Craig Roland Nobert – Major, United States Air Force

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Full Name: CRAIG ROLAND NOBERT
Date of Birth: 12/3/1941
Date of Casualty: 7/20/1966
Gome of Record: AVON, CONNECTICUT
Branch of Service: AIR FORCE
Rank: MAJOR
Casualty Country: NORTH VIETNAM
Casualty Province: NZ
Status: MIA

NOBERT, CRAIG ROLAND

Name: Craig Roland Nobert
Rank/Branch: O2/US Air Force
Unit: 41st Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron, Takhli AB TH
Date of Birth: 03 December 1941
Home City of Record: Avon CT
Date of Loss: 20 July 1966
Country of Loss: North Vietnam
Loss Coordinates: 215058N 1051657E (WK292160)
Status (in 1973): Missing in Action
Category: 2
Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground: EB66C

Other Personnel in Incident: Lawrence Barbay; Norman A. McDaniel; Edwin L. Hubbard; William H. Means Jr.; Glendon W. Perkins (all released POWs)

Source: Compiled by Homecoming II Project 15 May 1990 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 1997.

SYNOPSIS: The Douglas EB66C Skywarrior was outfitted as an electronic warfare aircraft which carried roughly 5 tons of electronic gear in addition to its flight crew of three and technical personnel. The EB66C featured a pressurized
capsule installed in the bomb bay, that accommodated four technicians whose responsibility was to operate electronic reconnaissance gear.

On July 20, 1966, an EB66C was dispatched from the 41st Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron at Takhli Airbase in Thailand on an electronic countermeasure mission over North Vietnam. The crew and technicians that day included Captain Lawrence Barbay, Captain Glendon W. Perkins, Captain Norman A. McDaniel, Captain William H. Means Jr., First Lieutenant Edward L. Hubbard, and First Lieutenant Craig R. Nobert. Nobert served as the electronics warfare officer on the flight.

The flight was normal to the target area near Tuyen Quang, Quang Bac Thai Province, North Vietnam. At this point, the aircraft was orbited east/west. During this maneuver, the aircraft was hit by hostile fire. Two parachutes were
seen to eject the aircraft, after which the aircraft descended and disintegrated.

In the spring of 1973, 591 Americans were released from prison camps in Vietnam, including most of the crew of the Skywarrior lost on July 20, 1966. They had been held in various POW camps in and around Hanoi for nearly seven years. Only Nobert remained Missing in Action.

Pilot Killed 40 Years Ago Honored In Virginia
Family Of Pilot Hopes Act Will Bring Peace
July 22, 2009

A Connecticut family was at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia on Wednesday for a funeral with full military honors, but the Air Force pilot being remembered lost his life more than 40-years ago during the Vietnam War.

From the bugle to the rifle volleys to the riderless horse accompanying the caisson, it was a military funeral with all the solemn fanfare of Arlington National Cemetery. After decades of waiting for answers, it brought comfort to the family of Major Craig Nobert.

crnorbert-gravesite-photo-01

Major Nobert’s plane was shot down in July 1966. The Avon native was listed as missing in action, and for years, his late father was diligent in keeping up with the latest information from the government, but the rest of the family said it was kept in the dark.

Wednesday’s ceremony in the hallowed northern Virginia cemetery came during a convention for families of servicemen and women listed as missing in action or prisoner of war. Nobert’s family said it’s an honor shared with all who have served.

The Nobert family was also given a full briefing from the Department of Defense from the day their loved one was lost. They said they hope it will allow them to honor Nobert and finally be at peace with what he sacrificed for his country.

NOBERT, CRAIG R
MAJ   US AIR FORCE
VIETNAM

  • DATE OF BIRTH: 12/03/1941
  • DATE OF DEATH: 07/20/1966
  • BURIED AT: SECTION MG  SITE 330
    ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY

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