Carroll Baxter Lilly

Branch/Rank: United States Air Force/O3
Unit:  1st Special Operations Squadron, 56th Special Operations Wing
Date of Birth: 01 December 1939
Home City of Record: MORGANTOWN WV
Date of Loss: 09 April 1971
Country of Loss: LAOS
Loss Coordinates: 151600 North  1073600 East
Status (in 1973): Missing In Action
Category: 4
Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground: A1H #137628
Missions:
Other Personnel in Incident:
Refno: 1739

Source: Compiled by P.O.W. NETWORK from one or more of the following: raw data from U.S. Government agency sources, correspondence with POW/MIA families, published sources, interviews and CACCF = Combined Action Combat Casualty File.   2020

REMARKS:

CACCF/CRASH/AIRCREW

On April 9, 1971, an A-1H Skyraider (tail number 52-137628) took off from Nakhon Phanom Royal Thai Air Force Base, Thailand, as one of two aircraft on a search and rescue mission over Laos. A Forward Air Controller (FAC) aircraft joined the flight over the rendezvous point and the two Skyraiders then attacked suspected enemy ground positions in the area. After several passes, enemy fire from the ground positions ceased, but the pilot of the other Skyraider lost visual contact with this aircraft and believed it had crashed. A search and rescue helicopter was brought to the area and located the aircraft wreckage but failed to locate recover the pilot.

Captain Carroll Baxter Lilly entered the U.S. Air Force from West Virginia and was a member of the 1st Special Operations Squadron, 56th Special Operations Wing. He was the pilot of this Skyraider when it crashed and he remains unaccounted for. Subsequent to the incident, and while carried in the status of missing in action (MIA), the U.S. Air Force promoted Captain Lilly to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel (Lt Col). Today, Lieutenant Colonel Lilly is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific.

To add more information, please contact Bruce Christensen: Specialoperationsgroup@comcast.net