James O. Lynch, Captain, USAF (KIA)
October 11, 1940 – April 13, 1969

Final Mission Of Captain James O. Lynch

The 20th Special Operations Squadron (20th SOS) abbreviated unit history states that on April 13, 1969, that while extracting a reconnaissance team, the flight was fired on after successfully making the pick-up. A gunship flying escort for the extraction, a U.S. Air Force UH-1F helicopter (tail number 65-07937), was hit by ground fire. The copilot, Capt. James O. Lynch, was killed and the aircraft commander seriously wounded. Although on the verge of unconsciousness due to the loss of blood and a wound in the left leg, the pilot managed to land in a nearby clearing. The aircraft came to rest with its tail boom broken and its skids ripped out from under it. The gunner, Sgt. Isidro Arroyo, was wounded in the back. Arroyo moved the dead and wounded pilots to the rescue slick while the other gunner sterilized the wreck. Unable to board this slick because there was no room, Arroyo waited on the ground for another helicopter to pick him up. The wrecked Huey was destroyed. [Taken from vhpa.org]