Draft:David Marion Christian

Lieutenant JG David Marion Christian (January 15, 1941 – June 2, 1965) was a United States Lieutenant JG Navy Aviator who belonged to the VA-23 Black Knights Ground Attack Squadron and was stationed on the USS Midway CVA-41 during the Vietnam War. He was shot down over the City of Sam Son, North Vietnam on June 2, 1965, while conducting a ground strike near Thanh HOA during Operation Rolling Thunder. He was one of the earliest US pilots shot down (and was within the first 413 casualties documented in the Vietnam War ) and was flying an A4-E Skyhawk (BuNu 151144 Modex NE-349) when he was lost. His VA-23 squadmate LT John Bryan McKamey, and the four-man crew of VAW-13 in a specialized EA-1F Douglas Skyraider assisting his SAR mission were also shot down attempting to rescue him. By the end of that day three airplanes were down, six aircrew lost; and five of the six probably dead. It was one of the most significant losses to the Midway to date. The USS Midway Museum has chosen to keep Christian's mission permanently on their mission board for over 5 million visitors to see each year.

Details of the June 2, 1965 incident June 2, 1965: VA-23 Black Knights A-4E BuNo 151144, NE-348, Lt.(jg) David Marion Christian was killed when he was hit by AAA while pulling up from his second ZUNI attack on a radar site south of Than Hoa. On June 2, 1965, an VAW-13 EA-1F "Spad" electronics aircraft BuNo 132540, VR-70,was launched from the USS MIDWAY for assistance in a search and rescue mission over North Vietnam. The crew of the Spad was Lt.(jg) M.D. McMican, pilot; Lt.(jg) Gerald M. Romano, navigation officer; Petty Officer Third Class William H. Amspacher, Electronic Countermeasures Operator, and ATN 3 Thomas L. Plants. While circling the scene of an [unnamed] A4E pilot's ejection over the South China Sea, the Spad was hit by enemy fire and was observed to crash land and burn on the nearby coast. While still over the water, a crew member was seen to bail out, but his parachute did not open, and he fell into the sea. A week later, the body drifted ashore, according to an intelligence report. This body was not recovered by U.S. forces at that time. [NOTE: The loss location given by Defense Department is not over the South China Sea, but some five miles inland, in Nghe An Province, near the city of Sam Son. At best, if the loss occurred over water, it occurred in the Gulf of Tonkin.] The crew of the Spad was placed into the category Killed in Action/Body Not Recovered. It was assumed the three perished in the crash of the plane and the fourth (unspecified in the report) perished just prior to the crash in his unsuccessful ejection attempt. On June 2, 1965, two Navy A-4E aircraft were shot down in the general area that the EA1F rescue aircraft was circling. One of them was flown off the  USS MIDWAY by Lt.(jg) David M. Christian and is most likely to be the subject of the search by the Spad because the accounts seem to match. Navy accounts do not specify the identity of the downed pilot, nor do they indicate if he was ever rescued.

His family and the CIA are concerned when his name and description appears in the Russian Newspaper - PRAVDA

Four months after his disappearance, Christian's name, physical description, and detailed list of his personal belongings appeared in the October 11, 1965 issue of PRAVDA, a Russian Newspaper. Christian was shot down just three months before James Stockdale was shot down on September 9, 1965. James Stockdale was also mentioned by name in the same October 11, 1965 issue of PRAVDA. The Pravda article gave the Christian family hope that David survived and would be released. Due to the PRAVDA article, and the differing eyewitness accounts that contradicted the Joint Chiefs of Staffs Accounting report, Christian's MIA case remains complex and unresolved. His remains were returned in 1987, but the CIA listed his case as unresolved and kept searching for him for seven more years. Christian's status after the crash, up until the time his remains were returned, is unknown. The final report concluded there was no sign of a survivor after the crash and no emergency beacon was detected and his status was marked as DISCREPENCY with crash SURVIVABILITY noted as (2) "Probably outside of plane at time of crash" (1 is survived, 5 is killed, and 2 is more than likely survived).

A new 2023 eyewitness account of his status is given showing he may have survived his crash

However, late December 2023, an eyewitness account given to the Christian's family by the officer in charge of Christian's rescue mission suggests he may have survived the crash and was seen by pilots and search and rescue (SAR) mission crew from the USS Midway on the beach awaiting rescue.

US Senator John Fetterman seeks Congressional Inquiry on behalf of the family

Due to the new eyewitness account, on January 19, 2024, Christian's family asked for US Senator John Fetterman of Pennsylvania to submit a Congressional Inquiry on their behalf to the DPAA (Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency) in order to review all of Christian's investigation records under case number: 0092-1-01.

