Louis Carricarte served in the U.S. Army as a Second Lieutenant in the 18th Transportation Company, 145th Aviation Battalion, U.S. Army Support Group Vietnam, Military Assistance Command in the Vietnam War. A Fixed Wing Aviator, Lieutenant Carricarte had been in action in Vietnam for a month when he went on his third mission as a reconnaissance pilot on December 12, 1963. His light transport plane U-1A Otter (58-01690), destined for Ban Me Thuot, crashed into the top of an 8400 foot tall mountain, 400 feet below the summit, reportedly after it had been hit by ground fire in South Vietnam, killing all four aboard.
