told the newspaper. He wrote to his family that he “believed in what he was doing” and that his missions could help end the long war, but he also said his morale was low as it became increasingly difficult to continue. His 47th mission was scheduled for the next day.

Search teams were sent out to look for Forrester and the co-pilot, but they found no trace of the pilots or the plane. The Fort Worth Star-Telegram identified the co-pilot as Capt. Ralph Jim Chipman. His remains were identified and he was buried in Utah on Nov. 11, 2023, the city of American Fork said in a news release.

About six years after the plane disappeared, in September 1978, Forrester was reported killed.

Chipman is survived by his wife Susan, a four-year-old son, Scot, and an 18-month-old son, Matthew.

Forrester is survived by his parents, along with a then 2-year-old daughter, Karoni, a twin brother, Donald, and a younger brother, Larry.

Decades of searching and investigation turned up no leads until investigators recently discovered remains and other evidence believed to be linked to the missing pilots.

Scientists from DPAA used circumstantial evidence found at the crash site, as well as mitochondrial DNA evidence, to identify Forrester. The DPAA, a division of the Department of Defense, uses DNA, dental records, sinus records and chest X-rays to identify the remains of service members killed in combat. He was identified on Dec. 4, 2023, the DPAA said.

Since 1973, the DPAA has represented 1,000 U.S. service members from World War II, more than 450 from the Korean War, and more than 1,000 service members from Vietnam.

Forrester will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery on October 7, 2024.