COL RICHARD A. WALSH, III, USAF
Lucky Bag Yearbook
From the 1951 Lucky Bag:
Richard Ambrose Walsh, III
Loss
Richard was killed in action on February 15, 1969 when the A-1 Skyraider he was piloting was shot down over southern Laos. He was a member of the 602nd Special Operations Squadron, based in Thailand.
Other Information
Richard was survived by his wife, then 34, and five children ages 6 to 12. That link also contains an extensive article about his wife’s attempts to get answers to his fate.
Remembrances
From an email on January 13, 2018:
He was a wonderful father, all in for his wife and 5 children, and I am lucky to be his daughter. He grew up in St. Paul, Minnesota, the second oldest of 6 children. He enlisted in the Marines in 1944, after graduation from high school, and had his basic training at Camp Pendleton. He went to the Naval Academy Preparatory School (NAPS) in 1945. He started at Annapolis in 1946 and finished in 1951. He went into the Air Force in 1951 and had flight training at Greenville, Mississippi and Lubbock, Texas.
From the mid-1950s to the fall of 1968, my parents moved from Fairbanks, Alaska, to Dayton, Ohio, to Alexandria, Louisiana, to the Philippines, to Colorado Springs, Colorado–having us 5 children along the way. Then he was assigned to the 602nd Special Operations Squadron, and in the fall of 1968, after training at Hurlburt Field in Florida, he deployed to Nakhon Phanom Air Force base in Thailand. In that duty he was a Sandy pilot flying search and rescue missions. His last plane was the A1 Skyraider. He was shot down in Xekong Province, Laos, on February 15, 1969, in the course of a mission during which a downed pilot was successfully rescued. He was listed as Missing in Action until October 1979, when an administrative body made a presumptive finding of death. His remains have never been recovered. I remember and treasure his love, storytelling, songs, laughs, and how he believed in and protected us and our family. He was a good man. Maura Walsh, Daughter
From Virtual Wall:
Richard Walsh was 41 years old and was a husband and a father of five children, now grown, who wonder why he was sent to fly such a dangerous aircraft where so many men were shot down out of the sky, in this A-1 propeller aircraft. His adult children now think like civilians, who never have served in the United States Armed Forces, in times of conflict. They think that family men should be spared such hazardous duty. “It is not like this,” is the reply. It would not occur to him to ask to have that consideration, as many of these men had families also. These heroic men have a code of honor that transcends their personal safety. What is it? Honor among them, and uncommon personal courage, intelligence, wisdom, and youthful optimism about the task to be completed. The study of military history will show that throughout times past, there are hundreds of thousands of these human beings who know that there are evils to be fought to the death. We mourn our personal loss and this honorable person who was in our lives for a short time. We the survivors, are always with them now, and then at the hour of their death, to live our long goodbye, not to see their beloved faces again here, as they walk on. In Flanders Field where poppies grow, or near the Mekong river in the foothills of Laos they rest. Sharon Walsh, October 2004
For Our Dad From His Children
Richard A. Walsh III 1926-1969 Colonel USAF Pilot: A1-E aircraft 602nd Special Ops Squadron Nhakon Phenom Thailand 1968-69 Missing in Action Awarded Silver Star for heroism Awarded Distinguished Flying Crosses Awarded Order of the Purple Heart United States Naval Academy 1951 University of Colorado MBA 1967 North American Air Defense Command & Command Pilot Survived by brother, sisters, wife, five children. Rest In Peace: From all who remember and love you. RICHARD B. WALSH, 10/31/01
From Wall of Faces:
I hope you made it to heaven. And I love you very much. This is your granddaughter, Tara Christina. I have been thinking about you a lot lately and I wish I could have met you. I heard the stories about the brave things you did but I cried when I heard about you being shot down.
My dad, Christopher R. Walsh showed me your pictures in his photo album. Ones of you in uniform receiving medals from your commanding officers. He showed photos of you playing in the yard on Lincoln Avenue in St. Paul, Minnesota. I live in Florida now kind of like when you were stationed at Ft. Walton Beach. My dad loved that summer playing in the pool and on the Beach at the Ocean Lodge Hotel. Maybe, my dad will post some photos of you and me.
We want to thank all the wonderful people who posted remembrances here. It made my daddy cry. My dad tells me Bulgy Bear stories like you told him a long time ago.
I learned some patriotic songs here in the 3rd grade, like Grand Old Flag, the Star Spangled Banner, and “Off we go into the wild blue yonder . . .”
I will tell my classmates and do a report someday about you, a Great American Hero.
Love Tara. TARA AND CHRIS, CRWALSH11@GMAIL.COM, 1/13/16
Young Sgt at the time. Talked with LTC Walsh on many occasions. Usually about operations and at times about making the Air Force a career. Remember his mission, his loss and the hope we would rescue him. I know his wife never gave up hope that he would come home. JOHN MOMANEY, CMSGT USAF, RET, CMSGT92MOMANEY@AOL.COM, 5/27/13
Photographs
Silver Star
Via his daughter, Maura Walsh, on January 13, 2018:
Richard is one of 48 members of the Class of 1951 on Virtual Memorial Hall.
