Carlos Rafael Cruz

Vietnam War
Unit606th Air Commando Squadron
RankMajor U.S. Air Force
Entered Service FromArroyo Puerto Rico
Date of DeathDecember 29 1967
StatusRecovered
Memorialized
Courts of the Missing
Court
A
Notes
Major Cruz was a member of the 606th Air Commando Squadron, Nakhon Phanom Royal Thai Airfield, Thailand. On December 29, 1967, he was the pilot of a Douglas Counter Invader Attack Aircraft (A-26A) on a mission over the Ho Chi Minh Trail, Laos. The aircraft was hit by hostile fire when it was about 15 miles northwest of Sepone, Savannakhet Province due west of the Demilitarized Zone and crashed. His remains were recovered on March 17, 1993 and identified on October 18, 1995. His name is inscribed on the Courts of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial.
rosetta medal
When an individual’s remains have been accounted for by the U.S. Department of Defense, a rosette is placed next to the name on the Wall/Tablet/Court of the Missing to mark that the person now rests in a known gravesite.