lest we forget

FORRESTER, RONALD WAYNE

Rank / Branch:

CAPTAIN (POSTHUMOUS). U.S. MARINE CORP

Date Of Birth:

1947-03-15

Country Of Loss:

NORTH VIETNAM

Status:

HOSTILE-CRASH

Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground:

GRUMMAN A6A

Other:

DIVORCED

Unit:

FIRST MARINE AIR WING

Date Of Loss:

1972-12-27

Loss Coordinates:

SEE MIA REPORT

Catagory:

BODY I.D. DEC 2023

Awards & Decorations:

SEE BIO

VETERAN HAGI0GRAPHY

RONALD WAYNE FORRESTER, CAPTAIN, U.S. MARINE CORP, FORRESTER, RONALD WAYNE

AWARDS AND DECORATIONS

NAVAL AVIATOR WINGS, DISTINGUISHED FLYING CROSS, AIR CROSS 3 AWARDS, PURPLE HEART, NATIONAL DEFENSE SERVICE MEDAL, VIETNAM SERVICE MEDAL, USN UNIT CITATION, VIETNAM CROSS OF GALANTRY WITH PALM, INDIVIDUAL AND UNIT AWARDS, VIETNAM CAMPAIGN MEDAL, MARINE CORP COMBAT RIBBON

BIOGRAPHY

Just three weeks before the Vietnam War ended, Capt. Ronald Wayne Forrester, USMC, disappeared during a routine night bombing mission on Highway One, in Quan Binh Province, North Vietnam. His mission on Dec. 27, 1972, was part of President Nixon's famous "Ten Day War" when American air power pounded Hanoi to force peace negotiations in Paris on Jan. 20, 1973.
A veteran of 40 combat missions into North Vietnam, Forrester's last radio contact was with a forward air controller requesting target weather information. Ground anti-aircraft fire is believed to have downed his plane.
Forrester's name never appears on the Prisoners of War lists from North Vietnam, Laos or Cambodia. His loss is classified as a "discrepancy case," in which the Department of Defense believes that the Vietnamese have knowledge of the incident but have not disclosed details.
Forrester was stationed at the Royal Thai Air Base in Nam Phong, Thailand, with the Marine Corps' VMA 533 Squadron as an A-6 Grumman Intruder bombardier/navigator. His assignments previously had been at Naval Air Stations in Pensacola, Florida; Beaufort, South Carolina; and Cherry Point, North Carolina.
Ronald Wayne Forrester was born in Montaque County, Texas to Neva Dean Demoss and William Wayne Forrester and was a twin brother to Donald Wayne Forrester. Ronald had a younger brother, Larry, three years younger. Ronald was a 1965 graduate of Ector High School in Odessa, Texas. While at Ector, he played on the Eagle Football Team and earned two letters, was an honor graduate.
He graduated from Texas A&M University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering and received his officer's commission in the Marine Corp. He was accepted for aviator training, but due to eye problems, he was accepted for other aviation duties on a 2-man aircraft.
He was promoted to the rank of Captain during the period he was maintained missing. He married Jana Hamilton in 1969 in Odessa. They have a daughter, Karoni Lynn. They divorced just prior to the beginning of his tour in Vietnam. His daughter, Karoni is now grown and like her father she attended and graduated from Texas A&M University. Ronnie now has a granddaughter, Lilian Waine Gonzales. Karoni continues to be active in the National League of Families. She is the Chairman of the National League of Families Publicity Committee and lives in Austin. Texas
POW/MIA INFORMATION: Name: Ronald Wayne Forrester Rank/Branch: O2/US Marine Corps Unit: VMA 533, MAG 15, 1st Marine Air Wing Date of Birth: 15 March 1947 Home City of Record: Odessa TX Date of Loss: 27 December 1972 Country of Loss: North Vietnam Loss Coordinates: 171500N 1064500E (XD985800) Status (in 1973): Missing in Action Category: 2 Acft/Vehicle/Ground: A6A
Other Personnel in Incident: Ralph J. Chipman (missing)
Source: Compiled by Homecoming II Project 15 October 1990 from one or more of the following: raw data from U.S. Government agency sources, correspondence with POW/MIA families, published sources, interviews.