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Remembering, Honoring
Fighter Pilot David Hrdlicka
by U.S. Air Force Airman William Lunn
June
8,
2022
It was 57 years ago on May 18, 2022 when McConnell Air
Force Base pilot Capt. David Hrdlicka was shot down during a mission
over Laos during the Vietnam War ... with his family continuing to search for the truth
of what happened to their husband and father.
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Image created by USA Patriotism! from courtesy photos and U.S. Air Force Airman William Lunn.
Top Center - Fighter pilot Lt. Col. David Louis Hrdlicka's name on his memorial stone along a memorial walk that honors and remembers his life and service at McConnell Air Force Base, Kansas. While on a bombing run in the Vietnam War, Hrdlicka was shot down over Laos and became a prisoner of war.
Left -Captain David Hrdlicka poses for an official photo in September, 1960, at Royal Air Force Base Bentwaters, England. While in England, Capt. Hrdlicka served as a flying training officer for the 81st Support Group.
Center - Captain David Hrdlicka poses for a photo alongside an F-100 Super Sabre after a flight in October 1963 at McConnell Air Force Base, Kansas. Capt. Hrdlicka flew both the F-100 Super Sabre and the F-105 Thundercheif while serving with 23rd Tactical Fighter Wing.
Right - Captain David Hrdlicka is photographed in enemy custody after being captured during a mission May 18, 1965, in Bokeo, Laos. Hrdlicka went missing in action and became a prisoner of war until 1977 when he was pronounced “dead while captured” although he was never found.
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David Hrdlicka
was born in Minnesota but grew up in Littleton, Colorado. His wife,
Carol, who still lives in the Wichita area, says David always had a
passion for flying. Some of their first dates were spent flying
together.
“He used to take me flying in a Piper Cub before he
started flying for the Air Force,” said Carol. “It used to terrorize
me because I don’t like being at high altitude, but I never showed
him that I was afraid.”
Hrdlicka first enlisted in the Air
Force after high school. He served in both the B-29 and B-36 bombers
as a tail gunner before eventually taking the pilot’s test in the
1950s. After successfully passing the test, he entered the aviation
cadet program ultimately changing paths to becoming an officer and a
fighter pilot.
In April of 1965, Hrdlicka was serving with
the 563rd Tactical Fighter Squadron of the 23rd Tactical Fighter
Wing at McConnell, when his unit was deployed to Takhli Royal Thai
Air Force Base, Thailand, supporting the war in Vietnam. At the
time, the Hrdlicka family lived about five minutes from McConnell
and the couple had three children; two boys and a girl.
“He
believed in what he was doing,” said Carol. “He said before he left,
‘This is what they trained me for. I have to go do my job.’”
On May 18, 1965, Hrdlicka, lead pilot in a group of four F-105
Thunderchiefs, went on a bombing mission when his aircraft was hit
by enemy ground fire over Houa Phan Province, Laos. He survived the
attack after successfully ejecting from his aircraft and parachuting
to the ground, but was taken as a prisoner of war after his chute
was spotted by the enemy.
Nearly a year after his capture, on
July 26, 1966, a tape recorded broadcast was made by Capt. Hrdlicka
in which he read a personal letter to Prince Souphanouvang,
expressing his eagerness to see his family again.
In August
of 1966, the Russian news service, PRAVDA, ran a photograph of
Hrdlicka, head bowed, wearing his flight suit, with an armed guard
behind him. The last time that he was photographed in captivity was
as late as 1968 or 1969.
Carol held out hope that her husband
would return but when 591 prisoners of war were released in January
of 1973, David was not among them.
According to the official
Air Force account of Capt. David Hrdlicka, “no information was ever
received regarding his fate.” To this day his remains have never
been recovered and returned.
In the decades since David’s
capture, and ultimate disappearance, Carol Hrdlicka has traveled the
world, including trips to Vietnam and Russia, looking for answers
about her husband. His official status was changed to “Died While
Captured” on November 21, 1977. By then, he’d been promoted to the
rank of Colonel.
David and Carol’s two sons followed in
their father’s footsteps pursuing careers in aviation. Oldest son
David flew FA-18 Hornets in the Navy for 13 years, which led to a
career as a pilot with American Airlines. Damian, their youngest,
flew private aircraft for a Wichita area business before flying for
American Eagle.
David Hrdlicka’s name is embedded in stone
on the memorial walk at McConnell and is one of many honored pilots
along the trail. An F-105 Thunder-chief is also on display near
McConnell’s entrance.
“He was a good guy and a loyal person.
He loved to fly,” Carol Hrdlicka said. “I never heard anyone say a
bad word about him.”
***********
Note ... Minor editing
without impacting facts.
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