Gerald Gordon Van Buren

Vietnam War
Unit314th Tactical Airlift Wing
RankLieutenant Colonel U.S. Air Force
Entered Service FromToledo Ohio
Date of DeathDecember 29 1967
StatusRecovered
Memorialized
Courts of the Missing
Court
A
Notes
Lieutenant Colonel Van Buren was a member of the 314th Tactical Airlift Wing, Nha Trang Air Base, South Vietnam. On December 29, 1967, he was a pilot of a Lockheed Hercules Transport Aircraft (C-130E) on a mission in the extreme northwest corner of North Vietnam over Lai Chau Province, when contact was lost. His remains were recovered on December 13, 1993 and identified on March 20, 2000. 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.