“The Final Moments of Lt Minco”

I was asked if I could create a painting depicting the final moments of 2Lt Henry F. Minco who, on November 11th, 1944, went missing in a mountainous region of northern Thailand near the Lampang airfield during a recon and strafing mission to destroy Japanese targets of opportunity. As the Americans of the 25th Fighter Squadron commenced their attack from the north along the railways, 5 Japanese-made RTAF KI-27 “Nate” aircraft of No. 16 Squadron were scrambled from the Lampang airfield to intercept the American formation of nine P-51b Mustangs and seven P-38 Lightnings. During the chaos of the ensuing dogfight, Lt Minco spotted an enemy aircraft below in a valley and broke from his flight lead, 1st Lt Roger Vadenais to attack. Diving at the low and slow flying Nate, Lt Minco scored a hit on his target, damaging the aircraft and injuring its pilot. However, misjudging his rate of closure, Minco overshot and dove below the Thai fighter. This led to an aggressive pull to avoid the steep terrain, placing Minco’s P-51 conveniently in the gunsight of the RTAF KI-27b flown by Pilot Officer Kamrop Bleangkam. Kamrop’s 7.7mm rounds struck their target, impacting the right wing and cockpit of the P-51, which climbed sharply, rolling right, and impacted a nearby hillside. 1st Lt Minco was listed as missing.

On November 8th, 2019, Maj. Daniel Jackson and his counterparts from the Royal Thai Air Force set out into the mountainous jungles of Thailand on an expedition to locate the crash site. They recovered a scrap of metal on a hilltop known locally as Doi American (American Mountain). It was confirmed to be a piece of a fuel pump from a P-51. This, along with other archaeological evidence was enough to convince the DPAA (Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency) to conduct a search for Lt Minco’s remains. That search has commenced as of early 2024 and, according to Dan, initial findings indicate they’re looking in the right place. Hopefully soon, 2nd Lt Henry Minco will get to come home after nearly 80 years lost in the mountains of Thailand.

The original painting was presented to the Royal Thai Air Force Museum as a token of appreciation for their help in locating America’s lost airmen.

Thanks to Daniel Jackson for giving me the opportunity to be a small part of this search.

Print size: 20” x 24”

Image size: 16” x 24”

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