21 January 2008
On the Journey of Saving Hunter - Part 2
Today I continue on the Journey of Saving Hunter by making my way to Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama, to visit the Air Force Historical Research Agency in order to locate Lt. Hunter’s and Charlie Jones’ past from military records on microfilm. Cathy Cox, an archivist at the Agency, has been helping me with locating records before the holiday break and now I have a chance to review some of the items that have turned up.
The Agency has already provided me with service records pertaining to the F-105D that Lt. Hunter was flying when he was shot down over Laos, which has helped fill in the gaps from the Air Force’s Combat Loss Report of the aircraft, 59-1746. The history of the 355th Tactical Fighter Wing should shed some light on May 25, 1966 - the day Lt. Hunter was shot down - since some information from the microfilm is on the Combat Loss Report.
Whether there is a recorded history of Lt. Hunter’s body being recovered and transported to Udorn by Master Sergeant Charlie Jones and his CIA pilot is still unknown. However I will pursue in finding information regarding forward air controllers that operated with the Special Forces through Operation Farm Gate.
I plan to post updates on the progress of the research while in Alabama. There’s more to this story than most know, its time people found out why Lt. Hunter is recognized for the person he was and what he meant to the Douglasville community.
Tags: afhra, journey of saving hunter, maxwell afb
