Karl Wendell Richter was born October 4, 1942 in Holly, Oakland County, Michigan, the youngest of three children born to a Elizabeth M. (1912-2003) and Ludwig Richter (1898-1967).
In 1959, Karl was preparing to graduate from Holly High School in Holly, Michigan. He was very popular - class president four years, lettered in football, played basketball and ran track. But, his future was dim. By his own admission, he wasn't an honor student. The thought of more schooling wasn't appealing at all. Then his sister, Betty May, who was a flying enthusiast, encouraged him to apply for entrance to the US Air Force Academy. Thinking that "It didn't cost anything to try," he filled out all the papers and completed the tests. "I thought I had less than nil chance of getting in," he admitted, but two Michigan Congressmen, Senator Philip A. Hart and Representative William S. Broomfield thought differently. They made him their primary appointee and nine days after graduating from high school Karl Richter became a "doolie" at the Academy. He was assigned to Cadet Squadron 8. Again, he was not an outstanding student. He did excel at intramural sports, especially the close-contact activities - rugby, soccer, football and boxing. He really liked boxing; standing there toe to toe, matching skill with an adversary. He graduated June 3, 1964, with a commission as a Second Lieutenant in the Regular Air Force.
Richter received 53 weeks of Undergraduate Pilot Training at Craig Air Force Base, Alabama, then completed Survival Training at Stead AFB, Nevada followed by the 26-week Combat Crew Replacement Training at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, for qualification in the F-105D, Thunderchief.
Without any pre-overseas leave, he ferried a replacement F-105D directly to Korat Royal Thai Air Force Base, Thailand on April 6, 1966, and was assigned to the 421st Tactical Fighter Squadron of the newly-designated 388th Tactical Fighter Wing. Four days later he was flying missions over North Vietnam. Lieutenant Richter quickly became an exceptional fighter pilot, and took on every opportunity to fly. With only two years Air Force experience and even less in combat, became an element leader. Once, while on leave, he turned down the possibility of a trip to Bangkok or Hong Kong and went instead to Nakhon Phanom where he flew combat missions in an O-1E Bird Dog.
September 21, 1966, was a red-letter day in Lieutenant Richter's young life. He was flying as element leader, Ford 03, 30 miles north-northwest of Haiphong on a mission to seek out SAM sites. His flight located a suspected site. The lead and number two element prepared to strike while Richter wheeled wide to follow them in. When he swung back around he saw two Mig-17s making a pass on the lead element. With number four on his wing, Richter moved in toward the enemy. As he later described the contact: "They slid in front of us beautifully - about a mile, mile and a half or two miles out."It was funny - we have so few contacts with Migs, it takes probably a full second before it jogs your mind... those are not airplanes like any we fly. "Well, right away the only thing that passed into my mind was set up your sights, babe, there's a Mig out there." During the next couple of seconds, he sized up the situation. Advising number four, who was behind him, that he was dropping his rockets, Richter began closing in on the enemy aircraft. "I cleaned my bird, lit the burners, and started in after them. I wanted to be careful. Didn't want to move in too close with the burner going - just get an overshoot - 50 rounds at him and go screaming by. First thing I'd know then, there'd be a Mig behind me, which is not the best situation. "We moved in. He made an easy turn. I moved the pipper out in front of him and started firing. He's going to break, I kept saying to myself: he's gotta break... he'll break into the shells and maybe I'll get a couple of hits on him that way "But he didn't break and I kept firing. I thought 'boy, this is going to be embarrassing' you know? I shoot for three or four seconds; three or four hundred rounds of good 20mm ammunition. I thought this is really going to be embarrassing if you miss this guy... Then, four was calling, "You're hitting him, you're hitting him.. Then, I saw fire coming out the back end of the Mig. I didn't think he was in burner - but he still seemed to be moving through the sky pretty good." The Mig reversed and Richter reversed with him, fired again and saw his bullets impacting the enemy's right wing. Just as the F-105's guns went empty (1,028 rounds fired), the Mig's wing broke off; pieces flew out the tail and another big chunk flew loose from the plane. Lieutenant Richter pulled up to evade the debris, saw the Mig pilot eject and heard number four's radio call, "He's got a good chute." "You know, that's pretty good," the Academy grad thought to himself "lt's strange, but, in a way, I was happy he got a good chute. I guess that's the thought that runs through all our minds. He's a jock like I am, flying for the enemy of course, but he's flying a plane, doing a job he has to do." Lieutenant Richter banked over and watched the Mig crash. At the age of 23, Lt. Karl Richter had become the youngest American pilot to blast a communist Mig out of the skies over Vietnam. He went to Saigon to receive the personal congratulations of Lt. Gen. William W. Momyer, Seventh Air Force commander, and again at the personal invitation of Premier Nguyễn Cao Kỳ when he was awarded the Vietnamese Distinguished Service Medal.
