Daughters of American Revolution remembers Lafayette hero

Staff report
·1 min read
This memorial plaque to Air Force Capt. Mary Klinker is dedicated Thursday, Nov. 2, 2023. The memorial is created by the Daughters of the American Revolution, the General de Lafayette Chapter, and it is in the front of Central Catholic High School, from where Klinker graduated in 1965. Klinker died April 4, 1975, while on a mission to evacuate Vietnamese orphans from Saigon, South Vietnam, before it toppled to North Vietnam forces.

LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Capt. Mary Klinker left her home in Lafayette for a nursing career in the Air Force, but she never made it home.

Her hometown still remembers her.

The Daughters of the American Revolution, the General de Lafayette Chapter plans to dedicate a memorial plaque for Klinker on Thursday, Nov. 2. The historical marker is placed at the new outdoor classroom in front of Central Catholic High School, where Klinker graduated from in1965.

Klinker, 27, died during the mission when the plane crashed. She was posthumously awarded the Airman’s Medal for Heroism and Meritorious Service. Her name appears on the Vietnam Memorial in Washington, D.C.

U.S. Air Force Capt. Mary Klinker died in April 1975 while on a mission to rescue South Vietnamese orphans. The Daughters of the American Revolution, the General de Lafayette Chapter, is dedicating a memorial plaque to Klinker on Thursday, Nov. 2, 2023. The plaque is in front of Central Catholic High School, where Klinker graduated from in 1965.
U.S. Air Force Capt. Mary Klinker died in April 1975 while on a mission to rescue South Vietnamese orphans. The Daughters of the American Revolution, the General de Lafayette Chapter, is dedicating a memorial plaque to Klinker on Thursday, Nov. 2, 2023. The plaque is in front of Central Catholic High School, where Klinker graduated from in 1965.

In April 1975 as Siagon, South Vietnam, was about to fall to North Vietnam, Klinker, an Air Force captain and nurse, volunteered to fly into Siagon to rescue Vietnamese orphans before the overthrow.

The General de Lafayette Chapter's plans a luncheon at 11:30 a.m. Thursday at the Lafayette Country Club. The luncheon includes comments from retired U.S. Air Force Col. Regina Aune and Aryn Lockhard, a Vietnamese baby rescued during the mission to save orphans before the South Vietnam capital was overrun.

At 2 p.m. Thursday, the group will convene at the marker in front of Central Catholic High School and dedicate the memorial.

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Daughters of American Revolution remembers Lafayette hero