Thomas Beyer photo

Vietnam
-
MIA
Fallen

Fargo, ND


County:
Cass

Date of Loss:

Recovered:
Remains recovered

Branch of Service:
Air Force

Rank:
Major

Battalion / Task Group / Squadron or equivalent:
20th Tactical Air Support Squadron

Circumstances:

In QUANG TIN, SOUTH VIETNAM Hostile, died while missing, FIXED WING - PILOT AIR LOSS, CRASH ON LAND. Listed as deceased 05/02/1978.

From DPAA

On October 12, 2010, the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC, now DPAA) identified the remains of Major Thomas John Beyer, missing from the Vietnam War.

 

Major Beyer joined the U.S. Air Force from North Dakota and was a member of the 20th Tactical Air Support Squadron. On July 30, 1968, he was the pilot of an O-2A Skymaster (serial number unknown) that departed Chu Lai, Vietnam on a reconnaissance and forward air control mission over targets in Vietnam. His aircraft crashed at some point during its flight due to unknown circumstances, and Maj Beyer was killed in the incident. Search and rescue efforts failed to locate the crash site, and his remains were not recovered at the time. In 2009, a group of locals informed a Vietnamese search team of a set of human remains that had been recovered and buried at a nearby police station in the 1980s. The remains were disinterred and returned to U.S. officials, who identified them as those of Maj Beyer.