Services Friday in Akron for man lost in Vietnam air mission

Saturday, August 17, 2024 at 4:25 PM

By Johnny McCrory

Air Force Lt. Neil B. McKinney was declared missing in action September 2, 1963.

A private graveside service for Lt. Neil B. McKinney will be held Friday at the Akron Cemetery.

Air Force 1st Lt. McKinney was declared missing in action September 2, 1963, when his B-26 bomber failed to return to its home base at Da Nang following a routine air cover mission over Vietnam. A concentrated search failed to turn up any sign of the plane and its four-man crew. No reason for the plane’s failure to return was ever established.

Immediately the Air Force listed Lt. McKinney as officially missing. After a year and one day, September 3, 1964 the Air Force declared Lt. McKinney deceased. In November 1964, The Purple Heart was awarded posthumously to Lt. McKinney.
In March 1992, the Vietnamese government repatriated to the United States Government the remains and artifacts that were reportedly recovered from a B-26 crash site in the remote Kon Tum province. Although personal effects and other information indicated the identity of the crew at that time, the forensic team studied the remains an additional four years in an attempt to make complete and positive identifications. On November 3, 1996, Neil's remains were buried in the Akron Cemetery with full military honors. The remains that the forensic experts were unable to identify were interred at Arlington National Cemetery.
In April 2017, additional remains from Vietnam were turned over to the United States Government. In March of this year, these remains were identified as Neil B. McKinney. These remains will also be interred in the Akron IOOF Cemetery.
Lt. Neil B. McKinney was born September 8, 1934. He received both a B.S and Master’s Degree from Ball State University where he entered the ROTC program and received a commission in the United States Air Force. His assignment to Vietnam was as an Intelligence Officer.
On June 26, 1960, he married Barbara Waechter McKinney Rager in Akron. She survives along with their daughter Christa C. (McKinney) Smith of Zionsville.