Michael J. Estocin

In 1993, a committee investigating the cases of missing U.S. military personnel determined that Estocin was never captured and had indeed died in the crash of his plane. Estocin's disappearance and presumed death occurred one day before his 36th birthday. A marker in his memory was placed in Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery, San Diego, California.

Although Nichols was certain Estocin had been killed in the crash, intelligence from Hanoi indicated that he had ejected and been captured. The U.S. military declared him a prisoner of war, causing Nichols to feel deep guilt for having called off the rescue mission. When the prisoners were released in 1973 and Estocin was not among them, it was presumed that he had died in captivity.

By April 20, 1967, Estocin had reached the rank of lieutenant commander and was an A-4 Skyhawk pilot in Attack Squadron 192, operating off of the USS Ticonderoga in the Gulf of Tonkin. On that day, he supported a bombing mission over Haiphong, North Vietnam.

For his actions during the missions over Haiphong on April 20, and April 26, 1967, Estocin was promoted to captain in absentia and awarded the Medal of Honor. In 1976, his parents ran him as a write-in candidate for President of the United States to bring attention to prisoner of war/missing in action issues. The U.S. Navy named the guided missile frigate USS Estocin (FFG-15), launched in 1979, in his honor.

Estocin entered the Naval Aviation Cadet program on June 11, 1954, and was commissioned in September 1955.

Michael John Estocin (April 27, 1931 – April 26, 1967 (presumed)) was a United States Navy officer and a recipient of the United States military's highest decoration—the Medal of Honor—for his actions in the Vietnam War.

Estocin was born on April 27, 1931 in Turtle Creek, Pennsylvania,. He graduated from Slippery Rock State Teachers College in 1954.