Individual Details
Roy 'DeWitt' PRATER
(1 Jul 1936 - 6 Apr 1972)
Events
| Birth | 1 Jul 1936 | Knoxville, Knox Co., TN |  | ||
| Military | 1955 - 1965 | U.S. Marine Corps | | ||
| Education | Bef 1955 | Miami University, Oxford, Butler Co., OH | |||
| Marriage | 16 Dec 1956 | JoAnn JAGGER | | ||
| Military | 1965 - 1972 | U.S. Air Force | | ||
| Death | 6 Apr 1972 | killed in Vietnam War in helicopter crash during rescue - Quang Tri, Vietnam | | ||
| Burial | 19 Nov 1997 | Arlington National Cemetery, Washington, DC | | ||
| Obituary | 15 Jun 2010 | Ft. Wayne, Allen Co., IN | |||
| Burial | 19 Jun 2010 | Blue River Cemetery, Columbia City, Whitley Co., IN |
Families
| Spouse | JoAnn JAGGER ( - 2010) |
| Child | Living |
| Child | dau PRATER (1958 - 1958) |
| Child | Living |
| Child | Living |
| Father | Roy PRATER (1908 - 1945) |
| Mother | Louise Elizabeth BOLING (1912 - 1998) |
| Sibling | Living |
Notes
Birth
From obituary; Vietnam War: U.S. Military Casualties, 1956-1998 (Ancestry.com); SSDIMilitary
From obituary.Marriage
From DeWitt's obituary.Military
His decorations included the Silver Star, the Air Medal with three Oak Leaf Clusters and the Purple Heart.Death
From obituary; Vietnam War: U.S. Military Casualties, 1956-1998 (Ancestry.com)On April 6, 1972, he died in South Vietnam while trying to rescue two downed airmen when his helicopter was shot down. The mission, code name "BAT 21", was the longest search-and-rescue mission in the history of the United States Air Force.