The USS Midway Museum permanently displays his mission on their mission board to this day.

Due to the losses suffered on June 2, 1965, the USS Midway Museum in San Diego, California has permanently kept their names and final mission on the launch status board in the Primary Flight Control Center (Pri-Fly).

USS Midway Losses on June 2, 1965 during strike mission and the rescue attempt of LTJG David Marion Christian included: About Lieutenant JG David Marion Christian
 * LTJG David Marion Christian (Pilot VA-23)
 * LTJG M.D. McMican (Pilot VAW-13)
 * LTJG Gerald M. Romano (Radar/ECM coordinator VAW-13)
 * ATN-2 Thomas Lee Plants (ECM operator VAW-13)
 * ATR3 William Harry Amspacher Jr. (ECM operator VAW-13)
 * LT John B. McKamey (Pilot VA-23)

LTJG David Marion Christian was born in 1941 in Oakland California and moved to Lane Kansas where his family helped with their relatives' farms and other business. After his family moved back to California, David stayed in Kansas to attend Emporia State University and later Kansas State University. He then enrolled in Naval Aviation Officer Candidate School (AOCS) at NAS Pensacola. Once commissioned, Naval Aviators went through ground school and flight training in the T-28 Trojan, a propeller-driven aircraft, followed by jet training in the T-2 Buckeye. David went on to receive final ground attack and carrier landing training in A-4s from the Fleet Replacement Squadron (FRS) at NAS Lemoore before assignment to a deploying squadron (VA-23 The Black Knights) also based there.

On April 20, 1987, the Central Identification Laboratory-Hawaii(CILHI, now DPAA) identified the remains of Lieutenant Junior Grade David Marion Christian, missing from the Vietnam War. Lieutenant Junior Grade Christian entered the U.S. Navy from Kansas and was a member of Attack Squadron 23, Carrier Air Wing 2. On June 2, 1965, he piloted an A-4E Skyhawk (bureau number 151144) that took off from the USS Midway (CVA-41) on a shoreline reconnaissance mission over Thanh Hoa Province, North Vietnam. While over the Tonkin Gulf, the aircraft crashed for unknown reasons and Christian did not survive. His body was not recovered at the time of his loss. In 1986, the Vietnamese government repatriated human remains that U.S. analysts identified as those of Christian. Lieutenant Junior Grade Christian is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific. His name is also inscribed along with all his fallen comrades on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington, DC.

Lieutenant JG David Marion Christian's Commendations and Awards


 * Purple Heart
 * Combat Action Ribbon
 * United States Aviator Badge Navy
 * National Defense Service Medal
 * Vietnam Campaign Medal
 * Vietnam Service Medal
 * Navy Presidential Unit Citation
 * Vietnam Gallantry Cross
 * Navy Good Conduct Medal
 * Navy Expeditionary Medal

David Marion Christian is buried or memorialized at Courts of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial and Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery, San Diego. This is a National American Cemetery administered through the Department of Veteran's Affairs.

David is honored on the Vietnam Veteran's Memorial in Washington DC. Name inscribed at VVM Wall, Panel 01e, Line 129.

His crash report and location of his planes coordinates are shown to be at: 194343N 1055245E on the Aviation Safety Network.

Historical Relevance

David Marion Christian's final mission, as well as the SAR mission is permanently displayed on the USS Midway Museum's permanently Primary Flight Control launch status board. According to the USS Midway Museum, the attracts over 5,000,000 visitors annually for its impressive collection of aircraft, storied military past and fun-filled family activities.

He has been the subject of dozens of newspaper articles (United Press International and Associated Press) and his family was interviewed by several national news outlets when his remains were repatriated in 1986.

David Marion Christian has been featured on pages 109-110 in Chapter 8 "Deadly Rules" of Midway Magic: An Oral History of America's Legendary Aircraft Carrier By: McGaugh, Scott/Schirra, Wally.

He was also given a 1995 Memorial Day Tribute on Operation TNT during their Memorial Day Movie Marathon which featured a letter read to David Christian by his mother Ethel Christian from Lakeside California 30 years after his disappearance.

His investigation records are available at the Library of Congress under case number: 0092-1-01

January 19, 2024 U.S. Senator John Fetterman of Pennsylvania submitted a Congressional Inquiry on behalf of Christian's family to secure all of his investigation records under case number: 0092-01-1 as reported in this Yahoo News article and ABC27 Harrisburg Affiliate in February 6, 2024.