DARRYL GORDON WINTERS

Hq. 600th Photo Sq. Tan Son Nhut AB RVN

Air Force - A1C - E4 - Regular
Age: 27
Date of Birth: Mar 6, 1939
From: SAN FRANCISCO, CA
Religion:
Marital Status: Single
Length of service: 4 years
His tour began on:
Casualty was on: Jul 19, 1966
Place: In BIEN HOA, SOUTH VIETNAM
Action: HOSTILE, FIXED WING - CREW, AIR LOSS, CRASH ON LAND, Body was not recovered
Wall: Panel 09E - Line 44

The History of the 600th Photo Sq

1 July 1966 - 31 December 1966

F0RWARD

        During the six months from l July to 31 December 1966 the duties and mission of the
600th Photographic Squadron demanded and received much personal sacrifice. The
greatest amount was given by AlC Darryl G. Winters.  On 19 July 1966 AAVS lost
its first cameraman in combat during the Vietnam war when Airman Winters was killed in
action.  He was flying as a backseat cameraman in an Fl00F when the aircraft crashed
during an attack on a Viet Cong position in South Vietnam.  Airman Winters
exemplified the spirit of all AAVS by the outstanding photography he accomplished not
only from the backseat but also during the Bien Hoa incident and Operation Hardihood
where he risked his life to document the Vietnam war on film.  Airman Winters had
volunteered for a second tour of duty in Vietnam and was flying on his 305th combat
mission when he was killed.
  The members of the 600th Photographic Squadron were deeply moved by his
loss and were dedicated to continue in the spirit of his memory.

WINTERS, DARRYL GORDON
Name: Darryl Gordon Winters
Rank/Branch: E3/US Air Force
Unit: 600th Photo Squadron
Date of Birth: 06 March 1939
Home City of Record: San Francisco CA
Date of Loss: 19 July 1966
Country of Loss: South Vietnam
Loss Coordinates: 104125N 10624306E (XS535780)
Status (in 1973): Killed/Body Not Recovered
Category: 2
Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground: F100F
Refno: 0397
Other Personnel in Incident: (none missing)

Source: Compiled by Homecoming II Project 15 March 1991 from one or more of
the following: raw data from U.S. Government agency sources, correspondence
with POW/MIA families, published sources, interviews. Updated by the P.O.W.
NETWORK 1998.

REMARKS:

SYNOPSIS: The North American F100 "Super Sabre" first saw action in
Southeast Asia in northwest Laos in May 1962. Various modifications were
made to the aircraft affectionately called "Hun" or "Lead Sled" by its
pilots and mechanics over the early years, and the aircraft served a variety
of functions.

Airman 1st Class Darryl G. Winters was assigned to the 600th Photo Squadron
in Vietnam. On July 19, 1966, he was assigned to photograph a combat mission
and flew in one of the F100s assigned an interdiction mission.

When the F100 on which Winters was a passenger was making a strafing pass
over a target in Long An Province near the city of Tan An, it was hit by
hostile ground fire and crashed just short of the target area. Winters is
believed to have been killed in the crash of the aircraft, but there is no
indication of the fate of the pilot in Air Force summaries of Winters' loss
incident.

Winters is listed among the missing because his remains were never
recovered. Others who are missing do not have such clear-cut cases. Some
were known captives; some were photographed as they were led by their
guards. Some were in radio contact with search teams, while others simply
disappeared.

Since the war ended, over 250,000 interviews have been conducted with those
who claim to know about Americans still alive in Southeast Asia, and several
million documents have been studied. U.S. Government experts cannot seem to
agree whether Americans are there alive or not. Detractors say it would be
far too politically difficult to bring the men they believe to be alive
home, and the U.S. is content to negotiate for remains.

Well over 1000 first-hand, eye-witness reports of American prisoners still
alive in Southeast Asia have been received by 1990. Most of them are still
classified. If, as the U.S. seems to believe, the men are all dead, why the
secrecy after so many years? If the men are alive, why are they not home?

DARRYL GORDON WINTERS

Notes from The Virtual Wall: http://www.virtualwall.org/dw/WintersDG01a.htm
Airman Winters was flying with Captain John R. Bottesch of Munhall, Pennsylvania, in F-100F tail number 58-1217 when they were shot down near Tan An, about 17 miles southwest of Tan Son Nhut Air Base, Saigon. Although Captain Bottesch's remains were recovered and identified, Airman Winters's remains were not.

Captain Bottesch was assigned to the 90th Tac Ftr Sqdn, 3rd Tac Ftr Wing, at Bien Hoa Air Base.

Twelve Air Force combat cameramen are known to have died in Vietnam; they are remembered on the 600th Photo Sqdn site.

The point-of-contact for this memorial is a friend and fellow Vietnam veteran,
Dennis W. Lewis
dwlvnv@aol.com