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Remember...David Wallace Wickham II
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David Wallace Wickham II was born June 29, 1934, in Wheeling, Ohio County, West Virginia, to parents David Wallace Wickham and Jane Hildreth Noyes Wickham. He grew up in Wheeling with one older sister, Jane Noyes Wickham (married name: Schwertfeger). He was of the Catholic faith. Dave married Carol Jean Freed, and they had two daughters, Tracy Lynn and Paige Leigh.
Dave enlisted in the U.S. Navy, where he rose to the rank of lieutenant (pay grade: captain). According to the Coffelt Database, at the time of his death, he was assigned to the USS Kitty Hawk. While the Coffelt Database lists his service occupation as engineer equipment officer, Lieutenant Wickham was a pilot in Attack Squadron 113, Carrier Air Wing 11, on that carrier. It was in this capacity he was serving when his aircraft crashed over the South China Sea near North Vietnam.
According to Lt. Wickham's profile on HonorStates.org,
Lieutenant Wickham was a member of Attack Squadron 113, Carrier Air Wing 11 aboard the Aircraft Carrier USS KITTY HAWK (CVA-63).On 16 December 1965, he was piloting a single-seat A-4C Skyhawk #BU-148510 and attempting to make a night landing aboard the US Kitty Hawk in bad weather. His aircraft struck the flight deck and began to skid along its left wing before an explosion occurred. A major portion of the aircraft, including the cockpit with LT Wickham [and his wingman] still inside, was lost over the side. An extensive search for the aircraft and LT Wickham was conducted, but found no evidence of his remains. ("David Wallace Wickham II," HonorStates.org website, accessed 27 May 2025, https://www.honorstates.org/profiles/305124.)
Lt. David Wallace Wickham received the Air Medal. He was also eligible for, and likely received, the following awards and commendations: the Combat Action Ribbon, the United States Aviator Badge Navy, the National Defense Service Medal, the Vietnam Campaign Medal, the Vietnam Service Medal, the Navy Presidential Unit Citation, and the Vietnam Gallantry Cross.
| Lt. Wickham is memorialized in a number of places, including Arlington National Cemetery (Section MG 187), the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington, D.C. (Panel 4E, Line 21), the Courts of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial, and the West Virginia Veterans Memorial.
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 Although Lt. David Wallace's remains have not been recovered, a marker in Arlington National Cemetery pays tribute to his service. Photo courtesy of Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund |
David Wickham is remembered by friends and family members, including those who have left remembrances on the Wall of Faces at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund. His granddaughter writes:
Salutations. I am Kennedy Wickham, Paige Wickham's daughter. Your granddaughter. I am almost sixteen, and my whole life, I've been told I look just like you, ever since I was an infant. We never met, but I've heard nothing but good things about you. I don't know what happens after we die, I just hope you can somehow be connected to me. My mother misses you terribly. She has a letter you wrote, and likes to feel your writing. We once went through a box of your things, and I felt like I knew you on a deeper level. To everyone who sees this, I feel that my grandfather should not just be remembered for his service, but for the person he was. The father and husband he was. The grandfather he could have been. Thank you. ("Remembrances," Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund Wall of Faces, 16 January 2015, https://www.vvmf.org/Wall-of-Faces/55857/DAVID-W-WICKHAM-II/).
A friend who grew up in Wheeling with Dave, Bob Tarantine, writes (11 October 2013): "We went to school together for 13 years, and lived next to each other for eight years. The day Perry called and told us of the accident was one of the sadest [sic] of our lives. Forty seven years later I still miss and think of you often Rest in peace my friend." Most poignantly, his daughter Paige posts (8 April 2003): "Though I was only 3 when you died, I think of you often, and will never forget you. I wish you could see you [sic] grand daughter... everyone says she looks just like you. You will remain forever in my heart."
Article prepared by Patricia Richards McClure
June 2025
West Virginia Archives and History welcomes any additional information that can be provided about these veterans, including photographs, family names, letters and other relevant personal history.