As he approached the 100-mission mark, Lieutenant Richter received permission to fly a additional 100 missions, believing his combat experience should be used to advance the war effort.
On April 20, 1967, he was awarded the Air Force Cross. His citation reads:
"The President of the United States of America, authorized by Title 10, Section 8742, United States Code, awards the Air Force Cross to First Lieutenant Karl W. Richter for extraordinary heroism in military operations against an opposing armed force as the leader of a flight of F-105s on a mission over North Vietnam on 20 April 1967. The target, a very important railroad facility, was defended by several hundred antiaircraft artillery emplacement and SA-2 missiles. Lieutenant Richter's mission was to destroy or limit fire from these defenses immediately before a strike on this facility by fighter bombers. Arriving over the approach to the target, he found clouds obscuring navigational references and increasing the danger from unobserved SAM launches. Despite weather conditions, Lieutenant Richter, with great professional skill and undaunted determination, led his flight through a barrage of missiles to the target. Braving the heavy concentrated fire of the antiaircraft artillery, he positioned his flight and attacked the defenses, causing heavy damage. As a result of his efforts, the fighter bombers of the main strike force encountered only limited defensive fire and destroyed this vital railroad facility. Through his extraordinary heroism, superb airmanship, and aggressiveness in the face of hostile forces, First Lieutenant Richter reflected the highest credit upon himself and the United States Air Force."
First Lieutenant Karl Wendell Richter was killed on July 28, 1967 on a flight in Route Pack One over North Vietnam. Flying with a new pilot Richter spotted a bridge and instructed the new pilot to stay above and watch as he rolled his F-105 toward the target. Suddenly, enemy anti-aircraft artillery opened up hitting the plane and forcing him to eject, but his parachute disappeared into the fog bank and cloud cover. A nearby rescue helicopter picked up his beeper signal and homed in to get the downed pilot. Being severely injured during his descent, most likely from swinging into the side of a karst cliff, he died en route to a hospital.
At the time of his death, Lt. Karl Richter had flown more missions over North Vietnam than any other airman — 198 in all officially credited.
His decorations include the Air Force Cross, Silver Star, Distinguished Flying Cross w/3 Oak Leaf Clusters, Bronze Star, Air Medal w/21 Oak Leaf Clusters, and the Purple Heart.
Three months after his death, his daughter, Karla, was born.
In 1969, Richter was posthumously awarded the Air Force Academy's Jabara Award for airmanship.
A statue of Karl Richter was unveiled at Maxwell Air Force Base on June 13, 1992. An inscription from the prophet Isaiah at its base reads: "Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Here am I. Send me." These words epitomize Karl Richter's spirit of commitment--a spirit that underlies the Air Force tradition of valor in the service of this nation. It will inspire those who follow him, as it did his comrades who flew Downtown.
In 2005, he was named exemplar of the Academy's Class of 2008. The public schools administration building in his hometown of Holly, Michigan was named in his honor. A statue of his likeness stands at Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Alabama. On May 27, 2008, a statue of his likeness was dedicated on the Mall of Heroes at the US Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
For additional information and videos, visit Remembering an American Hero.
