He was killed on April 25, 1980 in an ill-fated attempt to rescue U.S. hostages being held in Iran when two American aircraft collided on the ground in the Iranian desert. He is buried in a common grave with two other members of the crew, Major Richard Bakke and Sergeant Joel Mayo, because their bodies were individually unidentifiable. They rest in Section 46 of Arlington National Cemetery, directly across from the Memorial Amphitheater.
Michael Robert Patterson was born in Arlington and is the son of a former officer of the US Army. So it was no wonder that sooner or later his interests drew him to American history and especially to American military history. Many of his articles can be found on renowned portals like the New York Times, Washingtonpost or Wikipedia.
Reviewed by: Michael Howard