James Wesley Widdis Jr.

Vietnam War
Unit609th Special Operations Squadron
RankMajor U.S. Air Force
Entered Service FromNewark New Jersey
Date of DeathMarch 23 1969
StatusRecovered
Memorialized
Courts of the Missing
Court
A
Notes
Major Widdis was a member of the 609th Special Operations Squadron, Nakhon Phanom Airfield, Thailand. On March 23, 1969, he was the pilot of a Douglas Counter Invader Attack Aircraft (A-26A) on a combat mission 15 miles west of Ban Karai Pass, Laos, when the aircraft was hit by hostile fire and crashed. His remains were recovered on May 24, 1995 and identified on October 18, 1996. 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.