Vietnam Memorial Wall Panel 24E - Line 13
See additional memorials at The Virtual Wall and Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
In 1959, Karl was preparing to graduate from Holly High School in Holly, Michigan. He was very popular - class president four years, lettered in football, played basketball and ran track. But, his future was dim. By his own admission, he wasn't an honor student. The thought of more schooling wasn't appealing at all. Then his sister, Betty May, who was a flying enthusiast, encouraged him to apply for entrance to the US Air Force Academy. Thinking that "It didn't cost anything to try," he filled out all the papers and completed the tests. "I thought I had less than nil chance of getting in," he admitted, but two Michigan Congressmen, Senator Philip A. Hart and Representative William S. Broomfield thought differently. They made him their primary appointee and nine days after graduating from high school Karl Richter became a "doolie" at the Academy. He was assigned to Cadet Squadron 8. Again, he was not an outstanding student. He did excel at intramural sports, especially the close-contact activities - rugby, soccer, football and boxing. He really liked boxing; standing there toe to toe, matching skill with an adversary. He graduated June 3, 1964, with a commission as a Second Lieutenant in the Regular Air Force.
Richter received 53 weeks of Undergraduate Pilot Training at Craig Air Force Base, Alabama, then completed Survival Training at Stead AFB, Nevada followed by the 26-week Combat Crew Replacement Training at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, for qualification in the F-105D, Thunderchief.
Without any pre-overseas leave, he ferried a replacement F-105D directly to Korat Royal Thai Air Force Base, Thailand on April 6, 1966, and was assigned to the 421st Tactical Fighter Squadron of the newly-designated 388th Tactical Fighter Wing. Four days later he was flying missions over North Vietnam. Lieutenant Richter quickly became an exceptional fighter pilot, and took on every opportunity to fly. With only two years Air Force experience and even less in combat, became an element leader. Once, while on leave, he turned down the possibility of a trip to Bangkok or Hong Kong and went instead to Nakhon Phanom where he flew combat missions in an O-1E Bird Dog.
September 21, 1966, was a red-letter day in Lieutenant Richter's young life. He was flying as element leader, Ford 03, 30 miles north-northwest of Haiphong on a mission to seek out SAM sites. His flight located a suspected site. The lead and number two element prepared to strike while Richter wheeled wide to follow them in. When he swung back around he saw two Mig-17s making a pass on the lead element. With number four on his wing, Richter moved in toward the enemy. As he later described the contact: "They slid in front of us beautifully - about a mile, mile and a half or two miles out."It was funny - we have so few contacts with Migs, it takes probably a full second before it jogs your mind... those are not airplanes like any we fly. "Well, right away the only thing that passed into my mind was set up your sights, babe, there's a Mig out there." During the next couple of seconds, he sized up the situation. Advising number four, who was behind him, that he was dropping his rockets, Richter began closing in on the enemy aircraft. "I cleaned my bird, lit the burners, and started in after them. I wanted to be careful. Didn't want to move in too close with the burner going - just get an overshoot - 50 rounds at him and go screaming by. First thing I'd know then, there'd be a Mig behind me, which is not the best situation. "We moved in. He made an easy turn. I moved the pipper out in front of him and started firing. He's going to break, I kept saying to myself: he's gotta break... he'll break into the shells and maybe I'll get a couple of hits on him that way "But he didn't break and I kept firing. I thought 'boy, this is going to be embarrassing' you know? I shoot for three or four seconds; three or four hundred rounds of good 20mm ammunition. I thought this is really going to be embarrassing if you miss this guy... Then, four was calling, "You're hitting him, you're hitting him.. Then, I saw fire coming out the back end of the Mig. I didn't think he was in burner - but he still seemed to be moving through the sky pretty good." The Mig reversed and Richter reversed with him, fired again and saw his bullets impacting the enemy's right wing. Just as the F-105's guns went empty (1,028 rounds fired), the Mig's wing broke off; pieces flew out the tail and another big chunk flew loose from the plane. Lieutenant Richter pulled up to evade the debris, saw the Mig pilot eject and heard number four's radio call, "He's got a good chute." "You know, that's pretty good," the Academy grad thought to himself "lt's strange, but, in a way, I was happy he got a good chute. I guess that's the thought that runs through all our minds. He's a jock like I am, flying for the enemy of course, but he's flying a plane, doing a job he has to do." Lieutenant Richter banked over and watched the Mig crash. At the age of 23, Lt. Karl Richter had become the youngest American pilot to blast a communist Mig out of the skies over Vietnam. He went to Saigon to receive the personal congratulations of Lt. Gen. William W. Momyer, Seventh Air Force commander, and again at the personal invitation of Premier Nguyễn Cao Kỳ when he was awarded the Vietnamese Distinguished Service Medal.
