Date:	Friday 13 August 1965
Time:
Type:	McDonnell RF-101C Voodoo
Owner/operator:	United States Air Force (USAF)
Registration:	56-0186
MSN:	174
Fatalities:	Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1
Aircraft damage:	Destroyed
Location:	Son La Province, NVN -   Vietnam
Phase:	Combat
Nature:	Military
Departure airport:	Udorn RTAFB, Thailand
Destination airport:
Confidence Rating:	Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources

Narrative:
On August 13, 1965, then Captain Mellor, serving with the 20th TRS, 18th TFW, departed Udorn RTAFB, Thailand, in RF-101C Voodoo 56-0186, call sign "Wolf 41". He was leading a second Voodoo on a low-level, high-speed photo reconnaissance run looking for SAM sites over North Vietnam. Capt. Mellor established radio contact with the onsite Forward Air Controller (FAC) directing all air operations in this sector. Apparently, they were assigned a target between Phu Tho and Viet Tri, northwest of Hanoi.

On departing the target area, the two Voodoos came under anti-aircraft fire and Capt Mellor’s aircraft was hit. The wing man saw flames around the nose of Capt Mellor’s aircraft and they lost radio contact. The wingman was given hand signals to takeover lead position. The weather was very poor with layered clouds up to 35,000 feet. During penetration, the lead checked Capt Mellor, who had been flying formation, but this time the Voodoo was gone.

Captain Mellor had been forced to eject and made a successful ejection over the Song Da, (the Black River). In this area, the river flowed through a rugged canyon approximately 28 miles northeast of the Laos border and 61 miles due west of Hanoi, in the Mộc Châu District, Son La Province. Orbiting aircraft were able to establish radio and beeper contact with Capt Mellor who reported he landed in good condition in the water near the south bank of the Song Da.

After pinpointing his exact location, (GC) VJ 850 250 (21°01.38N 104°51.20E), Capt. Mellor was advised to conceal himself and avoid further radio contact until the rescue forces arrived. Several attempts by helicopter crews sent to rescue him failed to locate him and radio contact went silent. He was declared MIA.

Post war information discovered that Captain Mellor was killed by enemy militia members in a gun fight a short time later. He was initially buried in the vicinity of where he was found in the Mộc Châu District in Vietnam. His remains were recovered in 1992, but could not be individually identified at that time. Subsequent investigations into his case recovered historical documents and personal effects related to Captain Mellor, and this evidence, coupled with a laboratory examination, were able to successfully identify his remains.

On July 13, 2018, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency identified Colonel Fredric Moore Mellor, missing from the Vietnam War. Captain Mellor was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel during the period he was MIA and posthumously, to Colonel. He is interned in the Rhode Island Veterans Memorial Cemetery, Exeter, RI.

RF-101 Units in Combat, Peter E. Davies (Pg 56, 66)
The F-101 Voodoo, An Illustrated History, Ronald Easley (Pg 185)
The Air Force in Southeast Asia, The RF-101 Voodoo 1961-1970 (Pg 88, 166)
https://airforce.togetherweserved.com/usaf/servlet/tws.webapp.WebApp?cmd=PublicUnitProfile&type=Unit&ID=3829
https://media.defense.gov/2011/Mar/23/2001330100/-1/-1/0/AFD-110323-013.pdf
http://taskforceomegainc.org/m053.html
https://www.pownetwork.org/bios/m/m053.htm
https://dpaa.secure.force.com/dpaaProfile?id=a0Jt00000001UdSEAU

Date/time	Contributor	Updates
28-Mar-2013 14:59	Uli Elch	Added
28-Mar-2013 15:38	Uli Elch	Updated [Date, Registration, Total fatalities, Total occupants, Narrative]
09-Feb-2019 20:28	Anon.	Updated [Source, Narrative]
28-May-2021 19:19	Cosmo	Updated [Cn, Operator, Location, Departure airport, Source, Narrative]