Aviation Electronics Technician, Third Class David Monroe Willis, was born on December 22, 1946 in Los Angeles County, CA to Roy Arthur Willis and Margie Louise Everroad Willis Gillespie.
Petty Officer Willis was one of 31 Sailors who were killed when North Korea Mig Fighter shot down the EC-121 surveillance aircraft they were flying in while conducting a National Security mission. Petty Officer Willis’ body was lost at sea.

David Monroe Willis was awarded the Purple Heart, National Defense Service Medal and the Korean Defense Service Medal.
22 December 2018 at 14:14
ATN3 Willis also flew with VQ-1 in Da Nang, earning 3 Air Medals (approx 750 flight hours). The photo above with his shipmates may have been taken there since we all wore green fatigue style uniforms. RIP Brother.
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23 December 2018 at 11:40
And yet those shipmates names were not entered onto the Vietnam Memorial Wall.
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31 August 2021 at 01:52
I 100% remember this incident. I was an AZ 2nd class at the time with VQ-1 home base Atsugi Japan. The loss of 31 shipmates was something that I will never forget. I don’t remember David specifically but I did have shipmates I knew that were lost that day. We had a job to do and did it well. It was an incident now lost in time but not lost to those who served with VQ-1.
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