As he approached the 100-mission mark, Lieutenant Richter received permission to fly a additional 100 missions, believing his combat experience should be used to advance the war effort.
On April 20, 1967, he was awarded the Air Force Cross. His citation reads:
"The President of the United States of America, authorized by Title 10, Section 8742, United States Code, awards the Air Force Cross to First Lieutenant Karl W. Richter for extraordinary heroism in military operations against an opposing armed force as the leader of a flight of F-105s on a mission over North Vietnam on 20 April 1967. The target, a very important railroad facility, was defended by several hundred antiaircraft artillery emplacement and SA-2 missiles. Lieutenant Richter's mission was to destroy or limit fire from these defenses immediately before a strike on this facility by fighter bombers. Arriving over the approach to the target, he found clouds obscuring navigational references and increasing the danger from unobserved SAM launches. Despite weather conditions, Lieutenant Richter, with great professional skill and undaunted determination, led his flight through a barrage of missiles to the target. Braving the heavy concentrated fire of the antiaircraft artillery, he positioned his flight and attacked the defenses, causing heavy damage. As a result of his efforts, the fighter bombers of the main strike force encountered only limited defensive fire and destroyed this vital railroad facility. Through his extraordinary heroism, superb airmanship, and aggressiveness in the face of hostile forces, First Lieutenant Richter reflected the highest credit upon himself and the United States Air Force."
First Lieutenant Karl Wendell Richter was killed on July 28, 1967 on a flight in Route Pack One over North Vietnam. Flying with a new pilot Richter spotted a bridge and instructed the new pilot to stay above and watch as he rolled his F-105 toward the target. Suddenly, enemy anti-aircraft artillery opened up hitting the plane and forcing him to eject, but his parachute disappeared into the fog bank and cloud cover. A nearby rescue helicopter picked up his beeper signal and homed in to get the downed pilot. Being severely injured during his descent, most likely from swinging into the side of a karst cliff, he died en route to a hospital.
At the time of his death, Lt. Karl Richter had flown more missions over North Vietnam than any other airman — 198 in all officially credited.
His decorations include the Air Force Cross, Silver Star, Distinguished Flying Cross w/3 Oak Leaf Clusters, Bronze Star, Air Medal w/21 Oak Leaf Clusters, and the Purple Heart.
Three months after his death, his daughter, Karla, was born.
In 1969, Richter was posthumously awarded the Air Force Academy's Jabara Award for airmanship.
A statue of Karl Richter was unveiled at Maxwell Air Force Base on June 13, 1992. An inscription from the prophet Isaiah at its base reads: "Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Here am I. Send me." These words epitomize Karl Richter's spirit of commitment--a spirit that underlies the Air Force tradition of valor in the service of this nation. It will inspire those who follow him, as it did his comrades who flew Downtown.
In 2005, he was named exemplar of the Academy's Class of 2008. The public schools administration building in his hometown of Holly, Michigan was named in his honor. A statue of his likeness stands at Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Alabama. On May 27, 2008, a statue of his likeness was dedicated on the Mall of Heroes at the US Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
For additional information and videos, visit Remembering an American Hero.
