On March 6th, 1968 a C-123 aircraft was shot down as it was trying to land at Khe Sanh Combat Base. All 44 passengers and the crew of three were killed when the plane crashed. It was impossible to reach the site of the crash until March 25, 1968 when Echo Company 2/3 located the wreckage. Search parties went back on 26 April, 24 June, and 3 July. On each occasion some human remains, dog tags and other identification were found. The last two search parties demolished the remaining wreckage prior to their departure. Only 19 of the 47 aboard could be identified. The remains of the rest were buried here at Jefferson Barracks near Saint Louis.

Robert Ellison, a civilian photographer who took many photos at Khe Sanh was also aboard. His remains are here and he is listed on the memorial. Some of Robert Ellison's Khe Sanh photos apeared on the cover of Newsweek magazine.