Darl Bloom served in the United States Marine Corps as a Captain, Marine Composite Squadron 1, Marine Air Group 11, 1st Marine Air Wing, 7th Fleet. He was the pilot of a Vought Crusader Reconnaissance Fighter (RF-8A) conducting a flight near Da Nang, South Vietnam when his aircraft collided with another and crashed into the South China Sea. No parachute was seen, and it was presumed that Captain Bloom went down with his aircraft. The aircraft wreckage was found but his body was never recovered.