Vietnam Memorial Wall Panel 24E - Line 13
See additional memorials at The Virtual Wall and Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
Karl Wendell Richter was born October 4, 1942 in Holly, Oakland County, Michigan, the youngest of three children born to a Elizabeth M. (1912-2003) and Ludwig Richter (1898-1967).
In 1959, Karl was preparing to graduate from Holly High School in Holly, Michigan. He was very popular - class president four years, lettered in football, played basketball and ran track. But, his future was dim. By his own admission, he wasn't an honor student. The thought of more schooling wasn't appealing at all. Then his sister, Betty May, who was a flying enthusiast, encouraged him to apply for entrance to the US Air Force Academy. Thinking that "It didn't cost anything to try," he filled out all the papers and completed the tests. "I thought I had less than nil chance of getting in," he admitted, but two Michigan Congressmen, Senator Philip A. Hart and Representative William S. Broomfield thought differently. They made him their primary appointee and nine days after graduating from high school Karl Richter became a "doolie" at the Academy. He was assigned to Cadet Squadron 8. Again, he was not an outstanding student. He did excel at intramural sports, especially the close-contact activities - rugby, soccer, football and boxing. He really liked boxing; standing there toe to toe, matching skill with an adversary. He graduated June 3, 1964, with a commission as a Second Lieutenant in the Regular Air Force.
Richter received 53 weeks of Undergraduate Pilot Training at Craig Air Force Base, Alabama, then completed Survival Training at Stead AFB, Nevada followed by the 26-week Combat Crew Replacement Training at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, for qualification in the F-105D, Thunderchief.
Without any pre-overseas leave, he ferried a replacement F-105D directly to Korat Royal Thai Air Force Base, Thailand on April 6, 1966, and was assigned to the 421st Tactical Fighter Squadron of the newly-designated 388th Tactical Fighter Wing. Four days later he was flying missions over North Vietnam. Lieutenant Richter quickly became an exceptional fighter pilot, and took on every opportunity to fly. With only two years Air Force experience and even less in combat, became an element leader. Once, while on leave, he turned down the possibility of a trip to Bangkok or Hong Kong and went instead to Nakhon Phanom where he flew combat missions in an O-1E Bird Dog.
September 21, 1966, was a red-letter day in Lieutenant Richter's young life. He was flying as element leader, Ford 03, 30 miles north-northwest of Haiphong on a mission to seek out SAM sites. His flight located a suspected site. The lead and number two element prepared to strike while Richter wheeled wide to follow them in. When he swung back around he saw two Mig-17s making a pass on the lead element. With number four on his wing, Richter moved in toward the enemy. As he later described the contact: "They slid in front of us beautifully - about a mile, mile and a half or two miles out."It was funny - we have so few contacts with Migs, it takes probably a full second before it jogs your mind... those are not airplanes like any we fly. "Well, right away the only thing that passed into my mind was set up your sights, babe, there's a Mig out there." During the next couple of seconds, he sized up the situation. Advising number four, who was behind him, that he was dropping his rockets, Richter began closing in on the enemy aircraft. "I cleaned my bird, lit the burners, and started in after them. I wanted to be careful. Didn't want to move in too close with the burner going - just get an overshoot - 50 rounds at him and go screaming by. First thing I'd know then, there'd be a Mig behind me, which is not the best situation. "We moved in. He made an easy turn. I moved the pipper out in front of him and started firing. He's going to break, I kept saying to myself: he's gotta break... he'll break into the shells and maybe I'll get a couple of hits on him that way "But he didn't break and I kept firing. I thought 'boy, this is going to be embarrassing' you know? I shoot for three or four seconds; three or four hundred rounds of good 20mm ammunition. I thought this is really going to be embarrassing if you miss this guy... Then, four was calling, "You're hitting him, you're hitting him.. Then, I saw fire coming out the back end of the Mig. I didn't think he was in burner - but he still seemed to be moving through the sky pretty good." The Mig reversed and Richter reversed with him, fired again and saw his bullets impacting the enemy's right wing. Just as the F-105's guns went empty (1,028 rounds fired), the Mig's wing broke off; pieces flew out the tail and another big chunk flew loose from the plane. Lieutenant Richter pulled up to evade the debris, saw the Mig pilot eject and heard number four's radio call, "He's got a good chute." "You know, that's pretty good," the Academy grad thought to himself "lt's strange, but, in a way, I was happy he got a good chute. I guess that's the thought that runs through all our minds. He's a jock like I am, flying for the enemy of course, but he's flying a plane, doing a job he has to do." Lieutenant Richter banked over and watched the Mig crash. At the age of 23, Lt. Karl Richter had become the youngest American pilot to blast a communist Mig out of the skies over Vietnam. He went to Saigon to receive the personal congratulations of Lt. Gen. William W. Momyer, Seventh Air Force commander, and again at the personal invitation of Premier Nguyễn Cao Kỳ when he was awarded the Vietnamese Distinguished Service Medal.
