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Roger Locher

Roger Clinton Locher[1]
General John Vogt (L) with Capt Roger Locher on his return to Udorn Royal Thai Air Force Base
Born (1946-09-13) September 13, 1946 (age 77)
Sabetha, Kansas,[2] U.S.
Allegiance United States of America
Service/branch United States Air Force
Years of service1969–1998
Rank Colonel
Battles/warsVietnam War
Maj. Robert Lodge (left) and Capt. Roger Locher (right) in the cockpit of F-4D 65–0784, seen earlier in 1972: the team already had two MiG-kills to their credit when they clashed with MiG-19s and MiG-21s on the morning of May 10, 1972.
Roger Locher, Crew Chief Sgt Joey Hill, Robert Lodge, F4-D 650784

Roger Clinton Locher (born September 13, 1946)[3] is a retired Colonel in the U.S. Air Force and a former McDonnell Douglas F-4D Phantom II Navigator/Weapon Systems Officer (WSO) and subsequent Pilot who, during the Vietnam War and Operation Linebacker, was shot down only 40 miles (64 km) from Hanoi, North Vietnam.[4] The 23 days Locher spent behind enemy lines evading capture was a record for downed airmen during the war.[5] USAF General John W. Vogt, Jr., commanding general of the Seventh Air Force, "shut down the war" and sent 119 aircraft to recover him. His rescue was the deepest inside North Vietnam during the entire War.

When his aircraft, F-4D, AF Ser. No. 65-0784, was shot down by a Shenyang J-6 on May 10, 1972, Locher was on his third combat tour and had over 407 combat missions.[6][7] He was one of the leading MiG killers in Vietnam with three aerial victories. No one saw him eject or his parachute open, and it was unknown whether he had died or been captured. Over the next two weeks, U.S. air crews in the area tried to raise him on UHF radio without success. The North Vietnamese did not add his name to the roster of captured airmen, which gave the Americans some hope. Traveling only at dusk and dawn, over three weeks Locher traveled about 12 miles (19 km), evading farmers and living off the land.

On June 1, Locher was finally able to successfully contact a flight of F-4 aircraft overhead. Vogt committed to rescue him and canceled the scheduled attack on Hanoi that day, diverting all of the available aircraft to assist in his rescue.[5] Despite the proximity of the Yên Bái Air Base only 5 miles (8.0 km) away and its well-developed anti-aircraft defenses, there were no U.S. losses during his rescue.

  1. ^ "Search results for Roger Clinton Locher in Kansas". Intelius. Retrieved 2011-04-19.
  2. ^ Hunter Keeter (January 2005). American Air Forces in the Vietnam War. Gareth Stevens. pp. 18–. ISBN 978-0-8368-5773-3. Retrieved 17 April 2011.
  3. ^ "You searched: Roger C Locher 19460913". Public Background Checks. Retrieved 2011-04-10.
  4. ^ Frisbee, John L. (March 1992). "Valor: A Good Thought to Sleep On". 75 (3). AirforceMagazine.com. Retrieved April 6, 2011. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  5. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference ritchie was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference maurice was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ LaPointe, Robert L. "1972" (PDF). Vietnam History. Retrieved 19 April 2011.

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