Merlyn Hans Dethlefsen

He returned through flak to silence missile sites

Merlyn Hans Dethlefsen was born on 29 June 1934 in Greenville, Iowa, and grew up on a farm. He attended Iowa State College before entering the Air Force through its aviation cadet programme. Commissioned in 1955, he flew military transports before qualifying as a fighter pilot and joining the Wild Weasel force, which hunted enemy air defence systems.

From October 1966 to June 1967 he served at Takhli, Thailand. In combat over Vietnam he flew the two-seat F-105F with electronic warfare officer Kevin Gilroy. On 10 March 1967, their flight preceded a large strike against the steel works at Thai Nguyen, north of Hanoi. Surface-to-air missiles, antiaircraft guns and automatic weapons protected the target. The flight leader was shot down and another aircraft withdrew damaged, leaving Dethlefsen to continue the suppression mission with the remaining supporting aircraft.

Despite damage to his own Thunderchief, he repeatedly returned to the defences. He evaded MiG fighters, made attacks through intense gunfire and searched through smoke and dust for the missile positions. After the main strike force withdrew, he stayed over the area and made further bombing and cannon attacks that destroyed missile sites. His persistence reduced the threat to the aircraft attacking the steel works.

President Lyndon Johnson presented the Medal of Honor to Dethlefsen, by then a major, on 1 February 1968. After his combat tour he trained other pilots at Vance Air Force Base. He later attended the Air War College, earned a master's degree in psychology, and held operational assignments associated with the SR-71 and B-52. He retired as a colonel in July 1977. Dethlefsen died on 14 December 1987 and was buried in Arlington National Cemetery.