As he approached the 100-mission mark, Lieutenant Richter received permission to fly a additional 100 missions, believing his combat experience should be used to advance the war effort.
On April 20, 1967, he was awarded the Air Force Cross. His citation reads:
"The President of the United States of America, authorized by Title 10, Section 8742, United States Code, awards the Air Force Cross to First Lieutenant Karl W. Richter for extraordinary heroism in military operations against an opposing armed force as the leader of a flight of F-105s on a mission over North Vietnam on 20 April 1967. The target, a very important railroad facility, was defended by several hundred antiaircraft artillery emplacement and SA-2 missiles. Lieutenant Richter's mission was to destroy or limit fire from these defenses immediately before a strike on this facility by fighter bombers. Arriving over the approach to the target, he found clouds obscuring navigational references and increasing the danger from unobserved SAM launches. Despite weather conditions, Lieutenant Richter, with great professional skill and undaunted determination, led his flight through a barrage of missiles to the target. Braving the heavy concentrated fire of the antiaircraft artillery, he positioned his flight and attacked the defenses, causing heavy damage. As a result of his efforts, the fighter bombers of the main strike force encountered only limited defensive fire and destroyed this vital railroad facility. Through his extraordinary heroism, superb airmanship, and aggressiveness in the face of hostile forces, First Lieutenant Richter reflected the highest credit upon himself and the United States Air Force."
First Lieutenant Karl Wendell Richter was killed on July 28, 1967 on a flight in Route Pack One over North Vietnam. Flying with a new pilot Richter spotted a bridge and instructed the new pilot to stay above and watch as he rolled his F-105 toward the target. Suddenly, enemy anti-aircraft artillery opened up hitting the plane and forcing him to eject, but his parachute disappeared into the fog bank and cloud cover. A nearby rescue helicopter picked up his beeper signal and homed in to get the downed pilot. Being severely injured during his descent, most likely from swinging into the side of a karst cliff, he died en route to a hospital.
At the time of his death, Lt. Karl Richter had flown more missions over North Vietnam than any other airman — 198 in all officially credited.
His decorations include the Air Force Cross, Silver Star, Distinguished Flying Cross w/3 Oak Leaf Clusters, Bronze Star, Air Medal w/21 Oak Leaf Clusters, and the Purple Heart.
Three months after his death, his daughter, Karla, was born.
In 1969, Richter was posthumously awarded the Air Force Academy's Jabara Award for airmanship.
A statue of Karl Richter was unveiled at Maxwell Air Force Base on June 13, 1992. An inscription from the prophet Isaiah at its base reads: "Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Here am I. Send me." These words epitomize Karl Richter's spirit of commitment--a spirit that underlies the Air Force tradition of valor in the service of this nation. It will inspire those who follow him, as it did his comrades who flew Downtown.
In 2005, he was named exemplar of the Academy's Class of 2008. The public schools administration building in his hometown of Holly, Michigan was named in his honor. A statue of his likeness stands at Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Alabama. On May 27, 2008, a statue of his likeness was dedicated on the Mall of Heroes at the US Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
For additional information and videos, visit Remembering an American Hero.
