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Remember...John Scott Albright II
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John Scott ("Scotty") Albright II was born at Huntington, Cabell County, West Virginia, on November 7, 1945. His parents were John Scott Albright and Catherine Ann McGuire Albright. John II was the oldest of four siblings; his brothers were Mark Lee and Randy, and his sister was Deborah Lynn (married name: Woodside). Although John Sr. was born in Virginia and Catherine in West Virginia, the Albrights were a military family, and that meant numerous moves. Mark, in fact, was born in Trinidad, while Deborah was born in Denver. Perhaps the many moves contributed to making the Albrights a close-knit family. Various documents indicate the family was of the Presbyterian faith.
Given the family's history with the military, the United States Air Force Academy was a logical choice for John Scott II to obtain his post-secondary education. He graduated from that auspicious institution in 1967. Writing in the "Remembrances" section of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund Wall of Faces, his younger brother Randy tells of that momentous occasion:
I am Randy Albright, Major (Retired) USAF. Scotty was my oldest brother. He was in a mid-air collision over Laos on Dec. 13, 1968. It was our father's birthday. I was 17 at the time. Scotty was declared Missing In Action for 11 years, but his status was changed to Killed In Action in 1979. He is truly missed by our family. I suspect that this is true for his friends and fellow Air Force Officers, too.My favorite memory of Scotty was from June 1967 when Scotty graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy. Our father was also an officer in the Air Force and we were living at Clark Air Base in the Phillipines [sic] at the time. We travelled back to the States for Scotty's graduation. While there, Scotty had to drive his car (a 1965 VW Bug) from Colorado Springs to Scramento [sic], California for his Navigator School training. He asked me to drive with him. It was a two day trip, and my first time driving a stick-shift car. He took me out the afternoon before our trip and showed me how to drive the Bug. We left on the trip and had the time of our lives! It was a great time of driving, sight-seeing, singing, and checking out the girls on the road. We stopped at Reno, Nevada for the night. I was going to stay in the room while Scotty went out to one of the casinos. He left for about five minutes before returning. He told me he decided to spend the time with me instead of going out by himself. So, we went out to see the sights together. What a great thing for a big brother to do for his little brother. I will always hold that memory close to my heart. It was our first and last time together as brothers before he went off to Viet Nam.
His loss affected our family in many ways, but on the positive side it increased our faith and devotion in God. Scotty was a devoted Christian man and a great friend to all he knew. He died defending our nation and loved his job. He is truly missed, but we know we will see him again. . . soon. (Posted 1 January 1999.)
After his navigator training, Scotty landed a spot in the 606th Special Operations Squadron, 56th Special Operations Wing, 7th Air Force. His Vietnam tour began August 9, 1968; just four months later (December 13, 1968), he would lose his life in a mid-air collision over Laos. Numerous online accounts of the crash (including three Find A Grave memorials) exist, as well as copies of official records on the Coffelt Database. However, the following is a 2021 post by Joe Boyles from the Find A Grave record (Memorial No. 91248450) indicating that John Scott Albright II is memorialized at the Courts of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial:
Captain Albright was living in Huntginton [sic], WV when he entered the service and was a member of the 606th Air Commando Squadron, Nakhon Phanom Royal Thai Airfield, Thailand.On December 13, 1968, he was the navigator of a Fairchild Provider Cargo Aircraft (C-123K) on a night mission along the Ho Chi Minh Trail. About 30 miles southwest of the Ban Karai Pass a B-52 bomber struck the C-132, causing it to crash….
On December 13, 1968, the crew of a C-123K was dispatched from Nakhon Phanom Airfield located in northern Thailand near the border of Laos on an operational mission over Laos. The C-123, a converted WW II glider equipped with two engines, was assigned night patrol missions along the Ho Chi Minh trail. Flying low at 2000-3000 feet, the job of the seven man crew was to spot enemy truck convoys on the trail and to light up the trails for accompanying B-57 bombers which were flying overhead. The crew on this particular mission included the pilot (name unknown), co-pilot 1LT Joseph P. Fanning, navigators 1LT John S. Albright and 1LT Morgan J. Donahue, and crewmembers SSGT Samuel F. Walker, SSGT Douglas V. Dailey, and TSGT Fred L. Clarke. At 0330 hours, as the aircraft was flying about 30 miles southwest of the Ban Karai Pass in Laos, the crew of the C-123 was jolted by a blow on the top of their plane in the aft section. An overhead B-57 that had been called in for an air strike from Phan Rang Airbase had collided with the control plane. The B-57B was flown by pilot MAJ Thomas W. Dugan and co-pilot MAJ Francis J. McGouldrick. The C-123 lost power and went out of control. The unnamed C-123 pilot, stunned by a blow to the head, lost consciousness. Because of its glider configuration, the C-123 did not fall straight to the ground, but drifted lazily to the ground in a flat spin which lasted several minutes. When the pilot regained consciousness, he noted that the co-pilot (Fanning) and navigator (Donahue) were gone. Donahue's station was in the underbelly of the plane where, lying on his stomach, he directed an infrared detection device through an open hatch. The pilot parachuted out, landed in a treetop where he remained until rescued at dawn. On the way down, he saw another chute below him, but, because of the dark, was unable to determine who the crew member was. The six other members of the C-123 and the two crew members of the B-57 were listed as Missing in Action.
On the date of the mid-air collision of the C-123K aircraft on which he was one of the navigators with the B-57 Canberra, 13 December 1968, Albright was a 1st Lt. While in MIA status, the U.S. Air Force promoted him to Captain and then to Major.
Scotty Albright was my Doolie squadron commander Fightin Fourth. He was my role model. I would follow him to the end of the earth. I was heartsick to hear of his loss announced from the Mitchell Hall staff tower just before Christmas break 1968. (Posted in 2021.)
| Major Albright is memorialized on the Courts of the Missing at the National Cemetery of the Pacific in Honolulu, Hawaii. By request of his family, a cenotaph was also placed in the U.S. Air Force Academy Cemetery in Colorado Springs, Colorado. He's also honored on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. (Panel 36W, Line 13), and on the West Virginia Veterans Memorial in Charleston. |  |
Scotty received the Purple Heart and the Air Medal for his service. According to the website HonorStates.org, he was eligible for, and therefore likely received, the following: the National Defense Service Medal, the Vietnam Campaign Medal, the Vietnam Service Medal, the Air Force Presidential Citation, and the Vietnam Gallantry Cross.
Article prepared by Patricia Richards McClure
September 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.
