Family members of Col. Roy Knight Jr. stand as the national anthem is played during Knight's memorial service in Cool, Texas, on Saturday, Aug. 10, 2019. Knight was shot down over Laos in 1967 while serving as a U.S. Air Force pilot in the Vietnam War. In February, Knight's remains were recovered and identified, then were flown home last week for burial at Holder's Chapel United Methodist Church.
Colonel Knight was 36 when his Douglas A-1E Skyraider was shot down by antiaircraft fire in northern Laos, according to the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, which is part of the Defense Department. He was a member of the 602nd Tactical Fighter Squadron, which was assigned to Udorn Royal Thai Air Base in Thailand.
He had flown combat missions almost daily before his death and was posthumously awarded the Air Force Cross, Silver Star, Distinguished Flying Cross, Purple Heart and six Air Medals, according to Colonel Knight’s obituary, which was posted online by a local funeral home.
Colonel Knight, who was born in Garner, Tex., enlisted in the Air Force just days after his 17th birthday. He was one of eight children. Five of his older brothers served in World War II. He and his wife, Patricia, whom he met in the Philippines and who died in 2008, had three children.