Richard Gene Elzinga

Vietnam War
Unit56th Special Operations Wing
RankCaptain U.S. Air Force
Entered Service FromShedd Oregon
Date of DeathMarch 26 1970
StatusRecovered
Memorialized
Courts of the Missing
Court
A
Notes
Captain Elzinga was a member of 56th Special Operations Wing. On March 26, 1970, he was the co-pilot of a Cessna Bird Dog Observation Aircraft (O-1) on an operational mission 20 northeast of Vientiane, Laos. Contact was lost with the aircraft. His remains were recovered and identified on October 28, 2010. 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.