Vietnam Memorial Wall Panel 24E - Line 13
See additional memorials at The Virtual Wall and Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
In 1959, Karl was preparing to graduate from Holly High School in Holly, Michigan. He was very popular - class president four years, lettered in football, played basketball and ran track. But, his future was dim. By his own admission, he wasn't an honor student. The thought of more schooling wasn't appealing at all. Then his sister, Betty May, who was a flying enthusiast, encouraged him to apply for entrance to the US Air Force Academy. Thinking that "It didn't cost anything to try," he filled out all the papers and completed the tests. "I thought I had less than nil chance of getting in," he admitted, but two Michigan Congressmen, Senator Philip A. Hart and Representative William S. Broomfield thought differently. They made him their primary appointee and nine days after graduating from high school Karl Richter became a "doolie" at the Academy. He was assigned to Cadet Squadron 8. Again, he was not an outstanding student. He did excel at intramural sports, especially the close-contact activities - rugby, soccer, football and boxing. He really liked boxing; standing there toe to toe, matching skill with an adversary. He graduated June 3, 1964, with a commission as a Second Lieutenant in the Regular Air Force.
Richter received 53 weeks of Undergraduate Pilot Training at Craig Air Force Base, Alabama, then completed Survival Training at Stead AFB, Nevada followed by the 26-week Combat Crew Replacement Training at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, for qualification in the F-105D, Thunderchief.
Without any pre-overseas leave, he ferried a replacement F-105D directly to Korat Royal Thai Air Force Base, Thailand on April 6, 1966, and was assigned to the 421st Tactical Fighter Squadron of the newly-designated 388th Tactical Fighter Wing. Four days later he was flying missions over North Vietnam. Lieutenant Richter quickly became an exceptional fighter pilot, and took on every opportunity to fly. With only two years Air Force experience and even less in combat, became an element leader. Once, while on leave, he turned down the possibility of a trip to Bangkok or Hong Kong and went instead to Nakhon Phanom where he flew combat missions in an O-1E Bird Dog.
September 21, 1966, was a red-letter day in Lieutenant Richter's young life. He was flying as element leader, Ford 03, 30 miles north-northwest of Haiphong on a mission to seek out SAM sites. His flight located a suspected site. The lead and number two element prepared to strike while Richter wheeled wide to follow them in. When he swung back around he saw two Mig-17s making a pass on the lead element. With number four on his wing, Richter moved in toward the enemy. As he later described the contact: "They slid in front of us beautifully - about a mile, mile and a half or two miles out."It was funny - we have so few contacts with Migs, it takes probably a full second before it jogs your mind... those are not airplanes like any we fly. "Well, right away the only thing that passed into my mind was set up your sights, babe, there's a Mig out there." During the next couple of seconds, he sized up the situation. Advising number four, who was behind him, that he was dropping his rockets, Richter began closing in on the enemy aircraft. "I cleaned my bird, lit the burners, and started in after them. I wanted to be careful. Didn't want to move in too close with the burner going - just get an overshoot - 50 rounds at him and go screaming by. First thing I'd know then, there'd be a Mig behind me, which is not the best situation. "We moved in. He made an easy turn. I moved the pipper out in front of him and started firing. He's going to break, I kept saying to myself: he's gotta break... he'll break into the shells and maybe I'll get a couple of hits on him that way "But he didn't break and I kept firing. I thought 'boy, this is going to be embarrassing' you know? I shoot for three or four seconds; three or four hundred rounds of good 20mm ammunition. I thought this is really going to be embarrassing if you miss this guy... Then, four was calling, "You're hitting him, you're hitting him.. Then, I saw fire coming out the back end of the Mig. I didn't think he was in burner - but he still seemed to be moving through the sky pretty good." The Mig reversed and Richter reversed with him, fired again and saw his bullets impacting the enemy's right wing. Just as the F-105's guns went empty (1,028 rounds fired), the Mig's wing broke off; pieces flew out the tail and another big chunk flew loose from the plane. Lieutenant Richter pulled up to evade the debris, saw the Mig pilot eject and heard number four's radio call, "He's got a good chute." "You know, that's pretty good," the Academy grad thought to himself "lt's strange, but, in a way, I was happy he got a good chute. I guess that's the thought that runs through all our minds. He's a jock like I am, flying for the enemy of course, but he's flying a plane, doing a job he has to do." Lieutenant Richter banked over and watched the Mig crash. At the age of 23, Lt. Karl Richter had become the youngest American pilot to blast a communist Mig out of the skies over Vietnam. He went to Saigon to receive the personal congratulations of Lt. Gen. William W. Momyer, Seventh Air Force commander, and again at the personal invitation of Premier Nguyễn Cao Kỳ when he was awarded the Vietnamese Distinguished Service Medal.
