Francis Wayne Townsend

Vietnam War
Unit14th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron
RankCaptain U.S. Air Force
Entered Service FromRusk Texas
Date of DeathAugust 13 1972
StatusRecovered
Memorialized
Courts of the Missing
Court
A
Notes
Captain Townsend was a member of the 14th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron. On August 13, 1972, he was the weapons systems officer of a McDonnell Phantom II Reconnaissance Fighter (RF-4C) on a mission 10 miles southwest of Vinh Linh, Quang Binh Province, North Vietnam where his aircraft was shot down. His remains were recovered on July 13, 1999 and identified on June 13, 2002. 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.