John Francis Overlock ★ Vietnam War Gold Star Veteran from Massachusetts
On August 16, 1968 Lieutenant Colonel Overlock was declared a casualty of the Vietnam War. ★ He served with honor in the United States Air Force. ★ He is remembered by the people of Massachusetts. ★ May his positive example inspire us. Working together towards peace, mutual respect, and equality for all.
We all benefit when we work together to honor fallen American service members. The Honor States archive is a grassroots initiative. Of the people, by the people, for the people.
▼ Content Integrity Note
Our displayed data concerning the life and military history of John Francis Overlock is a work in progress. We've assembled a list of elements we are in the process of researching and reviewing. This profile was last edited on 2015-05-02 19:35:46.
View Missing Items List
Missing : Core Data
· Date of tour or service
Missing : Supplemental Data
· Birth + childhood location
· Educational background
· Marriage history
· Parents, family history
· Expanded references and citations
▲ Show Less
Service Details
This Profile ID | 291162 |
Service ID | 125282195 |
Name | John Francis Overlock |
From | Springfield, Hampden County, Massachusetts |
Birth Date | April 6, 1936 |
Casualty Date | August 16, 1968 |
War | Vietnam War |
Service Branch | Air Force |
Rank | Lieutenant Colonel |
Specialty | Pilot Tactical Fighter F 100 |
Unit/Group | 7th Air Force, 37th Tactical Fighter Wing, 612th Tactical Fighter Squadron |
Casualty Type | Died while missing in action .. air crash on land .. body not recovered |
Location | North Vietnam, Thua Thien province |
Burial | Courts of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial |
Notable Awards |
★ Purple Heart |
Remembered |
John Francis Overlock is buried or memorialized at Courts of the Missing at the Honolulu Memorial. This is an American Battle Monuments Commission location. John is honored on the Vietnam Veteran's Memorial in Washington DC. Name inscribed at VVM Wall, Panel 48w, Line 29. |
Additional Details
Lieutenant Colonel Overlock was a member of the 309th Tactical Fighter Squadron, 37th Tactical Fighter Wing, Phu Cat, South Vietnam. On August 16, 1968, he was the co-pilot of a North American Super Sabre Fighter (F-100F) serving as a forward air controller near Dong Hoi, Quang Binh Province, North Vietnam, when radio contact was lost. His remains were not recovered.
▼ Auto-Generated Profile Synopsis: John Francis Overlock was serving his country during the Vietnam War when he gave his all in the line of duty. He had enlisted in the United States Air Force. Entered the service via Regular Military. Overlock had the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. His military occupation or specialty was Pilot Tactical Fighter F 100. Service number assignment was 125282195. Attached to 7th Air Force, 37th Tactical Fighter Wing, 612th Tactical Fighter Squadron.
He was born on April 6, 1936. According to our records Massachusetts was his home or enlistment state and Hampden county has been included within the archival record. We have Springfield listed as his city.
During his service in the Vietnam War, Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Overlock was reported missing and ultimately declared dead on August 16, 1968. Recorded circumstances attributed to: Died while missing in action .. air crash on land .. body not recovered. Incident location: North Vietnam, Thua Thien province. |
Commendations + Awards
Please note this might not be a complete or completely accurate accounting. For some awards we use probability factors based on known service details. Thanks for your understanding.
★ Purple Heart
★ United States Aviator Badge Air Force
★ National Defense Service Medal
★ Vietnam Campaign Medal
★ Vietnam Service Medal
★ Air Force Presidential Unit Citation
★ Vietnam Gallantry Cross
Notable Reference Sources
These are typically links to pages on external sites that have provided specific nodes of information. In most cases the information has some assurance of being crowd-sourced and vetted by a community of users.
Massachusetts Gold Star Veterans Gallery
Honoring the men and women of
Massachusetts who gave their all for their country.
May their example of courage and sacrifice be our guide. To be strong and responsible in our lives as citizens of the world.
Through honest daily actions, we honor them.
▼ Massachusetts was home to over 18,375
American Gold Star veterans from 4 wars of the 20th Century. Some significant statistics:
Guardians of Honor Credits
▼ Organizational Supporters - HonorStates.org and the National Unified Archive of American Gold Star Veterans is stringently curated. This attention to quality extends to our supporters program. We carefully research and screen prospective organizations we perceive as being suitably aligned with our mission
▼ San Diego Coin & Bullion
▼ American Veterans Center 75th D-Day Congressional Reception
▼ USS Midway Museum 75th Pearl Harbor Wall of Honor
▼ National D-Day Memorial
▼ Research Contributors - Groups and individuals who have been directly responsible for curating content. Some are experienced historians and archivists, others are enthusiastic members of the public who have suggested content additions or corrections.
Honor States Admin
Roy "Joker"
Sarah Jo "Lady Chaos"
▼ Primary Sources - These are repositories for artifacts, documents, diaries, manuscripts, and other information that serve as original and authoritative sources of information.
National Archives (NARA)
Library of Congress (LOC)
Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA)
Findagrave.com
Ancestry.com
Honoring our fallen.
Together. Uniting us in meaningful common cause. When we work together to honor our
Gold Star veterans, we heal our nation together.
It's a team effort. Everyone's invited to join as a
Citizen Historian and
Guardian of Honor. -
learn more