As he approached the 100-mission mark, Lieutenant Richter received permission to fly a additional 100 missions, believing his combat experience should be used to advance the war effort.
On April 20, 1967, he was awarded the Air Force Cross. His citation reads:
"The President of the United States of America, authorized by Title 10, Section 8742, United States Code, awards the Air Force Cross to First Lieutenant Karl W. Richter for extraordinary heroism in military operations against an opposing armed force as the leader of a flight of F-105s on a mission over North Vietnam on 20 April 1967. The target, a very important railroad facility, was defended by several hundred antiaircraft artillery emplacement and SA-2 missiles. Lieutenant Richter's mission was to destroy or limit fire from these defenses immediately before a strike on this facility by fighter bombers. Arriving over the approach to the target, he found clouds obscuring navigational references and increasing the danger from unobserved SAM launches. Despite weather conditions, Lieutenant Richter, with great professional skill and undaunted determination, led his flight through a barrage of missiles to the target. Braving the heavy concentrated fire of the antiaircraft artillery, he positioned his flight and attacked the defenses, causing heavy damage. As a result of his efforts, the fighter bombers of the main strike force encountered only limited defensive fire and destroyed this vital railroad facility. Through his extraordinary heroism, superb airmanship, and aggressiveness in the face of hostile forces, First Lieutenant Richter reflected the highest credit upon himself and the United States Air Force."
First Lieutenant Karl Wendell Richter was killed on July 28, 1967 on a flight in Route Pack One over North Vietnam. Flying with a new pilot Richter spotted a bridge and instructed the new pilot to stay above and watch as he rolled his F-105 toward the target. Suddenly, enemy anti-aircraft artillery opened up hitting the plane and forcing him to eject, but his parachute disappeared into the fog bank and cloud cover. A nearby rescue helicopter picked up his beeper signal and homed in to get the downed pilot. Being severely injured during his descent, most likely from swinging into the side of a karst cliff, he died en route to a hospital.
At the time of his death, Lt. Karl Richter had flown more missions over North Vietnam than any other airman — 198 in all officially credited.
His decorations include the Air Force Cross, Silver Star, Distinguished Flying Cross w/3 Oak Leaf Clusters, Bronze Star, Air Medal w/21 Oak Leaf Clusters, and the Purple Heart.
Three months after his death, his daughter, Karla, was born.
In 1969, Richter was posthumously awarded the Air Force Academy's Jabara Award for airmanship.
A statue of Karl Richter was unveiled at Maxwell Air Force Base on June 13, 1992. An inscription from the prophet Isaiah at its base reads: "Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Here am I. Send me." These words epitomize Karl Richter's spirit of commitment--a spirit that underlies the Air Force tradition of valor in the service of this nation. It will inspire those who follow him, as it did his comrades who flew Downtown.
In 2005, he was named exemplar of the Academy's Class of 2008. The public schools administration building in his hometown of Holly, Michigan was named in his honor. A statue of his likeness stands at Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Alabama. On May 27, 2008, a statue of his likeness was dedicated on the Mall of Heroes at the US Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
For additional information and videos, visit Remembering an American Hero.
Vietnam Memorial Wall Panel 24E - Line 13
See additional memorials at The Virtual Wall and Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
Inscription
First Lieutenant, U.S. Air Force, Class of 1964
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